Crown Point’s Mendez now three for three as he takes home another IHSAA state wrestling title
CROWN POINT, Ind. (BVM) — Jesse Mendez isn’t just one of the best wrestlers in Indiana. He is one of the top high school wrestlers in the entire nation. Mendez continues to prove his dominance inside the state and out, and opened eyes again with his performance last month at state.
Wrestling in the 138-pound weight class, Mendez capped off a perfect 34-0 season at the IHSAA state finals with his third state title in three tries — becoming just the 39th wrestler all-time to win at least three state championships in the state of Indiana. Perhaps even more impressive is the match took only a minute or so before Mendez pinned his opponent.
“It’s definitely a big stepping-stone to my goal of becoming the most dominant four-time state champ in Indiana,” Mendez said. “It really means a lot getting a pin in the state finals. That’s not really heard of very often and it’s an awesome way to put an exclamation point on the season.”
A third consecutive state title is impressive, and carries over the momentum that Mendez had on the mat last fall. In October, Mendez competed nationally in the “Who’s No. 1” tournament in Austin, Texas. Competing against top high school wrestlers across the U.S., Mendez would take down Illinois’ Joel VanderVere to win the tournament and be labeled as the top wrestler at the 138-pound weight class in the country.
“Trying to get to that tournament is the main thing you look forward to when you are younger,” Mendez said. “To win it is awesome because a lot of the guys I used to look up to won that tournament.”
After the tournament, Mendez received a special reception when coming back to Crown Point as a small celebration was held to honor his achievement. Moments like that make the star wrestler appreciate his coaches, teammates and the community as a whole.
“Crown Point has shown me immense support throughout my high school career,” Mendez said. “It’s a lot easier to put in the work when you have a whole community supporting you and behind you.”
Mendez’s success over the years has made it pretty easy to get behind him. As a freshman, he shined for the Bulldogs right away, going undefeated and bringing home his first state championship.
“I felt like there were a lot of people who had questions about my abilities, so I knew I had something to prove as a freshman,” Mendez said. “That was a great season, I felt like I really improved and got better and it was awesome to win a state title as a freshman.”
The Crown Point standout continued his success into his sophomore season. Although he would lose a match that year, Mendez still came home with another state title.
“It was definitely disappointing taking that loss,” Mendez said. “But it’s going to happen and it’s all about how you bounce back and persevere through it. I just had to go back to the drawing board and work harder. I think I did a great job and it definitely felt good to get that second title.”
Throughout the past year, Mendez has had his wrestling career impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Limited tournaments were held over the spring and summer, so Mendez reverted to keeping sharp on his own and used that time to get better.
However, with things still uncertain by the end of summer, Mendez’s concern about his junior season grew.
“The possibility of not having a season was definitely something that came across my mind,” he noted. “We just kept working and tried to get ready for it to happen and thankfully it did. My whole team and I were super thankful that it happened.”
Winning all but two matches with pins, Mendez continued to show why he is one of the top wrestlers in Indiana.
The Crown Point junior has also spent plenty of time wrestling on the national stage since he first began with the sport around age 7.
As an energetic kid, Mendez and his former football coach decided wrestling may be a sport that suited him, so they tried it out. The rest is history.
“Something about the sport and the intensity of it just caught my eye and I’ve never looked back,” Mendez said.
Through the years, Mendez has been coached by several former wrestlers including Alex Tsirtsis, one of the best to ever come through Indiana. Tsirtsis is one of just nine four-time state champion wrestlers in the Hoosier state, and went undefeated through his high school career.
Now, he has been able to help develop Mendez in some of his top skills including strong hand movement and quick feet.
After winning his first national tournament early on in his career, Mendez knew he had a bright future in the sport. He has since competed in numerous national tournaments across the country.
“Doing that has definitely taken me to where I am today and has really shaped the work ethic I have,” Mendez noted.
As recently as 2019, the 17-year-old took home national titles at Cadet Folkstyle Nationals, Cadet Freestyle Nationals and FloNationals.
“It’s really nice to get the results you’re looking for and to know all the hard work is paying off,” Mendez said. “Those are the tournaments that you look forward to when you are younger and getting to bring back gold to Crown Point is always awesome.”
Last year, Mendez accomplished one of his top goals in the sport by making a world team. Although there is still some uncertainty regarding the upcoming spring and summer schedule, he will look to do the same this year.
“I’m hoping to make a world team at the junior level and hopefully go to Moscow, Russia to wrestle at the world championships,” Mendez added.
And by next fall, it will be time for the standout wrestler to finish off his career at Crown Point, where he will have the opportunity to become just the 10th wrestler in state history to win four state championships in four years.
“I want to leave high school as the most dominant wrestler in Indiana,” Mendez said. “I’m looking to pin through the season and just wrestle my hardest throughout the entire year.”
Mendez’s future goals also include competing collegiately. The Crown Point junior currently plans to wait to commit until next year once the recruiting process is more back to normal. But as expected, he has already received plenty of offers. Currently, Mendez has cut his list down to nine which include Ohio State, Michigan, Iowa, Arizona State, Illinois, Virginia Tech, Indiana, Purdue and Princeton.
“I hope to bring a national title my freshman year to whatever college I go to,” Mendez said. “I hope I bring a sort of leadership role. I’ve always wanted to be a leader and help get the team where they need to be. I want to go to college and win four NCAA titles and go on to have a successful and lengthy Olympic career.”
It is clear Mendez has the determination and drive that all of the greatest athletes have. By the time his career on the mat is all said and done, he hopes to not just be No. 1 in Indiana, but No. 1 all-time.
“I want to leave the sport as the best and I want to be known as the undisputed best wrestler to ever live,” Mendez said. “I want to win as many Olympic golds and world championships as I can, and I want there to be no argument that I was the best.”
