Jacy Zollar sports@wolfrivermedia.com
Contributed Photo Clintonville High School senior Lacey Jung signed her letter of intent on Nov. 30 to continue her wrestling career at Adrian College in Michigan in the fall. With Jung are, from left, Adrian College head coach Cliff Custard, father Mike Michonski, mother Cat Michonski and Clintonville athletic director Bob Bothe.
Clintonville High School senior Lacey Jung’s lifelong commitment to wrestling will continue at Adrian College in the fall.
Jung, who began wrestling at age 4, signed her letter of intent to wrestle at the Michigan college on Nov. 30, just as she was starting her final high school wrestling season.
“This means so much to me,” Jung said. “Wrestling was a big part of my first memories as a kid, so I am so thankful that I get to keep pursuing it.”
Committing to a college was about more than just wrestling for Jung and her family.
“This is a big deal for me, personally, because my parents and older brother never went to college,” she said. “I get to represent our family as the first to attend college, and that’s a really special feeling.
“I’ve been passionate about continuing my education, so it’s exciting to see it pay off. I work really hard all the time and there were a lot of moments where it seemed like maybe it was too much for me. It proved to me that hard work really does pay off.”
Jung wrestled with the Clintonville Youth Wrestling Club from 4 years old through eighth grade. She also wrestled for Clintonville Middle School for three years before joining the high school team as a freshman.
Jung also wrestled for the Wisconsin Women’s National Wrestling Team during her freshman and junior years. She placed second in the 2015 Folkstyle National Championships in Oklahoma City and also secured eight-place finishes among over 30 wrestlers in both Oklahoma and Texas tournaments.
She was recruited last summer by several schools, including Division 1 prospects, but Jung chose the Division 3 school after considering the time commitment involved in being a college athlete.
“I wanted to make sure that I would still be able to fully commit to my studies as well,” she said, “and I just didn’t think I’d have that ability at a D1 school. Once I decided a D3 school was more of what I was looking for, I was sold on Adrian after touring the school and meeting the coaches. The environment there was right up my ally.”
Jung is continuing her national wrestling career when she begins at Adrian, and she intends on taking it international. She’ll get a taste for it when the team travels to Canada for tournaments, and she’s considering trying out for the world team after a couple years.
“It’s amazing that I’ll get to travel to new places with it,” Jung said. “I’m so excited to be able to represent Clintonville, because I came from a small town, so it’s really exciting to move onto bigger things, but I’ll always know my wresting career started in this town.”
Jung plans on studying criminal justice with a forensics emphasis while at Adrian.