Jayden Moore has made the most of his time on the wrestling mat as a junior at Tahlequah High School.

Moore, a state tournament qualifier as a sophomore, has a pair of third-place finishes this season at the Jerry Billings Sapulpa Tournament where he defeated Colton Kaiser (Bixby) in a 9-2 decision, and at the Bring the Hammer Tournament in Cabot, Ark. where he outlasted Logan Hite (Poplar Bluff, Ark.) in a 6-4 decision.

“I have learned how to be more offensive this season,” said Moore, who is also a standout linebacker for the Tigers. “This season I’ve had two losses and both were from out of state.

“This season has been a very good start and our team is very young. We have a lot we need to improve on.”

In his junior year on the gridiron, Moore paced Tahlequah with 98 total tackles. He recorded four tackles for losses, four quarterback hurries, recovered two fumbles and caused another.

Moore has wrestled for 15 years and started when he was the age of three in the Mike Sheets wrestling room in Stilwell.

Sheets has had a big influence on Moore. Sheets, who was an All-American at Oklahoma State in 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984, is in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

“If I had to have a role model it would be Mike Sheets,” he said. “I grew up wrestling in the youth club over in Stilwell with Mike Sheets and Kevin Hendrix. Growing up there in a tough room with high expectations has definitely helped me develop into the wrestler I am today. It has also played a part in the person I am.”