Purdue wrestler fears nothing

Photo Courtesy of Jon Bush HOW BIG?: Junior wrestler Jon Bush poses with a 140-pound halibut he caught at Resurrection Bay in Seward, Alaska last summer, not far from his home in Palmer. Bush is an avid fisher and hunter.

By Tom Lang
Staff Writer

From the wild of Palmer, Alaska, to the wild of Big Ten wrestling, junior Jon Bush can take care of himself.

"Jon doesn’t fear anything," head wrestling coach Jessie Reyes said.

Bush comes from a subsistence family — farming, hunting and fishing to keep food on the table. His summers were spent working on the farm and fishing for salmon and halibut. His fall was spent hunting for moose and caribou. All was canned and stored in the family’s walk-in freezer.

"We pretty much never had to go to the grocery," Bush said.

Living as a subsistence family took away several opportunities to play sports.

"I wanted to play football but I always had to dig potatoes," Bush said.

Even though Bush wasn’t able to participate in fall or spring sports, he was able to participate in a winter sport - wrestling.

"I just like going out there and wrestling," Bush said.

As a true outdoorsman, he would not confine his training to the wrestling and weight rooms. Bush and his high school teammates had an unusually adaptive method of training.

"Our whole team would run up Lazy Mountain right behind my house, get a drink from the spring at the top and run back down," Bush said.

From the Matanuska Glacier and Lazy Mountain, Bush ventured to the Rocky Mountains to begin his college career. Bush began wrestling for the Division II Colorado School of Mines. At the School of Mines he studied Petroleum Engineering, longing to return and work in Alaska.

Although Bush enjoyed the School of Mines, he found the Division II competition not challenging enough. Having already visited Purdue, the Colorado School of Mines proved to Bush just how great Purdue is.

"We normally don’t look at wrestlers from Alaska, but when we saw him at the Reno tournament, we knew he could wrestle, and our school fit him well," Reyes said.

"I really liked the School of Mines but I couldn’t win a Division I title there and that’s what I want," Bush said.

The relationship between Bush and Purdue wrestling has proven prosperous. In Bush’s first year of wrestling varsity he compiled a 20-9 record, Big Ten runner-up title, NCAA qualifier, Mat Town Invitational Championship and led the Boilers in pins. This season’s performance has been hindered by a knee injury, which limited him to only 18 matches. Bush has made the most of these matches racking up 15 wins and seven pins. It has been said that Bush can force an opponent into a pin at any given moment. This is due in part to a move that his Boilermaker teammates have dubbed "The Alaskan Pipeline."

"I don’t get to use the Pipeline as often anymore. Because of my success with it in the past, guys scout me now and look to counter it," Bush said.

Although Bush’s knee is still giving him problems, he can’t wait for the Big Ten Championships to start this Saturday.

"He’s what you would expect in a Big Ten wrestler; he’s a competitor," Reyes said.

At the Big Tens, Bush will again take care of himself by doing what he likes, "going out there and wrestling."

Tennis team competes well despite loss to Huskies

Tennis teem seeks, attains revenge against Iowa

Boilers need tournament wins to stay alive

Purdue wrestler fears nothing

Purdue gets eighth in Big Ten swimming championships

SPORTS DESK PHONE:
(765) 743-1111 ext. 251

Sports editor: Jason Tomcsi

Assistant sports editor:
Andrew Hershberger

To send a letter to the editor, please email sports@purdueexponent.org