Uintah Basin area residents looking for a feel-good sports story can learn something from Jaxon McCurdy.The Uintah High School senior wrestler finished third in his weight class his freshman year.“My journey has been kind of rough,” McCurdy said. “I came in my freshman year and cut a lot of weight. I did pretty good that year.”He was primed to put together outstanding sophomore and junior seasons for the powerful program.“I didn’t want to cut a lot of weight my sophomore year and I didn’t have as good a season as I wanted,” said McCurdy.That’s when injuries came into play for McCurdy.“I started having lots of problems with my knees my junior year,” McCurdy said. “I dislocated both my knees about three or four times each during the season.”He suffered his first injury at the first tournament of the season at the Layton Invitational.“My left knee was dislocated,” he added. “It was rough when it first happened. I couldn’t hardly move my leg. I was then wrestling one of our guys that came back from college. I injured my right one and this time it stayed out.”McCurdy decided to call it for his junior season.“It was just a personal decision,” he said. “I thought about not wrestling my senior year. I figured I just had to push through it.”He dislocated his left knee earlier this year. McCurdy missed the Layton Invitational.“I was kind of nervous this year when it went out again,” McCurdy said. “I have a new knee brace on my left knee. It’s tight sometimes but it’s fairly easy to get used to.”Uintah coach Phillip Keddy said McCurdy has made an impact with his leadership skills with the team.“He has dealt with some adversity with an old injury,” Keddy said. “He has made up his mind that he is not going to be denied. He is doing things to put himself in position to win a goal he has had his whole life. I’m proud of the fact that he has been willing to do what it takes to get to his point. It’s a good example for younger kids that things aren’t always going to go the way you want but that doesn’t change how you are going to represent yourself and accomplish your goals.”McCurdy has made the most of his senior season.He has produced an impressive 44-2 record in the 144-pound class.“I’m really happy with how this year is going,” said McCurdy. “I kind of thought there would be some more matches that wouldn’t have gone my way.”McCurdy believes he has close to 38 pins on the season.“I just really like going into that cradle position,” McCurdy said.He won the division title with a 13-1 victory against Myka Love from Jordan.“It was my last ride in front of the home crowd,” he said. “It was a big one.”Keddy said McCurdy started at 150 pounds back in November.“Brody Rhoades and Jaxon made up their minds early that they could go down a weight,” Keddy said. “It was more of a team decision and they both felt good and comfortable there.”McCurdy will now be a No. 1 seed for the Class 4A state tournament planned for Utah Valley University in Orem Feb. 16-17.“I feel comfortable at my weight class,” McCurdy said. “I’m excited to be the No. 1 seed for the state tournament. We will see how it goes. The Payson kid in my weight class is really good. I haven’t wrestled him this season. We really just focus on one match at a time.”He is hoping to finalize his career with a state title.“It has been a dream since I was a kid,” McCurdy said. “It would be huge.”Uintah High’s Jaxon McCurdy (144) competes in 4A Divisionals at Uintah High School on Feb. 3, 2024.Geoff Liesik/Uintah School District
by Bruce Tippets BTippets@cherryroad.com Uintah Basin area residents looking for a feel-good sports story can learn something from Jaxon McCurdy. The Uintah High School senior…
