Point Pleasant Boro junior Jake Clayton won his third individual championship at the Mustang Classic Sunday. All have been at 165 pounds.
While still only December, it’s never too early to wonder where Clayton will be come March.
Will he wrestle the postseason at 157 pounds, where he was seventh in the state as a freshman. Will it be 165, where he was fourth in Atlantic City in 2025? What about 175?
Clayton was in control from start to finish in an 11-4 victory over Matthew Anderson of Colts Neck in his title bout at Brick Memorial.
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Clayton, however, squashed the notion of moving up to 175 pounds for the postseason.
“The guys are too big,” Clayton said candidly.
He did, however, keep the door open to make a state title run at either 157 or 165.
Clayton, like any New Jersey wrestler looking at the 165-pound class, has an eye on one guy — Delbarton’s defending 150-pound state champion, Jayden James.
Where James opts to compete in the postseason will impact weight classes above and below the one he chooses. The Penn State commit will be the presumptive favorite no matter where he wrestles.
Speculation is that James will be at 165, where he went 9-0 on his way to an Ironman title earlier this month.
Wherever James chooses to compete will send contending wrestlers scurrying for weights both higher and lower.
“To start with, he’s a heck of a wrestler,” Clayton said of James. “Everybody knows that. But, as it goes through my head, I can’t really let that be the deciding factor where I go.
“It really depends on what weight I feel best at with my body feeling good and my mental state.”
“Right now he’s still in the process of getting into shape, but he will peak at the end of the season like he always has,” Point Boro head coach Pat Brady said. “At some point, we will evaluate where he is and what’s best for him.
“It will be his decision,” Brady added.
Clayton, the quarterback on the football team, admitted he is still rounding into form. He said he was between 175 and 180 pounds when the football season was over.
“Fat and happy after football season,” Clayton said. “Right now, honestly, I feel good. But I don’t usually hit peak wrestling shape until right before the postseason.”
In the 165-pound final Sunday, Clayton, who is a non-stop attacker when at his best, did not score a point in the third period.
“I always want to score,” Clayton said. “I’ve only been wrestling two or three weeks and I’ve been on the mat six times (before Sunday). I’ll be in better shape by the end of next week.”
Clayton, the top seed, won by technical fall in the quarterfinals and 13-6 in the semifinals before scoring three takedowns against Anderson in the finale.
After his three wins at the Mustang Classic, Clayton is 7-1. His only loss was a 4-2 decision against Reid Clausi of West Essex in the 165-pound final at Southern’s Robin Leff Invitational.
“I love to compete,” Clayton said. “I love it so much, I feel like I never reach my full potential in my own mind.”
