Deven Jackson of West Perry defeats Blake Sassaman of Danville in their 113 pound match during the first round of the class AA PIAA wrestling championships at the Giant Center in Hershey on March 10, 2022. Joe Hermitt | jhermitt@pennlive.com
Two years ago, Wyoming Area’s Jaden Pepe wrestled West Perry’s Deven Jackson in the 106-pound bronze medal match at the PIAA Wrestling Championships and walked off the mat with a 7-4 win and a world of respect for his opponent. He said that the time that he was “blown away” by Jackson, then he went on to win state championships in each of the next two seasons.
Fast forward to Saturday night, and Pepe was celebrating the second of those titles and said he fully expected that, someday, his old foe would be doing the same. Jackson never did get to the top of the podium, but he did inspire many with his journey and won the second state medal of his career on Saturday with a fourth-place finish at 113 pounds. He finished his career with a 121-29 record.
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