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Evansville wrestlers set benefit camp

EVANSVILLE — Wrestling is all about making sacrifices.

Cutting weight, skipping meals and spending an extra half-hour on the stationary bike can be part of a wrestler’s strict daily regimen during the season.

But those sacrifices pale in comparison to the one Jacob Janes made on April 3. Serving with Alpha Company of the Second Combat Engineer Battalion for the United States Marine Corps, Janes stepped on an I.E.D. (improvised explosive device) while his unit was under attack in Afghanistan. The 2004 Evansville High graduate had both legs amputated below the knees and suffered severe injuries to his right arm and hand.

Although Janes is back in the U.S. and rehabilitating at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C., he has a tough road ahead of him. He has been fitted with a prosthetic for his left leg and is learning to live with it, but his right leg needs to heal more before a prosthetic becomes an option.

There are hardships and financial hurdles to clear on Janes’ road to recovery, but Evansville, and his wrestling brethren, is making sure their “true hero” does not make the trip alone.

Thanks to the combined efforts of Evansville High wrestling coach Rob Kostroun and 1975 Evansville graduate and current Director of National Teams for USA Wrestling, Mitch Hull, a star-studded wrestling camp will take place on June 25, 26 and 27 to benefit Janes.

Among the clinicians will be former Olympian silver medalists Andy Rein and Barry Davis, along with former world champion Lee Kemp, two-time World silver medalist Jack Reinwand and Hull—a four-time Free Style and Greco-Roman national champion and an Olympic alternate.

“This is such a bigger story than what our sport is,” Hull said of Janes’ recovery from his injuries. “You don’t get a lot of chances to celebrate true heroes, and Jake is a true hero.

“And I’ve gotten to know a lot of people in wrestling over the years, and every one that has committed to attend this camp, said ‘yes’ before I had even asked them. That’s how tight the wrestling community is, and how honored those guys were to be part of such a great cause.”

Janes will likely not be able to attend the camp due to his ongoing rehabilitation at the Walter Reed facility, but Kostroun said the support from Evansville and the surrounding communities has been overwhelming. Janes wrestled for the Blue Devils for four seasons, and was a Rock Valley Conference runner-up at 285 pounds his senior year.

“Norman Schwarzkopf once said, ‘you cannot help someone up the hill without first getting closer to the top yourself,’ Kostroun said. “And that’s what this is all about.

“We want to raise money, but more importantly, we want Jake to know that we appreciate his sacrifice.

“I talk to Jake quite a bit, and his attitude is positive. He feels like what’s done is done, and he’s moving forward.”

Hull said he his humbled but not surprised at the outpouring of support from his hometown of Evansville. Donations have been filtering in on a daily basis as word has gotten out on Janes’ plight.

“This is what small towns do, and it makes me very proud to know that my hometown is so supportive of this cause,” Hull said.

“It has taken on a life of it’s own,” Hull said of the three-day camp. “People that have no ties at all to the community or to Jake, have stepped up and offered support.

“This is a great opportunity for a lot of young wrestlers to learn from the best, but it’s for a much bigger purpose than that.”

It’s a chance for Evansville to honor a “true hero.”