Former Marysville High School wrestler Jacob Marsh has control of an opponent in this file photo. Marsh recently completed his sophomore season on the mat at Princeton University. (Journal-Tribune photo by Kevin Behrens)
Marysville High School graduate Jacob Marsh was among the lucky winter sports college athletes in the country.
Much of the collegiate sports world was abruptly shut down last month due to the coronavirus pandemic.
National championships were not crowned in NCAA men’s and women’s basketball or wrestling.
Marsh was able to complete his sophomore season as a wrestler at Princeton University, which defeated Cornell, 19-13, to capture the 2019-20 Ivy League championship.
The former Monarch Division I state runner-up at 152 pounds posted an 8-5 record during the recent campaign, following a 9-7 mark as a freshman.
Marsh, a 165-pounder, said his mat skills have improved over two seasons on the collegiate mat.
“My motion got better during matches,” said Marsh during a telephone interview with the Journal-Tribune. “I’ve been able to break opponents down better.”
Marsh said the biggest adjustment he had to make between high school and college wrestling was the length of matches.
“College matches are seven minutes, as compared to six minutes for high school,” he said.
One extra minute may not sound like much, but Marsh said that isn’t the case.
“That additional minute can really take a lot out of you,” he said. “It can either break you and make you excel.
“I think my conditioning has worked in my favor as far as that extra minute.”
Marsh did a lot of off-season work between his freshman and sophomore seasons.
During the summer of 2019, he did a lot of training at the New Jersey Regional Training Center and also competed in freestyle matches in Cambodia.
His off-season plans this year have greatly changed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Marsh is back in Marysville, finishing classes on-line and trying to keep in shape on his own.
Princeton was one of the first colleges in the country to send students home due to the pandemic.
Marsh knew he wouldn’t return to school this year as of March 11.
“I’ve got weights in my basement and I’m working to keep in the best shape I can,” he said.
He’s also been able to work out with older brother Caleb, who wrestled at Kent State University, and former MHS teammate Tyler Bates, who also wrestles at Kent State.
In all probability, Marsh won’t have any freestyle events in which to compete this summer.
“They’ve canceled a lot of tournaments and I don’t think there is going to be any shot at competing this summer,” he said. “The next opportunity I will have will come this fall when I return to school.”
Marsh said the work he does this summer will help him on the mat during the 2020-21 campaign.
“It’s ‘stay ready so you don’t have to get ready,’” he said.
Marsh also said his school work is going well.
“I just recently declared sociology as my major,” he said.
He is pursuing two different certificates of study in order to have career options once his college days conclude.
Marsh is pursuing a teaching certificate in case he wants to go into education.
His other certificate would be in the history and philosophy of diplomacy.
With that and a sociology degree, he could perhaps enter into what might be considered the family “business.”
He could follow in his parents’ footsteps and enter into law enforcement.
“My mom (Tina) is a police officer in Columbus and my dad (David) is a corrections officer at the Ohio Reformatory for Women,” he said. “I’d like to go into some type of law enforcement … maybe the FBI.”