There’s one moment when Hobart senior Luke Juris is quiet.
Described as one of the louder personalities on the Brickies by his teammates and coach, Juris prefers to let his eyes do the talking just before a match begins.
“It’s a Mike Tyson thing,” he said. “He always preached that you can win in the stare-down. So that’s what I do — intimidate and go from there.”
But such silence is rare for Juris, an Indiana Wesleyan football commit who made noise on Feb. 1, winning the first postseason title of his career. He defeated Portage senior Triston Meschede 4-1 in overtime in the 285-pound championship match at the Portage Sectional.
Juris (26-9), who was ranked No. 18 at 285 by IndianaMat at the end of the regular season, ranks highest in terms of decibel levels inside the Hobart wrestling room, according to coach Zack Johansen.
“Luke is loud and obnoxious,” Johansen said with a wide smile on his face. “But he’s fun to be around too. That’s the way our team is. They just banter back and forth with each other, but they’re brothers. They all want what’s best for him.”
That’s why teammates such as senior 215-pounder Deacon Caesar reacted so strongly when Juris won his first sectional title by defeating an opponent who had prevailed in all three previous matchups this season and has been a consistent foe since Juris’ sophomore year.
“I couldn’t tell you how long we’ve been working on that,” Caesar said. “But it’s been a long time. We were all so hyped for him because we’ve been wanting him to win that match all season.”
Juris said his competitive spirit is a family trait. He points to a previous generation of student-athletes who attended Hobart, such as his uncles Mark and Kevin Juris, who were part of the school’s football dynasty in the 1980s.
“They always preached that Brickies don’t back down, that we’ll win in the end,” Luke Juris said. “That’s the culture of winning that I grew up around.”
Johansen said coaches appeal to Juris’ competitiveness by dangling new carrots in front of him.
“We told him today that he’s seven wins away from 100, and now he wants to win 100,” Johansen said. “It’s a mentality thing. We’ve also been telling him this week that sectional championships don’t matter — it’s the regional championship that matters because that’s the one that puts you in a good spot.”
A first-place finish at the Hobart Regional on Saturday would give Juris a favorable bracket at the East Chicago Central Semistate, where he could qualify for the state meet for the first time.
Not much has been easy about Juris’ journey to this point. After Hobart’s football season ended, for instance, he was heavier than he wants to be for wrestling.
“I bulked up to around 260 pounds for football, so I was really big,” he said. “I was carrying around a lot of extra weight, so I was getting tired easily. But once I get over that hump, it’s easier from there.”
Juris, who said he’s down to 236 pounds, doesn’t shy away from the personal struggles in wrestling, however.
“There are team aspects to it, but it’s mostly an individual sport,” he said. “If I lose, it’s on me. I can’t blame anyone else.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter.
