Major Decision: Ranger Wrestler Jonathan Jasso Commits to Lemoore College

Senior Ranger Wrestler Jonathan Jasso has decided to bring his wrestling skills to Lemoore College. Jasso looks back at his past experiences and his bright future, while Lemoore wrestling Botelho looks forward to this great addition to the program.

By Fabian Anguiano

Before Jasso committed to Lemoore, he had originally committed to Menlo College, which has a division two wrestling program; Jasso decommitted due to personal reasons.

To Jasso, no hard work means no college wrestling, as he says, “Working hard gets you on the map for college coaches to see you. If you weren’t working hard, then coaches aren’t gonna want you or really give attention to you.”

Jasso believes that his hard work contributed to helping him get an easier education.

From the beginning of his wrestling career to now, wrestling taught Jasso that, “ You’re gonna have to battle through adversity; there’s gonna be ups and downs in the sport, so it shows you in life you’re just gonna have to battle through it. You can’t just sit there and walk over it; you’re gonna have to overcome everything,” said Jasso.

In Jasso’s high school wrestling career, he has gone to three different schools, which means three different coaching styles.

Jasso’s first-ever wrestling coach was “my godfather. He definitely brought me back into love with the sport; I stopped wrestling for a little bit. He shows me it could be fun.”

Jasso would then wrestle at Tulare Union, where it was more serious. The coach at the time, Chino Williams, was there not only as a coach but as a friend.

When Jasso got to Redwood, it showed him how a program should be run. “It gets you ready for the college level. Coach Wright was amazing, and Coach Ozuna, all the coaches were perfect,” said Jasso.

What Jasso is looking forward to most for college is making memories. It gives him two more years to do something that he loves and is going to be exciting for him to compete with other people at the college level.

Jasso does not believe the transition from high school wrestling to college wrestling will be challenging, as he has already wrestled two college-level wrestlers.

Jasso’s goal for his Freshman year is to win All-American at the National Tournament.

Lemoore College Wrestling Coach, Marcio Botelho’s first impression of Jasso was, “He was very respectful right away with the conversations that I was having with him. I could tell that he’s a competitor, and he enjoys wrestling,” said Botelho.

To Botelho, Jasso is a winner. He has the mindset, confidence, and competitiveness that Botelho looks for in an athlete.

When Botelho took a look at Jasso’s tape, it was clear that Jasso is a winner, as he says, “He’s trained at all of these different facilities; he’s always gone and sought out the competition. So he has that wrestling mindset, and he knows how to win.”

Botelho hopes to build Jasso up both physically and mentally for his matches and for him to develop his wrestling skills. Learning more about Jasso will help with his growth, with all of his past experiences.

Botelho says that he believes Jasso can make a great impact on the team with his “ethics and his ability to find ways to win.”

Botelho also says Jasso has a belief that he can beat anyone. “With that mindset coming in, it’s just elevating our room to the next level,” said Botelho.

Since Botelho has been watching Jasso compete since his days at Dos Palos High School in Dos Palos, he has gotten to watch him grow as a person and a wrestler.

With Jasso originally committed to Menlo College, Botelho would respect Jasso’s wish, but Botelho already knew there was an opportunity for Jasso to play on his own grounds.

Jasso would proceed to take that opportunity when Botelho reached out and had a physical visit with him. “He talked to me, and we got to know each other. I think he just made it easy knowing that this would be a perfect fit for him,” says Botelho.

The main thing that Botelho is going to help Jasso with for his transition from high school to college is his mindset. Jasso has the ability to compete, and he is preparing himself for every phase during a wrestling match. There are great people in the wrestling room who will assist Jasso with that.

Botelho had more to say, saying, “I haven’t had very many Redwood athletes come here. I know they decided to go somewhere else, but hopefully, this would be a good start to continue to get phenomenal athletes from Redwood and also from around the valley. I know his experience is going to be great over here, and hopefully the word will get out and we’ll continue to bring athletes from Redwood and the local high schools over here.”

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