Athlete of the Month
Jonathan Eubanks

Pictures and Content courtesy of The Eubanks Family

Jonathan is 17 years old and attends Reed High School and wrestles for Coach Dan Barraza. Jonathan has always been our little comedian, always trying to make everyone laugh and is always in a good mood. Jonathan ran the Disney Dash down main street with his mom chasing him so that he would be where Minney Mouse was waiting for him. After his Mom gave chase to keep up with him, we knew that Jonathan would continue to take us on an adventure. Jonathan played T-Ball, Soccer and SYFL football in addition to wrestling occasionally. He also always participated in the Runs for Education with his family. He never really took to one sport or another. He loved being with his family and always wanted to know when the next trip to Disneyland was.
Jonathan played football for the SYFL Collegiate Football League heading into his 8th grade year. His coaches could not have been better examples of leadership and mentoring. Noe Robles and his team of coaches really mentored and prepared Jonathan for High School. After football, Jonathan really wanted to continue to play football but found his way to the Medive wrestling room.
Jonathan’s wrestling journey started in those 7th and 8th grade years at Mendive Middle School. I, his Dad, coached him there in 2020, just prior to the COVID shut down. He was involved as much as he could be his Freshman year, but there were not many opportunities in Northern Nevada.
Jonathan’s Sophomore (2021/2022) year is when he was able to really start his journey. He was influenced by his coaches at the time which were Mike Klapp, Ben Roghair, Brennan Gatlin, Marco Budija, myself and his two brothers–Timothy and Daniel. This was Daniel’s Senior year, so it was special that Jonathan started taking it seriously. Leading up to Regionals Jonathan was improving, but he was unable to wrestle at the Northern Nevada Regional Tournament due to a misdiagnosed skin condition. Although, he did watch his brother push through the Nevada State Tournament and take 2nd. This encouraged Jonathan to work in the off-season to prepare himself for his Junior year campaign. He played La Cross while still wrestling. Jonathan wrestled at the Freestyle/Greco State Tournament and was able to take 2nd in both styles.
He wrestled at the US Open, where his brothers Daniel and Timothy were also wrestling. Jonathan hit every SAWA (Sacramento Area Wrestling Association) tournaments that he could going into his Junior year. Jonathan was able to place at several tournaments. He placed 1st at the Cody Louk and received Outstanding Upper Weight Wrestler of the tournament. He went on to place Second at NorCals and many other tournaments. Going into Regionals 2022/2023 he was set to take Regionals. In the Final Match with Spanish Springs, he was down by five points in the third period when he cradled up the wrestler to take First at Northern Regionals. Jonathan always tries to find a way to win. Qualifying for State and placing Third his Junior year sparked a fire and drove him to work even harder.
From that point moving forward, Jonathan was dedicated to being able to wrestle for a State Title. Jonathan listened to podcasts and read books to and from the gym, and in his off time, all related to a winning mindset and leadership. His schedule went seven days a week, running at 4am and lifting at 5 am. During the next school year he made sure to attend any practice that Nevada Elite had. Coach Ed Sullivan was his biggest supporter there and another great influence. Jonathan attended the Greco Camp at Northern Michigan University, put on by Olympian and Coach Andy Bisek–who also coaches his brothers in college. After school he would go to practice, lift and end the day with an ice bath. Jonathan was religious with his workouts and ice baths.
Prior to his Senior year he was entered into the Reno Rumble and several California Tournaments. He wrestled at the Freakshow in Las Vegas in the 18U and 18U Elite divisions. There, Jonathan wrestled fourteen matches in two days. He would complete one match and immediately start another, never complaining or giving excuses. Jonathan finished 3rd in the 18U Elite class and earning an All American Honor. His Fourteenth match in two days was the Final Blood Round for 18U and he ended up losing by one point. He finished his off season run with the Cosmic Bash in Fresno, California with another 3rd Place Finish, and he even competed in beach wrestling. Jonathan continued his rigorous workouts till the season started.
Once the season started, he was in the wrestling room twice a day on Mondays and Wednesdays. He practiced once the other days, but he was still hitting the gym inbetween school and the wrestling room. During the Fall semester, Jonathan’s class schedule had to be changed to accommodate the college standards for athletes as he has decided he does want to wrestle in college. This put him severely behind in now three difficult classes. He still maintained his workouts and wrestling practices, but now he also showed up early to classes to make up two months’ worth of work to ensure his GPA kept him eligible to wrestle for the season.
For Jonathan’s Senior Year Coach Barraza was able to bring in Former State Champions to wrestle with Jonathan. Chad Espinoza (Reed Alumni and State Champ, at one point rank #1 in the country), Broc Westlake (Reed Alumni and 2-time State Champ) and Ryan Rutherford (Manogue Alumni and State Champ). This year he wrestled in some of the hardest tournaments. He took 1st at the Cody Louk Invitational, and also wrestled at the Tournament of Champions, Sierra Nevada Classic, NorCals, MidCals, and the Tim Brown Classic. These all presented challenges as wrestlers that were ranked from six to twenty in the State of California also wrestled at these tournaments. Jonathan used these matches to prepare himself for the Nevada State Tournament. His determination carried him through these tough matches. Jonathan then went Undefeated in League and was the Number One Seed for Northern Nevada Regionals. He won Regionals for the Second time and was the Number One Seed for State. Jonathan also received the Class 5A Outstanding Individual Sportsmanship Award from the Northern Nevada Wrestling Officials Association.
The final Tournament of the season is the one that every wrestler plans for. Jonathan got the match he wanted and even though the outcome was not what he trained for, he went toe to toe with a wrestler that placed 3rd at Fargo. Jonathan also was not pinned; in fact it went to the very end of the match. Blondeaux had made short work of everyone else during the season, but Jonathan was tenacious and never stopped throughout the match. He still ended up taking 2nd at the Nevada State Tournament and has now set his next goal.
Through the years people grow intellectually, physically and emotionally. I don’t think anyone has grown as much as Jonathan over these past few years. He sets his goals and strives for nothing less then what he wants. If he does not meet that goal, he has the ability to adapt and still continue to grow. There are adults I know that can’t handle adversity and push forward in life as much as he can. He has maintained his positivity, humor, focus, love for his family and friends through it all. Jonathan also has a love for DC comics; Batman, Superman, and an infinite love for the Joker. He has skills to work an online website as a hobby, and skills as a Mario expert, or any video game really–including Minecraft, Pokémon Go and Fortnight.
The world is definitely his oyster, and he has a bright future ahead of him. He plans to attend college for Kinesiology and to take his wrestling to the next level. Currently he is exploring his options. Jonathan is very grateful for all the people who support him including all his coaches (Incuding Dad), all his teammates, his extended family, his brothers Daniel and Timothy, his sister Alexandria and his Mother Jennifer who is by far his Biggest Fan!
Here are his overall Stats: Senior Record 53-9. High School Record: 118-27, with 37 career pins 2023/2024 Tournament Accomplishments: 2nd at Vista Del Lago in Folsom, CA 1st at Cody Louk in Winnemucca, NV 4th at Sierra Nevada Classic in Reno, NV 1st at NorCals in Anderson, CA 7th at the Tim Brown Invitational in Sacramento, CA 3rd at MidCals in Gilroy, CA 1st at the Boys Northern 5A Regionals Tournament 2nd at the NIAA 5A Nevada State Tournament