Roush Jaeger signs to wrestle for NIACC Trojans

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — From Charles City, Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines is more than a two-hour drive.

For Comet senior Roush Jaeger, the trip was a tantalizing two minutes away.

After advancing to the 152-final of the Class 2A District 6 wrestling tournament and then being sent to the wrestleback rounds for a chance to seize an elusive state wrestling berth, Jaeger was leading Crestwood’s Clay Schemmel going into the final period.

Eventually, the match was tied at 5 with a minute remaining before Schemmel rallied with a takedown and a 3-point nearfall to win 10-5 and stay alive in the season.

The loss capped Jaeger’s senior season at 25-5 — among the best records among Charles City’s varsity wrestlers — and his career record at 83-50 that included 43 falls.

Cited by his coaches as one of the hardest workers on the Comet team, Jaeger was repeatedly stopped short of state due to ill-fated wrestleback scenarios and battling within tough brackets at tough district tournaments.

But during the 41st annual North/South All-Star Wrestling Meet held April 10 at Comet Gym, Jaeger won his final high school wrestling match of his career.

Against Denver senior Ben Foelske, Jaeger jumped out to a 6-1 lead. Foelske was able to tie it at 6 with a reversal midway through the third period, but Jaeger was able to score a short-time reversal for the 8-6 decision win.

It helped Jaeger’s “South” squad reign over “North” 30-9.

“It felt good to win my final match over a state place winner,” Jaeger said of Foelske, who placed fifth in the Class 1A 152-pound bracket at the past state meet.

Five days after the North/South Meet from which Jaeger was the lone Comet representative, Jaeger signed on to continue his wrestling career at North Iowa Area Community College.

“I decided it this past Tuesday,” Jaeger said of his ultimate decision three days after the meet — most other All-Star participants had their college plans printed in the meet’s program.

“It was between NIACC and Indian Hills,” Jaeger said. “It came down to NIACC being closer to home.”

Jaeger plans to study business at NIACC.