Jason Leavitt was born on September 21, 1984 to Gary and Loretta
Leavitt. He has two brothers, Jonathan and Jeremy and all three boys
were active in sports in Ponca City, Oklahoma. Jason began his wrestling
career at the age of 4 and he never looked back. He played football and
baseball much of his life but finally decided to dedicate himself to
wrestling. Jason wasn’t sure that wrestling really had much to offer
until he started listening to his coaches and making some life changing
decisions. He was a state qualifier his junior year of high school and
that experience made him determined to be a State Champion. Jason
entered his senior season thinking what most other kids did “will I have
the opportunity to be a champion or not?” Wrestling isn’t the sport
where an athlete hopes to become good or even great, he has to make
things happen for himself. You just can’t wish for success in wrestling,
you have to live and breathe it! Jason did just that and became the
State Champion at 160 pounds his senior season. To make things even more
perfect, his team won the first of 4 straight State Championships. This
was the first state Title for Ponca City in 43 years. |
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After graduating in 2003 he moved on to Neosho County Community College
and became a National Junior College All-American his freshman year. The
summer after his freshman year he transferred to the NCAA division two
powerhouse, University of Central Oklahoma, and red-shirted that season.
Jason had another major event during this year with the birth of his
son, Layton. The very next year Jason became a national qualifier
however did not place. Once again Jason felt that his back was against
the wall and he needed to make another decision on whether or not he
wanted to re-dedicate himself to the sport. With every intention of
doing better, Jason made his dream come true by making the national
finals. He barely fell short of an individual National Championship in a
double overtime decision to the defending national champion. That same
year Jason and the UCO Bronchos won their 15th national title! |
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Jason’s senior season wasn’t as successful as the year before and there
were many ups and downs he was faced with. This time hard work didn’t
seem to pay off like it had every time before. He had the goals and the
mind set to be the best but his body simply wouldn’t cooperate and allow
it to happen. The new set of challenges he was faced with not only
puzzled him but it also puzzled his coaches, teammates, and certainly
his family. With there being no answer in sight, Jason began to look for
excuses for his lack of success and that wasn’t something he was very
accustomed to doing. Jason went to regionals and did not even qualify
for the national meet. Several months later Jason was still feeling like
his body wasn’t functioning right so he went to the doctor. He was not
initially concerned about the appointment, but learned that he had
leukemia. This news answered many questions for Jason, his coaches,
teammates, and family. With all the challenges Jason Leavitt has faced,
this will be the toughest one yet! |
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