Jaden Abas remembers the moment as if it were yesterday.
The Bakersfield Frontier High freshman reached the 120-pound championship match of the CIF State Championships last season but lost to Justin Mejia of Clovis.
It was Mejia’s third state wrestling crown.
And it has become motivation for Abas, who is wrestling at 126 pounds at Rancho Bernardo this year.
“After that match people kept telling me what a great season I had for a freshman,” Abas recalled. “But I was so upset at the time it really didn’t help.”
Instead of feeling a sense of accomplishment, the 5-foot-6 Abas has not forgotten the pin he suffered at 3:35 in the finals.
He didn’t fall into a funk because the year-round wrestler had to move on to the next season.
But Mejia is still very much on Abas’ mind.
“That match has been in the back of my mind ever since,” Abas said. “Still is. I’m not over it yet.
“I can close my eyes and still see running up onto the stage, shaking hands, running off the stage, standing on the second-place step.
“When you feel pain like that, going on and trying to get it right is the only thing that makes you feel fulfilled, and the only way for me to do that is to win it all this year.”
Abas, who trails only Mejia in the state rankings at 126 pounds, feels the Clovis senior may just be standing in his way again when the state finals roll around in March at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield.
What perhaps not even Mejia realizes is the wrestling legacy of the Abas family.
Jaden’s father, Gerry Abas, was a three-time state finalist who went on to coach wrestling at Fresno State. His son grew up running around the Bulldogs’ wrestling room.
Jaden’s uncle, Stephen Abas, captured an Olympic silver medal at 55 kilograms (121 pounds) at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens. Jaden was just 4 at the time, but the impact of an Olympic medal was not lost on the lifelong wrestler.
“Dad went to Athens to coach my uncle and I saw the silver medal in a case when he got home,” Jaden said. “It was the biggest medal I’ve ever seen.
“I told my teachers a few years later and they were astounded someone in my family had an Olympic medal. When people find out about the medal for the first time, it’s a good topic starter.”
Now 16-2 for the season, Abas continues his drive back to Bakersfield.
“There’s always a degree of struggle being the new kid,” Abas said of joining the Rancho Bernardo team. “I had to start over. Being second in the state last year wasn’t with them.
“In the short time at RB, they know what my goal is — stand on that top step of the award podium at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield.
“I’m glad I made it last year because it gave me three more chances to get a state title. If I was a senior last year, losing the finals would have been horrible.”
Added Rancho Bernardo coach Joe Eddie Terribilini, “He’s never shown he’s better than anyone else in the room. This team is on a mission and so is Jaden.”
Right now he’s just enjoying the moment until it gets a little closer to the 2017 state finals.
Monahan is a freelance writer.
