By Ken Hansard
John Gagen, senior wrestler at 165 pounds for the Shawnee Mission East Lancers, has an interesting story to tell. In his own words, he “…was never an athletic kid. I really liked watching WWE when I was younger, so I started doing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Because I really sucked at the wrestling side of Jiu-Jitsu, I decided to join the wrestling team to try and improve it. I really loved how high-paced and fun wrestling was. I also liked that I could control the success I had, based on the work I put in.”
Gagen’s passion and his efforts have led him to this point – where he approaches the championship part of the schedule with a 17-4 record and an overall ranking of # 6 in the 165-pound division of Kansas 6A. However, a gaudy record is not really the end goal for Gagen, “I’ve luckily been injury free and haven’t run into any challenges that weren’t simple fixes. It’s no doubt that 165 has been one of the toughest brackets recently, and the guys I’ll have to beat are all high level. But ultimately, my goal is to win a state title.”
Bringing home gold would be sweet redemption for the senior, who last year suffered through a disappointing finish to what most would agree was a great season, “Last year I made it to the state Semifinals, which I’m proud of, and I’m proud of how I wrestled that match. I ended with a record of 32-7, but my finish was a pretty big letdown. After losing in the Semifinals, I struggled to make weight for the second day and ended up missing by 0.4 pounds. It left me with something to prove because I forfeited my state medal last year.”
Ultimately, Gagen just wants to use his experience to help his teammates share in his success, “I see myself as a resource to the younger guys. I love trying to help the team learn new techniques and drills that I’ve learned. I think I’m in a great spot. I’ve only taken losses to ranked opponents this year, and I feel like I’m seeing some massive improvements from last year. As a team I think we’re in the best spot we’ve been in years. We have a room full of dedicated kids.”
Gagen has a lot of diverse interests off the mat. He is currently obtaining his promotion to an Eagle Scout. He has debated for four years, qualifying for state four times and earning his NSDA degree of Special Distinction. He is also active in his school’s Multicultural Student Union and their district level Youth Equity Stewardship.
John boasts an impressive GPA of 3.9 and scored an eye-popping 32 on the ACT. He has committed to wrestle at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where he plans to study Philosophy and Political Thought on the Pre-Law track. He eventually wants to go to law school to study to become a lawyer.
