A Keller football star’s journey to become Texas’ heavyweight wrestling champion
Andrew Jurasek is a freak athlete with a burning desire for competition.
He is a senior all-district linebacker who plans to continue his career with Air Force, but football isn’t the only sport he thrives in at Keller High School. Before graduation, Jurasek had a goal: Become Texas’ heavyweight wrestling champion.
He knew the potential to win it all was there.
And he wanted to capitalize on his hard work and natural talent.
“The journey is a long one,” Keller wrestling coach Jim Schee said. “We started talking about the capabilities of winning state way back when he was a freshman. We thought that was a possibility. He fell short a couple of times, sophomore and junior year.”
Jurasek has been a wrestler his entire life, and all his training led to a senior season with lofty goals. To win the big one, he needed to flip the switch. Jurasek made the necessary adjustments, changing his overall focus and mentality to achieve greatness.
“He was laser-focused this year,” Schee said. “He was really dominant this year. For me, the difference this year compared to the other years was his focus. I thought he was mentally in tune the whole year. He’s always had the physical skills.”
Most heavyweights are used to having a slowed-down, methodical pace. Jurasek’s athleticism allowed him to wrestle with an explosive style that allowed him to take shots, something many heavyweights aren’t accustomed to.
Jurasek showed confidence and talent en route to punching his ticket to the Class 6A heavyweight finals. Oftentimes, he entered matches knowing he would win. Jurasek’s results justified the confidence, and the assertiveness helped him thrive.
In the state championship match, Jurasek said he underestimated Shane Trotter of Katy High School. Although it was his closest match of the year, he was also never in real danger of losing. It was an “ugly win” which is better than a “beautiful loss”, according to Jurasek.
After state championship wins, most high schoolers celebrate with tears of joy or by showing some sort of emotion, but that wasn’t the case for Jurasek. He had business to take care of and checked it off his list.
“It was a sense of relief, honestly,” Jurasek said. “I’ve been so close — freshman, sophomore, junior year. The fact that I won it — I was relieved that I did it. And obviously, I was still happy. But I was more relieved that I achieved this goal that I had been after for so long.”
Balancing football and wrestling
There is a 285-pound weight limit in heavyweight wrestling, but Jurasek maintained a smaller frame compared to his competition. He weighed around 225 during football season and maintained a similar weight for wrestling.
Still, a 225-pound frame can be challenging to maintain when you want to keep strength while completing three workouts a day. Jurasek had wrestling practice before school and two football practices after school, which included weight training.
Jurasek called himself a “human trash can” because he had to eat six clean and healthy meals a day to maintain his demanding routine.
The life of a championship wrestler can be extremely challenging. It takes sacrifice, discipline and a whole lot of time. To be the best, however, sometimes you need to make the hard decisions that others avoid.
Jurasek, as a star football signee, didn’t have to keep wrestling and could’ve taken the time for his hobbies, such as helping work on his friend’s ‘68 Mustang or playing video games and ultimate frisbee.
If he did that, however, he wouldn’t be the heavyweight champion of Texas. Although it is challenging, Jurasek loves the sport and the intense competition. It was an easy decision for him to keep wrestling.
“I like the physicality of (wrestling),” Jurasek said. “I like the mentality also. There’s a certain mentality you have to have to be a good wrestler. You kind of have to be a trailblazer. You’ve got to take risks, you got to take shots, you got to get in uncomfortable positions, knowing that you’re going to end up on top. That’s the main reason I love the sport.”
His time in wrestling has translated to the football field, too. According to Jurasek, his tackling technique, flexibility and hip mobility have greatly improved due to his time as a wrestler.
In a few months, Jurasek will enroll at the United States Air Force Academy. He also had offers from all three service academies, but Air Force stood out to him because, one day, he wants to become a pilot.
“I’ve always been into aviation, even since I was a little kid and throughout high school,” Jurasek said. “And I really like the idea of piloting. I like that career path.”
Although he is open to continuing his wrestling career, he is now putting his full attention on football. Even if Jurasek never wrestles another match, he’ll have a championship legacy at Keller High School that lasts forever.
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