John Fuller/TheMat.com
Davison High School wrestling star Jon Reader has given a verbal commitment to attend Iowa State Univ. beginning with the 2006-07 school year.
“I am 100 percent committed to Iowa State, the coaching staff, and the team and look forward to competing at the next level with them. With the veterans on the team and the recruiting class of 2004-05, I feel that there are some great things that are going to take place in Ames, Iowa,” Reader said.
“I personally want to take this time to thank all of the coaches for showing an interest in me. I appreciate it. I also want to thank Coach Hall and Coach Elliott for some of the best years of my life at Davison High School,” he added.
While at Iowa State, Reader will be under the tutelage of 2004 Olympic gold medalist and Cyclones assistant coach Cael Sanderson, who played a heavy role in recruiting Reader. Sanderson remains the only wrestler to ever finish his college wrestling career undefeated (159-0) with four NCAA titles.
Reader will also learn from Olympic coach Bobby Douglas, the head coach at Iowa State, and two-time U.S. Freestyle World Team member Chris Bono, also an assistant coach for the Cyclones.
Reader is projected to compete at 165 lbs. for Iowa State. He is listed as one of the top recruits in the country by all recruiting publications. He is a two-time Michigan state champion and a three-time state finalist, helping lead Davison to three state team titles. He placed third in both freestyle and Greco-Roman at the 2005 Junior National Championships.
“We at Davison are extremely proud of Jon. Obviously, this was a tough decision because of all the quality schools recruiting him. However, Jon can reach his goals of being a national champion at Iowa State,” Davison head coach Roy Hall stated. “He will be coached and work out with the greatest college wrestler ever, Cael Sanderson. Bobby Douglas is a great man and coach.”
He has also competed against college competition, placing third at the 2004 Kent State Open at 149 lbs.
Reader chose Iowa State over four of the top wrestling programs in the country “Oklahoma State, Minnesota, Nebraska and Virginia Tech. Oklahoma State has won the last three NCAA team titles and Minnesota won two consecutive team titles before that. Former Davison teammates Paul Donahoe and Brent Metcalf currently attend Nebraska and Virginia Tech, respectively.
Last year, all wrestling publications ranked the Iowa State recruiting class as the No. 1 recruiting class in the country. The program has produced 62 NCAA individual champions and captured eight NCAA team titles.
Olympic champions Glen Brand (1948), Dan Gable (1972), Ben Peterson (1972), Kevin Jackson (1992) and Sanderson (2004) all competed at Iowa State.
Reader plans to major in Business and minor in Construction Engineering.
Wrestling Gear
