Ward Returns for One More Run at a Title

AMES, Iowa - After nearly a year away from the wrestling mat, Iowa State 197-pounder Jerome Ward is back and his coach said there won't be many opponents happy to see him in their bracket.

"I promise you, there is nobody in the country that is excited about seeing Jerome Ward in front of them, nobody," Iowa State wrestling coach Kevin Jackson said. "I know that and the wrestling country knows it too."

Ward has competed in just one match this season as he heads into the Big 12 Championships, due to a back injury that he sustained in the March of 2011. The Evergreen Park, Ill., native received the injury just one week removed from a run in the 2011 NCAA Tournament in which he won three matches before bowing out in the round of 12. He was warming up for practice when he suddenly felt a pain in his back.

"It was a warm-up injury," Ward said. "I've played a lot of sports over the years and it kind of just wore me down eventually. I was wrestling one day and I heard a snap and that was kind of it."

Jackson thought he had seen the end of Ward's career at Iowa State. He said Ward, a senior, would come to practice sometimes and would not even be able to stand up straight.

"It was tough because we weren't performing very well at that weight class and we tried a couple different people," Jackson said. "We weren't getting the results we felt we could get with Jerome. It was frustrating to us as a team. It was frustrating to our other 197 pounders and to (Ward)."

Ward described the feeling of seeing his final year of college wrestling slip away as a tough pill to swallow as he struggled to get healthy enough to return to competition.

"There were times that I didn't even feel like I was part of the team," Ward said. "I was just sitting there watching them compete and at the end of the day, I was walking up the stairs at Hilton in a letterman's jacket going home."

Ward did eventually make his return at the NWCA Midwest Regional Duals on Feb. 12. He defeated No. 17 Taylor Meeks of Oregon State 11-7 in what could only be described as a battle. Ward suffered through cramps during the third period, but was able to hang on for the win.

"Wrestling is a hard sport. There's always going to be pain involved if you get two guys that want to win," Ward said. "That match just told me who I am and what kind of wrestler I am. My conditioning was a factor in that match. I felt like that guy kept coming and kept coming like a good wrestler is supposed to. The question was, how am I going to handle the adversity? My will was tested."

Now Ward is preparing for Saturday's Big 12 Championships in Columbia, Mo., where he only needs to win his first match to qualify for the NCAA Championships. Ward said he is only focused on his next match but has very high goals for himself when it comes to the NCAA tournament.

"I feel like I could win (an NCAA title), with the skill level that I have, I feel like I could win the tournament and be a champion," Ward said. "I'm not practicing for anything less."

Ward Returns for One More Run at a Title

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Jerome Ward

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Ward Returns for One More Run at a Title

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