Jake Voss took indirect path to Coe wrestling room

CEDAR RAPIDS — One of the toughest decisions Jake Voss ever had to make was to step away from wrestling.

The choice turned out to be one of his best, too.

Voss elected to play baseball for Central College right out of high school. After one year, he yearned to get back on the mat and he wanted to do it for Coe Coach John Oostendorp.

'Taking a year off and playing baseball made me realize it (wrestling) was in my blood,' Voss said. 'A year without wrestling just wasn't right. It felt empty.'

The seventh-ranked 174-pound sophomore has carved a niche in the Coe lineup and will compete when the 23rd-ranked Kohawks host No. 11 Cornell in the Bremner Cup Series dual Thursday at Eby Fieldhouse, beginning at 7 p.m.

Oostendorp pursued West Delaware's all-time wins leader. Voss was a three-time state medalist with a 165-27 record. He was convinced that Voss was going to wrestle from the start.

'I felt like he was going to come to Coe,' Oostendorp said. 'It was kind of a curveball at the end.'

Oostendorp said the hiatus from wrestling may have been the best thing for him, rekindling a fire for the sport. After a second straight fourth-place state finish and no state title, Voss said he wasn't sure he wanted to wrestle. The relationship he built with Oostendorp during the process made his initial call much more difficult.

'I look at it as one of the hardest decisions I've had to make in my life,' said Voss, an all-state pitcher for the Hawks, who had five appearances including a start as a freshman for the Dutch. 'I had to take a lot into account.'

Oostendorp left the door open for Voss, who knocked and walked on through a year later. He was welcome and went right to work to make up for more than a year away from wrestling.

'He's a motivated young man,' Oostendorp said. 'When he decided to come back to wrestling he was all in.

'This is a sport where you have to earn everything. He got back in but you have to make up for that year and a half.'

He didn't wait until he reached campus. His comeback began in the summer, working with family, friends and West Delaware coaches in Manchester. He had a lot of ground to cover.

'I did a lot of training to get back into it,' Voss said. 'I tried to regain that year I lost and build up confidence in myself.'

Voss competed at 157 last season, going 12-10. Another year helped reclaim mat awareness and improve technique. Oostendorp said Voss worked hard in the weight room during the offseason, growing into a natural 174-pounder.

He is 27-3 this year, recording seven pins, four technical falls and a major decision.

'I feel like I'm not having to worry about cutting weight,' Voss said. 'I can focus on getting better.

'That's been a bonus this year.'

Voss had won nine straight matches, but gave up a late score at Wartburg to snap the streak. Teammates Jan Rosenberg and Taylor Mehmen earned two-point decisions over ranked Wartburg foes last week. Rosenberg's 12-10 victory over No. 6 Arnulfo Olea at 125 garnered Iowa Conference Wrestling Performer of the Week honors. Mehmen beat No. 5 Bryan Levsen, 3-1, at 184.

'They competed well,' Oostendorp said. 'We expect them to continue to develop.'

The Kohawks (10-7) have won 10 straight duals in the series and 16 of the last 17. Cornell hasn't beat Coe in a dual since 1999, tying in 2006. The Rams are led by eighth-ranked 141-pounder Josh Martin and have a strong chance to come out on top.

'Any time we wrestle it will be a good battle,' Oostendorp said. 'I feel we're better than 23rd ranked (but) that's where we're at.'

TAKE DOWN CANCER CLINIC

The fourth annual 'Take Down Cancer Clinic' will be held before the Cornell and Coe dual at Eby Fieldhouse. The clinic will be held from 5:30-6:30 p.m., featuring wrestling legend Dan Gable, former University of Iowa NCAA champion and Linn-Mar state champion Matt McDonough and Hawkeye Wrestling Club members Chris and Nick Dardanes.

The clinic is for pre-Kindergarten through sixth-grade wrestlers. The fee is $25 and includes the clinic, a T-shirt and admission to the dual.

Proceeds will be split between the Hall-Perrine Cancer Center Hope Fund and support for medical costs of former Coe national qualifier Nick McTee.

McTee, now of South Carolina, compiled an 81-43 career record for the Kohawks from 2000-04, going 31-8 as a senior. He is ranked seventh all-time at Coe with 30 career pins. While helping others involved in a car accident, McTee was struck by another car. The injuries suffered resulted in the amputation of both legs.

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