New London wrestling coach Mike Gorton knew that senior Jacob Commander was too stubborn to quit after losing in the quarterfinals of the New England championships in March.

That didn’t stop Gorton from playing on Commander’s strong will.

“I gave him the option (to not continue) even though I knew he wouldn’t give up,” Gorton said. “I told him, ‘you don’t have to finish this. I know your goal was to win.’

“He looked at me like I was an idiot and that made me feel good.”

Commander coupled that resolve with toughness that helped him win his third Eastern Connecticut Conference championship, a second CIAC Class L title and take third at the New Englands.

Commander is The Day's 2019 All-Area Wrestler of the Year.

Asked if he was stubborn, Commander said, “I have somewhat high expectations.”

Commander’s success lies somewhere between meteoric and crazy. He never wrestled until he got to high school, following in the footsteps of his older brother, Mikey. He’s still learning the sport.

“I think the thing I’ve improved with most is my timing,” Jacob Commander said. “There weren’t more moves to learn because there was no point in learning all the super moves if you’re just going to put (your opponent) in a cradle or you pin him.

“I’d rather be a technical wrestler, so I really just focused on basic moves. I really think I improved on my timing with shooting, using misdirection and my reaction to things.”

Commander also didn’t train in the offseason like many of his peers because of his commitment to football. He was The Day's 2018 All-Area Football Player of the Year and rarely came off the field. He ran for 1,307 yards (7.03 yards per carry) and 10 touchdowns. He became a single-wing quarterback of sorts after starter Owen George missed four games to injury and threw for two touchdowns. He also had 28 solo tackles, two sacks and punted.

Commander hopes to continue to be a two-sport athlete in college, which is both rare and challenging.

“It is very different and it could be difficult because I’m getting older,” Commander said. “I want to do both because I love both of the sports, so I feel like I shouldn’t stop. If I keep going (with both), it will make me happy. If I don’t, I’ll regret it.”

Commander hasn’t chosen a school yet. He’s not concerned, either, about continuing to juggle two sports and school.

“Honestly, you can do it,” Commander said. “It’s all about how you manage it.”

Commander overpowered the competition in wrestling this season. He won all three of his matches by pin at the ECC championships and was both unbeaten and the top seed at 182 pounds at the State Open.

Commander lost to Trumbull's Joseph Palmieri in the quarterfinals on the first night, 9-7, a doubly-tough loss given he wanted to win an Open title his senior year.

“What really kept me going was I had my family there watching me,” Commander said. “They were expecting me to do more than whatever I had done. I took that into consideration and used that, and it just made me strive to do more.”

Commander came back on the second day and won four straight consolation round matches. He also avenged his loss to Palmieri by beating him 9-4 to finish third.

“When I lost, I was like, ‘that’s it,’” Commander said, “but (then I thought), ‘you know what, if I’m not going to do it for me, why not do it for someone I love?’”

Commander was the only local wrestler to place at the New Englands where, once again, he kept going after an early defeat.

Commander lost in his first match on the second day, 9-5 to Cory Grifka of Mt. Hope (R.I.). Grifka went on to finish as the runner-up.

Commander rebounded with four straight wins, the final two of which were tense. He beat second-seeded Sterling McLaughlin of Pinkerton Academy (N.H.), 3-1 in sudden death to earn a spot in the consolation final.

Commander used an escape and takedown in the third overtime to beat top-seeded Abraham Spurlock of Brookline (Mass.) 5-3 to finish third.

“I’m glad he made the right decision and he kicked butt and won his last two matches in overtime,” Gorton said. “I know it hurt, it really hurt the way he lost, but he’s still a young wrestler.

“He’s got the future ahead of him and he’s just at the beginning. I told him if he keeps going at this that he can do so much.”

n.griffen@theday.com

The Day's 2019 All-Area Wrestling Team

Player

of

the

Year — Jacob Commander (New London)

106 pounds — Connor Doran (Ledyard)

106 — Blake Chapman (Montville)

113 — Logan Smith (Waterford)

120 — Naaji Powell-Keyton (New London)

126 — Quinn Bond (Montville)

132 — Tyler Miller (Ledyard)

132 — Dominic Renfree (NFA)

138 — Austin Robertson (Fitch)

138 — Eric Zane (Waterford)

138 — Cole Dirico (Ledyard)

152 — Ian Anderson (Montville)

160 — Zak Navarrete (Montville)

170 — Adam Crawford (Ledyard)

220 — Jadien Mackenzie (New London)

285 — Darrick Deveau (Montville)