Jennifer Page refuses to let anything block her road to success
Share:
by Alexandra Pernice
Jennifer Page of the Titan Mercury WC with her arm raised in victory in the 2014 U.S. Open finals in Las Vegas. Photo by Anne Sachs, Tech-Fall.com
Like many of her teammates, 2013 Junior World bronze medalist Jennifer Page had wrestling find her. With her older brothers as her first example to follow, she took to the sport and never looked back.
“I started wrestling in kindergarten. My older brothers did it, and I usually came to practice since my dad helped coach sometimes. At one point I decided that I wanted to join in, so I started wrestling,” said Page.
A California native, Page started out by competing against boys during her youth career. She grew up hardening her skills against tough competition, climbing her way up to success.
“I wrestled guys until college, so I was on the boys team in middle school and high school. I made it to the Masters tournament in California twice, and I barely missed qualifying for state my senior year. It was tough, but it was definitely an accomplishment,” said Page.
From the very beginning, she knew that she was going to take her wrestling career as far as possible. She eventually came up with one very firm goal that would stick with her for the rest of her life – to win the Olympics.
“I just wanted to win the Olympics. That’s really it. When I was little, I just wanted to do that. It was a goal of mine. It sounds kind of silly, and I honestly didn’t realize how much work and how much of a commitment it really took to be this kind of an athlete. I still want to win the Olympics though, so that kind of inspiration still keeps me going today,” said Page.
She wasn’t quite sure where she would take her wrestling after high school, but she was recruited by Oklahoma City University after competing at the 2010 U.S. Open. The decision to head to Oklahoma proved to be positive, and helped move her career in the right direction.
“It ended up being a really good fit for me, because I love Oklahoma and I eventually loved being on the girls team at Oklahoma City University. It was a little hard to adjust at first, since being on an all-girls team is so much different than being on a boys team. We had a super close team though, and it was an extremely fun year,” said Page.
She attributes a lot of her success at Oklahoma City University to her teammates Heather O’Connor, as well as four-time National champion Emily Webster. That success translated to wins on some pretty large stages, including her championship title at the 2012 WCWA College Women’s Nationals.
“It was really cool. I did pretty well, I mean I wasn’t undefeated, but it was still a good showing. Winning that year was actually pretty big for me. The person that I wrestled for the championship was, and is, really well known and accomplished. So when I beat her at nationals, it was a positive win for me,” said Page.
After a year at Oklahoma City, she made her way to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado for training camps. There, she realized that her dreams were not only real, but they were attainable as well.
“I originally came out here [Colorado Springs] for camps,” said Page. “I made the Junior World and Junior National team the year that I came out to train at the Olympic Training Center. Everything was super intense because everybody was gearing up for the Olympics. I realized that I had a whole lot to learn while I was out here. In the few weeks that I had spent in Colorado Springs for training camp, I could see how much I had already learned. I realized that if I really wanted to accomplish what I wanted to, I knew I needed to be here,” said Page.
For Page, training at the OTC didn’t just mean more rigorous training, but an entirely new style of wrestling. If she was going to continue to excel, she was going to have to completely move on from the folkstyle wrestling she had been so familiar with.
“I actually really liked folkstyle for awhile. I was pretty anti-freestyle until I got used to it. Now I love it. It was pretty cool because, at the beginning of my freestyle training, there were a bunch of things that I had never seen before. I like the action associated with freestyle. You don’t get stuck on the bottom forever. It’s just a whole different game from folkstyle,” said Page.
Today, she finds inspiration in the fact that she is surrounded by strong and successful teammates.
“I think everyone is very independent and successful. Everyone knows what they need individually in order to be successful too. This isn’t like college where we’re all trying to figure everything out. Instead, we’re all building on a more solid base of knowledge and skills, and we all know what we need to seek out for ourselves. I have a lot of role models to watch and emulate,” said Page.
Her career with the National team has flourished as she has grown and trained with the program in Colorado Springs. As a Junior World bronze medalist, she can certainly back that up.
“Getting on the podium at Junior Worlds in 2013 was huge for me. There was a definite difference between my bronze medal finish versus my fifth place finish from the year before. Just having the medal symbolizes this very important milestone for me. It proved to me that I could do well in a tournament of that caliber,” said Page.
In 2014, Page had a great start to the season, winning the U.S. Open at 60 kg/132 lbs. However, on a foreign tour, she suffered an ACL injury and was forced to miss the World Team Trials process. Instead of possibly competing at her first Senior World Championships, she spent her summer and fall in rehabilitation.
Back on the mats again, Page recently earned a bronze medal at the respected Mongolian Open, an indication that her recovery has progressed well.
She will represent the women’s National Team in Santiago, Chile at the Pan-American Championships, April 24-26. There, she plans to have the best showing she can possibly have while she is still recovering.
“I’ve had a good couple of hard weeks of practice to prepare for Chile,” said Page. “I’ve been working a lot on my setups and getting into my shots. I haven’t really been able to work on my technique for a really long time, so I feel like I’m making a lot of progress simply because I’m just moving again. This is only my second tournament back this season, so I want to do the best that I can. Pan Ams is one of the more important tournaments, so I want to do my very best."
With time on her side, she is looking forward to a long career as an athlete. As for her life past wrestling, she is unsure of what she would like her next move to be. Rather than make plans, she’s simply open to whatever comes next.
“My mind changes every day, honestly. I don’t know where I’ll be next, after my wrestling career. I definitely want to win the Olympics, for starters. Whatever I do, I want to be involved in something where I get to influence people’s lives in a positive way and help others. I could see myself as a coach; at the very least I could see myself as a volunteer coach. I’m still kind of open though; I’m just kind of winging it,” said Page.
Like many of her teammates, 2013 Junior World bronze medalist Jennifer Page had wrestling find her. With her older brothers as her first example to follow, she took to the sport and never looked back.
“I started wrestling in kindergarten. My older brothers did it, and I usually came to practice since my dad helped coach sometimes. At one point I decided that I wanted to join in, so I started wrestling,” said Page.
A California native, Page started out by competing against boys during her youth career. She grew up hardening her skills against tough competition, climbing her way up to success.
“I wrestled guys until college, so I was on the boys team in middle school and high school. I made it to the Masters tournament in California twice, and I barely missed qualifying for state my senior year. It was tough, but it was definitely an accomplishment,” said Page.
From the very beginning, she knew that she was going to take her wrestling career as far as possible. She eventually came up with one very firm goal that would stick with her for the rest of her life – to win the Olympics.
“I just wanted to win the Olympics. That’s really it. When I was little, I just wanted to do that. It was a goal of mine. It sounds kind of silly, and I honestly didn’t realize how much work and how much of a commitment it really took to be this kind of an athlete. I still want to win the Olympics though, so that kind of inspiration still keeps me going today,” said Page.
She wasn’t quite sure where she would take her wrestling after high school, but she was recruited by Oklahoma City University after competing at the 2010 U.S. Open. The decision to head to Oklahoma proved to be positive, and helped move her career in the right direction.
“It ended up being a really good fit for me, because I love Oklahoma and I eventually loved being on the girls team at Oklahoma City University. It was a little hard to adjust at first, since being on an all-girls team is so much different than being on a boys team. We had a super close team though, and it was an extremely fun year,” said Page.
She attributes a lot of her success at Oklahoma City University to her teammates Heather O’Connor, as well as four-time National champion Emily Webster. That success translated to wins on some pretty large stages, including her championship title at the 2012 WCWA College Women’s Nationals.
“It was really cool. I did pretty well, I mean I wasn’t undefeated, but it was still a good showing. Winning that year was actually pretty big for me. The person that I wrestled for the championship was, and is, really well known and accomplished. So when I beat her at nationals, it was a positive win for me,” said Page.
After a year at Oklahoma City, she made her way to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado for training camps. There, she realized that her dreams were not only real, but they were attainable as well.
“I originally came out here [Colorado Springs] for camps,” said Page. “I made the Junior World and Junior National team the year that I came out to train at the Olympic Training Center. Everything was super intense because everybody was gearing up for the Olympics. I realized that I had a whole lot to learn while I was out here. In the few weeks that I had spent in Colorado Springs for training camp, I could see how much I had already learned. I realized that if I really wanted to accomplish what I wanted to, I knew I needed to be here,” said Page.
For Page, training at the OTC didn’t just mean more rigorous training, but an entirely new style of wrestling. If she was going to continue to excel, she was going to have to completely move on from the folkstyle wrestling she had been so familiar with.
“I actually really liked folkstyle for awhile. I was pretty anti-freestyle until I got used to it. Now I love it. It was pretty cool because, at the beginning of my freestyle training, there were a bunch of things that I had never seen before. I like the action associated with freestyle. You don’t get stuck on the bottom forever. It’s just a whole different game from folkstyle,” said Page.
Today, she finds inspiration in the fact that she is surrounded by strong and successful teammates.
“I think everyone is very independent and successful. Everyone knows what they need individually in order to be successful too. This isn’t like college where we’re all trying to figure everything out. Instead, we’re all building on a more solid base of knowledge and skills, and we all know what we need to seek out for ourselves. I have a lot of role models to watch and emulate,” said Page.
Her career with the National team has flourished as she has grown and trained with the program in Colorado Springs. As a Junior World bronze medalist, she can certainly back that up.
“Getting on the podium at Junior Worlds in 2013 was huge for me. There was a definite difference between my bronze medal finish versus my fifth place finish from the year before. Just having the medal symbolizes this very important milestone for me. It proved to me that I could do well in a tournament of that caliber,” said Page.
In 2014, Page had a great start to the season, winning the U.S. Open at 60 kg/132 lbs. However, on a foreign tour, she suffered an ACL injury and was forced to miss the World Team Trials process. Instead of possibly competing at her first Senior World Championships, she spent her summer and fall in rehabilitation.
Back on the mats again, Page recently earned a bronze medal at the respected Mongolian Open, an indication that her recovery has progressed well.
She will represent the women’s National Team in Santiago, Chile at the Pan-American Championships, April 24-26. There, she plans to have the best showing she can possibly have while she is still recovering.
“I’ve had a good couple of hard weeks of practice to prepare for Chile,” said Page. “I’ve been working a lot on my setups and getting into my shots. I haven’t really been able to work on my technique for a really long time, so I feel like I’m making a lot of progress simply because I’m just moving again. This is only my second tournament back this season, so I want to do the best that I can. Pan Ams is one of the more important tournaments, so I want to do my very best."
With time on her side, she is looking forward to a long career as an athlete. As for her life past wrestling, she is unsure of what she would like her next move to be. Rather than make plans, she’s simply open to whatever comes next.
“My mind changes every day, honestly. I don’t know where I’ll be next, after my wrestling career. I definitely want to win the Olympics, for starters. Whatever I do, I want to be involved in something where I get to influence people’s lives in a positive way and help others. I could see myself as a coach; at the very least I could see myself as a volunteer coach. I’m still kind of open though; I’m just kind of winging it,” said Page.
Read More#
USA Wrestling Beach Nationals brings top talent to Carolina Beach, N.C., on May 10
2024 USA Wrestling Men’s Freestyle Awards: Spencer Lee & David Taylor (Wrestlers), Casey Cunningham (Coach)
NFHS RULE CHANGES: Key Change in High School Wrestling Rules focuses on reducing injury risk, with revision to leg block/cut back
2024 USA Wrestling Greco-Roman Awards: Payton Jacobson (Wrestler), Andy Bisek (Coach)
