NORTH TONAWANDA — The person across from Jason Burns does not matter.
The fact that he won or he lost does not matter.
The only thing that matters to the Lewiston-Porter sophomore is how he can continually improve.
“(I have) self-confidence,” Burns said. “A lot of people get down on themselves for losing; it’s a sport, you’re going to win, you’re gonna lose. That’s life.”
Even if he does lose, Burns’ wrestling style is all about fixing the mistakes of his previous matches. He goes full steam ahead for the entire match and does not stop until the end.
That mindset is something he carries with him when he steps onto the mat.
“You don’t look at names, you don’t look at people,” Burns said. “You can’t let them intimidate you. You just got to go out there and wrestle.”
It does help though when he is winning significantly more than he is losing. This season, Burns has a 22-6 record with 17 wins via fall. He has accomplished that success while grappling at the 215- and 285-pound weight classes.
But his success was not always there. Last year, Burns went 17-17. During his freshman year, he had 10 wins via fall or tech fall and 13 losses via fall.
“The one thing that’s different from Jason from last year is he doesn’t stop wrestling,” Lewiston-Porter head coach Randy Lombardo said. “If he knows there’s only a few seconds left in the period, he doesn’t coast, he’s still working for the pin. The same goes the entire match even if he knows he has the match won, he still doesn’t stop wrestling. … He just keeps wrestling until the whistle.”
The five-win improvement has not been easy for Burns. It’s come with plenty of hours of work. He has focused on staying in shape as he takes part in wrestling tournaments in the off-season.
Over his career, the heavyweight grappler has dramatically improved his stamina and his breath capacity. He has no problem finishing a match and going right back to it when he is competing in a tournament.
“I’m watching what I eat, staying on somewhat of a diet, cutting weight if I need to,” Burns said. “… You just gotta watch yourself, watch what you eat, watch how your body goes and that’s it.”
On Jan. 28, Burns lost to North Tonawanda’s Aidyn Licht by fall. The loss was the final match of the dual meet and it gave North Tonawanda the overall win, 60-24.
But, if it was up to Burns he would have rematched Licht immediately after that match was over. He knew what he did wrong and how he could beat Licht if they faced each other again.
This year, Burns has not lost back-to-back matches that he has participated in. The only two back-to-back losses that are on his record were both medical forfeits when he became sick after weigh-ins and was not able to participate in the Rich Morton tournament on Dec. 6.
Even though he is one of the younger kids on the Lancers roster, the fact that he keeps working after losses is a tremendous teaching tool for the other wrestlers. They see his attitude and work ethic and they are influenced to work as hard as he is.
“The last wrestling match he lost, he self-evaluated it and he didn’t do any of those things that caused him to lose his last match in this one,” Lombardo said. “So that just goes to show that he’s learning and the only way you’re gonna get better at wrestling is if you get a lot of mat time and you learn from your mistakes. This sport humbles you in a good way and Jason takes it in stride.”
At a minimum, Burns has two events left this season, the Ken-Ton tournament and the NFL Individual Championships. But if it is up to him, his season will be ending in Albany. His season will be finishing in the state capital and a trip to the podium.
If he does make it to the state championships, it will be an emotional arrival for him. He will savor the moment and the hard work that it took to get there. It would be an experience he would carry with him over the last two years of his career.
“It’d mean a lot, going forward, definitely want to make it there,” Burns said. “(It would) definitely be a big accomplishment. I’d probably start crying because of how happy I’d be and proving people wrong that put me down.”