Newest Knight

That’s simply not the case.

As a seventh-grader, Joslyn was too small to even make the varsity wrestling team.

A year later, the son of Scott and Jennifer Joslyn had to chug water just to make the minimum 92 pounds to wrestle as an eighth-grader.

Then, as a freshman, wrestling season was pushed to the spring as the country — more specifically New York state — dealt with the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Chautauqua Lake senior Jordan Joslyn amassed a 181-19 career record with the Eagles and won a state championship in 2023. Joslyn will next wrestle at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
OBSERVER File Photo

“Not only was it unfair, but what we’re seeing now is that it was a precaution, but an unnecessary one,” Chautauqua Lake head coach Ken Rowe said Saturday of the limitations put in place by New York due to COVID-19. “It definitely created an unfairness. Life happens, but for the state as a whole, I believe we went from a higher ranking nationally to a fairly low one due to our reaction to it.

“Himself, John Watson and a couple of other guys went and found wrestling in other states and other areas of the country where they could continue to grow,” Rowe added. “There was a group of people who took a different path during COVID — as much as legally possible — and it shows.”

Joslyn pushed forward, eventually putting together one of the most impressive three-year wrestling runs Chautauqua County has ever seen.

“It wasn’t necessarily what I saw directly with him, it was what was going on around him,” Rowe said when asked when he knew Joslyn would be special. “The family was taking roads for him to continue to grow without pushing him too far.

“In earlier years, you tend to pick up what works and what doesn’t. What works isn’t necessarily the same for each kid,” Rowe added. “The decisions they were making were putting him down the right path.”

Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Panama/Clymer’s Jordan Joslyn is embraced by his father, Scott, after winning the 126-pound bracket at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Wrestling Championships at MVP Arena in Albany in February of 2023.
OBSERVER File Photo

As a sophomore, Joslyn finished with a 40-3 record after going 1-1 and missing out on the podium as the No. 5 seed at 118 pounds in Division II at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships.

Joslyn used that experience for good a year later as he put together a 46-2 season that included a state title at 126 pounds and the Division II Most Outstanding Wrestler title in Albany.

“When you get a kid like that, year to year, you never know how it’s going to progress. You realize when you have a kid like that, it’s going to be a fun ride,” Rowe said. “Only so much of it is coaching. When you have a special talent like that, you continue to guide and help him succeed.”

But again, as a senior, adversity struck as he was injured in a 138-pound state semifinal loss to Tioga’s Gianni Silvestri at MVP Arena. Rather than push through the injury in wrestlebacks, Joslyn settled for a sixth-place showing in his final appearance in Albany.

“The injury did significantly hamper my ability. The trainer told me I wasn’t allowed to continue,” Joslyn said of his final day of high school competition. “I made the choice because a third-place finish versus a sixth place to my college coaches and my future wasn’t worth risking future injury.”

Joslyn controls a match during the 2024 season.
OBSERVER File Photo

The results this year didn’t necessarily matter — although he finished with a 46-1 record. The coaches at the United States Military Academy at West Point already knew what they were getting in Joslyn, which is why they recruited him.

Earlier this spring, Joslyn put pen to paper and signed his national letter of intent to attend the NCAA Division I college in Orange County, New York, overlooking the Hudson River.

“We have three of our four seniors moving on to college, which is amazing,” said Rowe, who coached the Gannon University-bound Watson and the Belmont Abbey College-bound Jayden Malecki. “We have had 11 in the past several years competing at the college level. It says a lot about our program, the coaches and the kids keeping each other motivated. I’m blessed to be a part of that.”

First, Joslyn will attend the academy’s prep school just up the road for a post-graduate year. He doesn’t turn 18 until this October.

The West Point wrestling team is led by head coach Kevin Ward, who was named the 10th coach in program history Aug. 1, 2014.

“The coaches reached out to me via email and text in February of my junior year, right before I won the state title,” Joslyn said. “I didn’t know much about it. I knew it was a military academy and they were Division I, but other than that, I didn’t know much.”

Last year, the Black Knights went 7-4 in dual meets, including 6-1 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association. At the conference tournament, Army finished with 95.5 points, good for third out of 17 teams.

“My biggest goal was to be able to wrestle in college. I hadn’t thought about the military and wrestling, and hadn’t really considered I could do both,” Joslyn said. “I went on a visit, I really liked the coaching staff and I liked the facilities. … Everything was great.”

Joslyn hopes to join the Black Knights after wrestling for one more year scholastically in prep school.

“Prep school was always part of the initial thoughts because I’m young and I want to get an additional year,” he said.

“You get those athletes once in a while that make it fun for you because you know you are going to have success at all levels,” Rowe said. “It’s pretty enjoyable to be a part of it.

“It’s rare, Rowe added, “but sometimes a kid can make you look good.”