Senior Jarod Verkleeren Eligible to Compete for Hempfield Area

It was not the way Jarod Verkleeren wanted to end his junior season at Belle Vernon Area High School but his experience has made the Iowa State recruit a stronger person. The 2015 UWW Cadet World Champion had his sights set on a PIAA State Championship in 2016 a year after finishing fourth in Hershey.

When asked about the rough ending Jarod stated “I went through a lot of tough times and learned valuable lessons last season.”

After a weigh-in mishap at the 2016 PIAA State Dual Team Tournament Jarod was ineligible to compete in the Individual Post-Season at 145 lbs., where he was ranked #2 in the State, but was not granted a wrestle off at either 152 lbs. or 160 lbs. The dispute went to the local courts but ultimately the decision was made and Jarod would miss out on the post-season.

After his early season exit Verkleeren competed in the 2016 FloNationals where he won the Championship Title at 145 lbs. He followed that up with a 2016 Fargo Junior National Runner-up finish in North Dakota. The rising senior then made headlines when earlier this month he verbally committed to Kevin Jackson and the Iowa State Cyclones.

But there was still an obstacle in the way of achieving his career goals. Over the summer Jarod and his family moved into the Hempfield Area School District where he is currently enrolled.

When asked about the move and potential obstacles Jarod stated, “before I moved I knew that there would be a chance that I wouldn’t wrestle my senior year. For me life is not all about wrestling and if you take that away from me I want to be remembered as a person with good character and morals that’s liked by my friends and fans.”

On Monday September 19th Jarod had an eligibility hearing with the WPIAL Board of Directors where his fate was weighed in the balance. After some tense waiting Jarod was finally given the news that the WPIAL ruled in his favor and he would be allowed to compete for the Hempfield Area Spartan wrestling team.

Jarod wanted to make it clear that the move into Hempfield Area was not because of the incident following the 2016 PIAA State Dual Team Tournament.

“I would like to say that I didn’t move because of the incident last year and there’s a lot more that was involved. But now that I’m finally eligible I’m super relieved and can’t wait to compete for a State Title for the Hempfield Spartans.”

Along the way Jarod has received a ton of support from those closest to him. Now, after spending the last three years competing with his older brother Derek, this season Jarod will compete along-side his younger brother Trevor who is a freshman at Hempfield Area.

When asked about his family Jarod said. “I would like to give a shout out to my mom, Tami and dad, Gary Verkleeren for being with me every step of the way!”