Express-Times Wrestler of the Year -- Jordan Oliver Oliver's success inspired by mom leaving a legacy. Easton standout shares credit with devoted mother. Tuesday, March 18, 2008 By MICHAEL BLOUSEThe Express-Times Even in the most frenzied of wrestling environments -- Easton Area High School's quaint 25th Street Gymnasium or the cavernous Giant Center in Hershey -- Jordan Oliver can always recognize a singular piercing voice. It comes from the one person he's been able to count on for every one of his 17 years. "As long as he hears my big mouth in the crowd," said the scholastic star's extroverted mother, Tina Rosado, "I know it's a comfort to him. I know he can hear me. I just want him to know I'm there for him." "It's always great to hear her," Oliver admitted, "and I can always hear her." The close mother-son relationship is a source of inspiration for perhaps the finest wrestler District 11 has ever produced. And the Easton Red Rover senior is his mother's son. He's passionate. He's driven. He's athletically gifted. Oliver, with three PIAA Class AAA state titles, a perfect 40-0 record this season and a 175-5 career mark, is an easy choice as The Express-Times Wrestler of Year. He also earned the honor after a 48-0 sophomore season. Other candidates included Kegan Handlovic, a two-time PIAA gold medalist at Easton, and Class AA state champion, unbeaten Ziad Haddad of Bethlehem Catholic. Oliver, though, is without peer in the high school wrestling universe. Mom and me The No. 1 driving force propelling Oliver's ascension to the top of the nation -- he's the No. 1-ranked 130-pounder in the United States -- is not a coach or a teammate or an opponent. "My mom pushes me a whole lot," said Oliver, who last November accepted a scholarship to continue his academic and athletic careers at Oklahoma State. "And I appreciate it. She wants me to do what's right and be the best I can be. That's at everything ... in the classroom or at wrestling." Theirs is a bond that has been forged through some tough times. Tina Rosado said she left her first husband, Rodney "Slick" Oliver, who is Jordan's biological father, when her son was just 11 months old. "He in no way participated in raising Jordan," Rosado said of Rodney Oliver. "I told him if he's not going to do the job to step aside and let someone else do it. Thankfully, I've had a lot of help. But I've never excluded him in Jordan's life." The father figure and male influence in Oliver's life is Rosado's husband of 13 years, Edwin Rosado, a basketball junkie who had to learn to appreciate wrestling. "Jordan loves Edwin," said Tina Rosado, who as Tina DeRohn was a talented track athlete and softball player at Easton. "He couldn't ask for a better dad." Edwin and Tina Rosado have a 7-year-old son, Jarius, who is Jordan's half-brother. They live in Easton's West Ward. Oliver's older brother, Josh, also was a standout wrestler for the Red Rovers. He was a state runner-up as a junior and went 42-10 as a senior. Josh Oliver has recently run into legal troubles and is in Northampton County Prison for armed robbery and related charges. Last week he was named in a federal indictment as part of a large-scale drug distribution network. "I try to be very close to my kids," Tina Rosado said, "but not be their buddies. I want to be a parent that they're not afraid to talk to about anything. I want them to know I'm here for them." Remarkable Rover His 175-5 career record is impressive. His three state titles are also. His USA Junior National championship in Fargo, N.D., last summer is quite an accomplishment. But maybe the best illustration of Oliver's dominance on the wrestling mat is this fact: He has not allowed a single takedown in any match at any level since the first dual meet, in December 2005, of his sophomore season. "The nature of our team's personality is wide open and aggressive," Easton coach Steve Powell said. "He's near 650 takedowns since he gave his last one up. And Jordan's far from a defensive wrestler. "It's not like he wrestles thinking about being taken down. And it's not like we wrestle weak competition." Council Rock South's Mark Rappo, the state's 103-pound champion this winter, was the last wrestler to take down Oliver. "After my sophomore year," Oliver said, "I kind of got into it. I wanted to try to see how long I could go without being taken down." This past weekend, at the Dapper Dan Classic in Pittsburgh, Oliver took on the No. 2-ranked 130-pound wrestler in the nation, Colorado's Tyler Graff. Pennsylvania's three-timer beat Colorado's four-timer 3-1 on a single-leg takedown in overtime. That victory came one week after Oliver captured his third consecutive state crown in Hershey with a 4-2 decision over Josh Kindig of Blue Mountain. It was the third straight week Oliver defeated Kindig for a gold medal. "It's an advantage to be a hard worker and be talented," said Oliver, who faithfully watches wrestling video on the Internet according to his mother. "Like Mr. Powell said, there could've been 100 kids better than me walking the halls but maybe they threw it away. I won't do that." Oliver said he likely will redshirt as a freshman at Oklahoma State. He's looking forward to the challenge of wrestling in college, nonetheless. "I know I'm going to go out there and take a couple beatings," Oliver said. "But I'm ready to learn everything I can and hopefully I can combine it into my style. Maybe I can be a four-timer in college." Leaving a legacy As important as being successful on the mat is to Oliver, it's as important to him to be a solid citizen off the mat. According to those close to the 17-year-old, he has an engaging personality, is a good teammate and a positive role model for young athletes. Easton enthusiasts -- and many wrestling fans in the Lehigh Valley and throughout the state -- enjoy watching the ultra-aggressive Oliver compete. Some tell him how great he is. Others ask for his autograph. On occasions it's almost hero worship. "Jordan really doesn't like it when adults make a big to-do over him," his mother said. "But he'd never ever turn a kid away." It isn't unusual for Oliver, an A and B student, to spend five to 10 minutes after matches signing autographs for young admirers. "That was me one day," he said. Tina Rosado tells a story of when a handicapped boy sent a letter to Coach Powell and his wife, Bobbi-Jo, about Oliver. "This little boy wrote about how much he admired Jordan," Rosado recalled. "Steve and Bobbi-Jo asked him to come to practice early one day and sign some things for the boy. "I remember Jordan telling me he didn't feel like it, but as soon as Bobbi-Jo told him it was for a little boy in a wheelchair, he signed everything and even wrote a nice note. That's Jordan," a proud mother said. Michael Blouse can be reached at 800-360-3601 or by e-mail at mblouse@express-times.com. Oliver earns an early invite to Dapper Dan Easton senior picked. Two-time state champ is 11th Red Rover selected to the prestigious event. Friday, January 18, 2008 By MICHAEL BLOUSE The Express-Times Jordan Oliver's senior year as an Easton Red Rover student-athlete has been a lot like Jarred Holley's: very busy and highly successful. Oliver, the No. 1-ranked 130-pound wrestler in the nation, was selected Wednesday to the 34th annual Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic set for Saturday, March 15 at the University of Pittsburgh's Fitzgerald Field House. Holley announced his intentions to play football for the Pittsburgh Panthers during a Wednesday news conference at Easton, the same day Oliver received his good news. "It's pretty exciting," said Oliver, who owns a 155-5 career record and a 20-0 mark this season. "I wanted to wrestle the Dapper Dan this year, but then I totally forgot about it so it was a surprise when I got the call. It's an honor." The call also came as a surprise, according to Easton Area High School coach Steve Powell, because Dapper Dan officials typically wait until after the season to announce Pennsylvania's All-Star roster. Oliver will compete on the Keystone State's team that wrestles the USA All-Stars. "Basically, the position at each weight class goes to the highest-placing senior in the state in Double-A or Triple-A," Powell said. "I guess they went out on a limb with Jordan. It's an awesome event and quite an honor." The Oklahoma State-bound Oliver is the 11th Red Rover to earn a spot in the Dapper Dan event, according to the tournament's Web site. Easton wrestlers own a 7-3 all-time record in Pittsburgh, with Henry Calle earning the program's first win in 1976 at 98 pounds. Oliver is only eight wins away from becoming Easton's career wins leader. Alex Krom is currently in first place with 162 victories. "Hopefully I can keep our winning ways going at the Dapper Dan," the 17-year-old said. "I know we've had some real good success." Ranked No. 1 by the Amateur Wrestling News, Oliver has his sights set on three possible opponents: Tyler Graff of Loveland (Colo.), ranked second at 130; Nate Moore of Iowa City West (Iowa), No. 1 at 125; and Brian Owen of Spokane (Wash.), No. 3 at 125. "Those are the three that I have in mind," Oliver said. "It's basically the Super Bowl of high school wrestling. It's the two best wrestlers in the nation going at it. That's pretty exciting." Michael Blouse can be reached at 800-360-3601 or by e-mail at mblouse@express-times.com.

Oklahoma State Wrestling Signs Four Courtesy: okstate.com Release: 11/20/2007 John Smith announced the signing of four prep wrestlers to national letters of intent. Stillwater, Okla. – Oklahoma State wrestling coach John Smith announced the signing of four prep standouts to national letters of intent Tuesday. Alex Meade (Camden, Del./Caesar Rodney HS), Jordan Oliver (Easton, Pa./Easton HS), Johnny Koepp (Forney, Texas/Bishop Lynch) and Tyson Yoder (Weatherford, Okla./Weatherford) are set to join the most storied program in all of college sports. “I’m excited about this class because we are picking up some needs that we will have for the future, specifically at 133 and 165,” Smith said. “We’re confident that Jordan Oliver has a good future at 133 and Alex Meade has a good future at 165. Both have demonstrated the ability to win at a high level and that’s what excites me about this class. “I can see Tyson Yoder as wrestling at 197 for us in the future and Johnny Koepp is likely to begin his time here wrestling at 157,” Smith said. “It’s very nice to have an Oklahoma kid coming here in Yoder and I believe that Koepp is a very talented wrestler who has been well-coached in high school.” A closer look at the Oklahoma State wrestling signing class of 2007: Alex Meade Camden, Del./Caesar Rodney HS High School: Attended Caesar Rodney HS in Camden, Del., where he was coached by Dicky Howell ... Ranked No. 1 in the nation in the 145-pound weight class as a junior in the final 2006-07 rankings by InterMat ... Was one of only five juniors ranked in the top 20 ... Enters the 2007-08 season ranked No. 3 in the nation at the 152-pound weight class by Amateur Wrestling News and No. 5 in the nation by W.I.N. Magazine ... Ranked as the No. 9 wrestler in the nation at any weight class by RevWrestling.com ... Two-time FILA cadet freestyle national champion, winning the distinction in 2005 and in 2007 ... Won the Beast of the East and Walsh Ironman Tournaments ... Compiled a 39-0 record as a junior and recorded a 20-5 tech fall victory in the Delaware 145-pound state title match ... Delaware state champion as a freshman after compiling a 42-2 record on the year ... Recruited by all of the nation’s top programs, including offers from Iowa State, Ohio State and Nebraska, among others. Oklahoma State Head Coach John Smith on Alex Meade: “Alex Meade is very explosive. He’s still developing into the wrestler he wants to become and his style will fit in well here. We can progress him rather quickly. I was very excited when I watched him wrestle the first time. He’s a guy who is on the attack and maintains the attack from start to finish.” Jordan Oliver Easton, Pa./Easton High School: Attends Easton HS, where he is coached by Steve Powell ... 2007 freestyle junior national champion ... Ranked No. 2 in the nation at the 125-pound weight class entering the 2007-08 season by Amateur Wrestling News and No. 3 in the nation in the preseason by W.I.N. Magazine ... Ranked No. 3 in the nation in last year’s InterMat all-class rankings and was the No. 1 junior in those rankings ... Ranked as the No. 7 wrestler in the nation at any weight class by RevWrestling.com ... Took second at the Pennsylvania state meet as a freshman before winning the event as a sophomore and again as a junior ... Finished his sophomore season a perfect 48-0 and ranked No. 1 nationally at his weight class by Amateur Wrestling News and InterMat. He also was voted the outstanding wrestler in the Class AAA state tournament ... Named 2005-06 Express-Times Wrestler of the Year, becoming only the third sophomore ever to win the award ... Went 46-1 as a junior and owns a 136-5 high school record entering his senior year. Oklahoma State Head Coach John Smith on Jordan Oliver: “Jordan Oliver is the type of guy who lives on the wrestling mat and you love to see at student-athlete like that, spending a lot of his waking time on the mat. He is following in the footsteps of the last Pennsylvania kid to come here in Coleman Scott. Our past and future in Pennsylvania is very positive. Jordan is very technical and is very smart when he competes. What I like most about him is that he never fears competition. He will go wherever the competition is and that excites me about him.”

PA Profile of Jordan Oliver By Todd Irwin, Pennsylvania Wrestling Newsmagazine, November 2007 Most successful wrestlers will take some time off after they've completed a season to rest up or heal the bumps, scrapes and other assorted injuries or just get away from a tough sport or all of the above. Easton's two-time state champion and three-time state finalist Jordan Oliver will take the Sunday off following the PIAA Championships. But on Monday, he's back in the wrestling room working out. "Every day you take a break, there's somebody out there working and training to beat you," Oliver said. "He's a committed athlete," Easton coach Steve Powell said. "He's a very good worker in and out of the room. He loves to wrestle. He can wrestle for hours. He does well conditioning-wise. Conditioning has never been a problem for him." Oliver got into wrestling not too long after he learned to walk. His older brother, Josh, who was a state runner-up as a junior in 2004 and a fourth-placer as a senior the next year, coached him at home, and Jordan credits his brother for most of his success. "A lot of my style and some of my moves are based off of him," Jordan Oliver said. "I just made changes in places to fit my style." It's not a surprise to Powell that Oliver has gone 135-5 in three years - four of those losses coming his freshman year - and has won two state titles. "He's been a little gnat in the wrestling room ever since Josh started wrestling for us," Powell said. "He learns real well. He can see something and tell if it fits into his system. He's worked phenomenally hard." T here are those kids who are terrible when they start wrestling at a young age and blossom into great wrestlers as they get older. Oliver started blossoming as soon as he started wrestling somebody other than his brother. "I don't mean to brag," Oliver said, "but I kind of was (an immediate success). My second, third and fourth years, I was winning Eastern Nationals. Success has been building from there." Oliver had won all kinds of tournaments by the time he was a freshman, but he was wrestling at 103 weighing around 96 or 97 pounds. He was still good enough to win 42 bouts, win the Northeast Region and make the state finals, where he dropped a 5-0 decision to Clearfield veteran Matt Kyler. "I was kind of surprised that I made it because I was real underweight," Oliver said. "I had to beat a real good kid in Kyler in the finals. I didn't have much of a gameplan. I started picking up confidence, but it was just too late. I wanted to be Easton's first four-timer, but I fell short." Oliver returned to Hershey the next year bigger, stronger and better, breezing to the title with a pin, technical fall, major decision and a 6-2 win over Greensburg Central Catholic's Nico Cortese in the finals to finish 48-0. With success like that, Oliver put a target on himself for his opponents to make a name for themselves. The pressure on him increased. That meant more work on the mat. "Pressure is always going to be there no matter who you are," Oliver said. "You just have to put that off to the side and wrestle through it. Of course whoever is wrestling me wants to beat me because they want to knock off the top kid. I just have to train and keep focused." Oliver rolled through the first two rounds of 2007 PIAA Championships with a pin and a major decision before getting two tough bouts. He earned a 5-3 win over Upper Perkiomen's former state champion Chris Sheetz in the semis and then a 4-1 win over Indian Valley's Nic Bedelyon in the finals. "It was pretty awesome," Oliver said, "because I repeated. I beat Sheetz, and then I was kind of upset in the finals because I knew I could have blown that match open." Not only has Oliver won two state titles, he also won the 119-pound title at the USA Wrestling Junior Freestyle Championships in Fargo, N.D. this summer. After going 6-0 on the first day, Oliver, ranked second nationally, had to beat Minnesota's top-ranked Zach Sanders, California's Nikko Triggas, who had beaten Oliver in the only two matches they had ever wrestled, Oregon's Prescott Garner and then Washington's Brian Owen in an intense finals bout. "It was pretty tough," Oliver said. "I had wrestled at cadet the year before. They say the hardest thing to do is to go from cadet to juniors, but you have to beat the best to be the best." Oliver will be wrestling with and against the best in college. He recently gave a verbal commitment to Oklahoma State, which had won four straight team titles at the NCAA Championships before finishing fifth last season. Penn State and Ohio State were also on his short list. "Oklahoma State was just a good surrounding and environment for me," he said. "They have great coaches and strong academics. Since I was younger, I always wanted to be part of it. I'm pretty pumped to start my college career." "He's improved every year," Powell said. "I think he's going to improve a lot when he gets to the next level." Before that, though, he'll start working on becoming the fourth Easton wrestler to win three state titles and the first since Matt Ciasulli in 2002. "I'm pretty excited just because it's my senior year," Oliver said, "and I want to be a three-time state champ."

Jordan Oliver To Become A Real Cowboy Posted by Mcall.com Blogs at 12:51:11 PM on November 23, 2007 Oklahoma State is simply overjoyed now that Easton stud wrestler Jordan Oliver has signed on the dotted line. Oliver, a two-time defending PIAA Class 3A champion and a three-time finalist, will be studying under the legendary John Smith after the 2007-08 scholastic season. Smith’s name is as golden in wrestling circles as that of Dan Gable and Cael Sanderson. Smith is a six-time world champion and two-time Olympic champion whose trademark ankle pick/barrel roll takedown was the only wrestling sequence every diagrammed in photographs by Sports Illustrated. Okie State is a perennial No. 1 in college wrestling, a fact that makes its Orange-clad faithful the biggest, loudest rooting section at every NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Oliver will be joined in Stillwater by his good friend, Delaware’s Alex Meade, who if not for some PIAA and District 11 eligibility battles, could have been wrestling at Easton High for the past two seasons. Smith announced the signings on Nov. 20. “I’m excited about this class because we are picking up some needs that we will have for the future, specifically at 133 and 165,” Smith said in an Oklahoma State press release to confirm the news. Oliver had verbally committed to Okie State back in October. “We’re confident that Jordan Oliver has a good future at 133 and Alex Meade has a good future at 165. Both have demonstrated the ability to win at a high level and that’s what excites me about this class. “Jordan Oliver is the type of guy who lives on the wrestling mat and you love to see at student-athlete like that, spending a lot of his waking time on the mat,” Smith said of his prized recruit. “He is following in the footsteps of the last Pennsylvania kid to come here in Coleman Scott. Our past and future in Pennsylvania is very positive. Jordan is very technical and is very smart when he competes. What I like most about him is that he never fears competition. He will go wherever the competition is and that excites me about him.” Oliver is a 2007 freestyle junior national champion and is ranked No. 2 in the country at 125 by Amateur Wrestling News and No. 3 by W.I.N. Magazine heading into the 2007-08 season. Oliver, who has a career record of 136-5, was the top-ranked junior among all weight classes according to InterMat and was third-ranked among all age divisions. Easton senior Kegan Handlovic is ranked No. 5 in the country at 112. The Red Rovers are hosting a multi-team scrimmage 10 a.m. Saturday.