Hungry like the WOLFE

CRESTON — The legend of Jay Wolfe continued to grow over his four years of high school, culminating in an unforgettable senior season.

The Creston senior finished his career as a two-time individual qualifier to the State Cross Country Meet, two-time all-state basketball player in Class 3A and two-time Class 3A state champion in the 800 meters.

For excelling at the state level in all three of his sports and also making those around him better athletes, Wolfe was named the 2015 South Central Iowa Male Athlete of the Year by the Creston News Advertiser and the Osceola Sentinel-Tribune.

Athletes from 11 schools were considered for the award, with Wolfe being joined as a finalist by Mount Ayr’s Joe Ricker, Central Decatur’s Trenton Wells, Lenox’s Caleb Lange and Creston’s Alex Nielsen.

“It feels really good, because all of the other four finalists are really good athletes in multiple sports,” Wolfe said. “It just feels like all of my hard work paid off. There’s a bigger selection of better athletes. It’s not just one school, it’s all 11. It definitely makes it a little more special.”

Growing legend

Wolfe’s legend started as a freshman when he won the Hawkeye 10 Conference championship in the 800 meters and then went on to finish third in Class 3A in the event, coming out of the slow heat.

“As a freshman, getting third in the open 800 out of the slow heat, it was a good measurement for him,” Creston head boys track coach Pat Schlapia said. “It surprised a lot of people in the state.”

Soon, nothing Wolfe did surprised anyone.

Wolfe repeated as Hawkeye 10 Conference champion in the 800 meters as a sophomore, eventually going on to become Creston’s first four-time conference champion in a single event.

As a sophomore, he placed sixth in Class 3A in the 800 meters. His junior year saw him win Hawkeye 10 Conference championships in the 4x800 relay, the 400 meters and the 800 meters. He was runner-up in the Drake Relays 800 meters and went on to win the Class 3A state championship at 800 meters, leading from gun to finish, missing the state meet record by just .05 seconds.

Wolfe became known for delivering incredible anchor legs on relays, overcoming gaps as large as 8 seconds to lead the Panthers to victory.

His legend took a meteoric rise his senior season, when after breaking a shoelace on his spikes, Wolfe ran 1:56.74, breaking his own meet record at Clarinda, and doing it in tennis shoes.

The Panther senior also went undefeated in a trilogy of 800 meter races between three of the state’s best with teammate Bryce Briley and Mount Ayr’s Kyle Dolecheck.

“One of the highlights had to be his senior year at the Panther Relays with Jay and Bryce and Kyle Dolecheck, when they ran that 800,” Schlapia said. “You could see people lining the fence to watch that race. That was probably the best race in the state as far as 800 meters when you consider times and the competitors. That was a race you’ve never really seen with that type of competition in a local high school meet. We don’t know that we’ll ever see that again.”

Wolfe went on to finish third in the Drake Relays 800 meters, doing something no one else in Drake Relays history had ever done. Wolfe is the only athlete in Drake Relays history to run under the Drake Relays record in 800 meters two years in a row, setting the pace in the race in both his junior and senior seasons.

He concluded his career with a repeat state championship in the 800 meters, becoming Creston’s third repeat champion in an event, joining Doug Lang (1976, 1977) and Mike Mansour (1997, 1998), who won repeat championships in the 400 meter dash.

“It was a surreal feeling knowing I not only did it once, but came back and did it that second year and got that same exact experience,” Wolfe said. “It was a really good feeling of knowing all your hard work has paid off not once, but twice.”

“He ranks right up there as one of the finest athletes we’ve had come through Creston,” Schlapia said. “People may say it came easy for him, but he was a very hard worker in all three of his sports. The success he’s attained was earned and richly deserved. He made his mark in all three of those sports, not just in Creston, but in the whole state.”

First love

Wolfe developed a love for running during middle school and saw his most success as a high school athlete on the track.

But his first love, and the sport he will continue to play at the collegiate level, is basketball. Wolfe has signed with Briar Cliff University to continue his basketball career.

He will go down as one of the best basketball players in Creston history.

Wolfe ranks in the top 10 in program history in career games of 31 or more points (three), rebounds in a single game (19), career free throw percentage (77.8 percent), single season free throw percentage (81.0 percent), career 3-pointers (108) and career points (1,000).

The lion’s share of those career numbers came in just two years, as his playing time was limited as a sophomore.

When asked what made Wolfe so successful on the basketball court, former Creston boys basketball coach Brett Watson didn’t hesitate.

“It’s definitely just his effort he puts into it,” Watson said. “A lot of it is the effort people don’t see. It’s the effort he put into every practice, into all the offseason workouts, the effort he put into AAU. I think that’s the way he’s wired. Everything he does, he does it 110 percent. His effort and his tremendous attitude — he’s excelled at everything he’s ever tried. His work ethic separates him from any athlete I’ve ever been around.”

After a breakout junior season that saw Wolfe average 18.6 points per game and 7.2 rebounds per game, it would have been easy for Wolfe’s numbers to plateau in his senior season, with opposing teams focusing on stopping him.

That didn’t happen.

Instead, Wolfe ranked third in Class 3A, averaged 22.7 points per game on 55.6 percent shooting from the floor and grabbed 10.0 rebounds per game, which ranked sixth in Class 3A.

The 6-4, 190-pound senior was one of only two players in the entire state to average more than 20 points per game, while shooting 55 percent or better from the floor, 40 percent or better from behind the 3-point arc and 80 percent or better from the free throw line.

“It was spectacular. I wouldn’t have imagined before the year him putting up the type of numbers he did,” Watson said. “I envisioned him having a big year, but not as big a year as he had this year. That’s what teams thought, they’d come in and try to stop him, but I couldn’t tell you any team that did stop him. He saw everything thrown at him and he was able to adjust and make himself successful.”

Watson was impressed by Wolfe’s work ethic, not only on the basketball court or the track, but also in the classroom. Wolfe had a 3.97 grade-point average.

“He’s every coach’s dream,” Watson said. “Not only is he talented, but his work ethic — I’ve mentioned before, in the offseason he puts so much time into it. Academically, he put so much time into it. Great kid, great role model for younger kids to strive for. He’s the complete package.”

At this time, the son of John and Lisa Wolfe is undecided what he wants to study in college. He has thought about something sports related, such as sports management. But he is going into college with an open mind.

Wolfe is looking forward to concentrating on one sport in college and being in an environment that will help him continue to grow as a basketball player.

“We never made it to state, so that really makes me want to get to work and get to the national tournament in college,” he said. “I had more success in track and so now I’m looking to have the same success in college basketball. Just being around a group of guys that love the game of basketball as much as I do, they’re going to compete at a high level, which is what I like to do.”

Schlapia and Watson will remember Wolfe for who he is as a person as much as they will for his athletic ability.

“He made everybody feel important,” Schlapia said. “Jay didn’t put himself above anybody else. He brought everybody else up to that level. He was one, as a leader, who made everybody feel part of the effort, part of the goal. He was all-inclusive and he looked out for others.”

“That’s the most fun part I can cherish,” Watson said. “I think we’ve developed a relationship that’s going to last more than the year we had together. He’s a great kid. He can be shy at first, but once you get to know him, he has a huge heart. He’s so kind to people. He’s a great all-around kid. He’s a kid you love to have on your team and a person you love to have as a friend you can call on at any time.”