On Mar. 5, 2023, senior Sam Jordan became Mt. Hebron’s first wrestling state champion in school history, winning the 4A/3A Division Tournament. 

Jordan (below), nicknamed “Big Red” for his ginger mullet and 6’0’’ 214 lb. frame, beat four opponents for a combined tournament point total of 24-8 before ultimately taking the podium — topping off a 40-1 record on the season in the grandest way possible. 

“I wasn’t taken down by anyone. The only points my opponents got were escape points,” said Jordan, regarding his dominant performance. 

He details the final match, and the moment he realized he had it in the bag:

 “I tried my offensive moves a couple of times, but my opponent kept backing up. It was 1-0 at the end of the second period because I had an escape point. He chose to be on bottom in the 3rd period so he could escape and tie it 1-1. I just tried to keep him down as long as possible, and I eventually realized I could keep him down the whole period. He was 8 or so pounds heavier so I couldn’t get any back points, but he wasn’t able to escape or stand up because I kept breaking him down,” Jordan recounted. 

State championships are few and far between for the Vikings and, of course, are a fantastic accomplishment across all sports, but Jordan’s win comes with that historic caveat. A humble Jordan describes what it means to be Mt. Hebron’s first wrestling state champion.  

“It feels great to be the first state champ, but I know there were wrestlers [in the past] with more wins that deserved the title more,” he said.

Jordan additionally ensured he took the time during our interview to thank his coaches, Ernie Vogel and Adem Kaya, for their support over the last two seasons of wrestling.

Jordan’s accomplishments don’t cease in athletics, either. He’s a stud in the classroom, sporting a 1520 SAT score and a 4.77 GPA. That’s a lot of As — one of which comes in Mr. Vann Prime’s AP Microeconomics class, where Prime describes Jordan as “a mountain of a man” and “the ginger giant.”

With great success on the mats and off, Jordan’s future is bright, and he’s leaving it open. Regarding college plans and school selection, Jordan “doesn’t know yet.”

“If the college has a wrestling program, I’ll probably wrestle there. I’m planning on doing computer science. I’m trying to put my academics before my athletics,” he said.

It’s safe to say that wherever Jordan ends up, they’ll be lucky to have him whether he puts the headgear back on or not.