Central Regional Wrestler Continues Family Legacy At Lakewood HS

BERKELEY, NJ — Jayla Hahn’s wrestling season at Central Regional High School was almost cut short due to COVID-19 restrictions.

As the lone wrestler on the girls team, Hahn’s only opportunity to wrestle competitively was during large-scale tournaments, which seemed unlikely to happen at the beginning of the season.

Hahn is a sophomore, a two-time regional champion and the third generation of wrestlers in her family. Seeing that she would have few opportunities to showcase her skills this season, the school administration stepped in.

Central Regional High School provided Hahn with a co-op program, allowing her to travel to another school to wrestle with a full girls team when the season kicked off in March.

After she attends school at Central Regional, Hahn rides a school bus to Lakewood High School for training sessions and wrestling matches five days each week. With 21 girls, Lakewood has the largest high school girls wrestling team in the state.

“It’s business as usual for us here at Central to find good opportunities for our students. Nothing about Jayla’s wrestling abilities is business as usual. She is a very talented athlete and has a dazzling bright potential in wrestling,” said Central Regional wrestling coach Owen Brennan.

The Hahn Legacy Lives On

When Hahn began wrestling in seventh grade, she soon realized it would become her favorite sport. In her freshman year, she won the girls wrestling south regional championship.

"I played so many sports and you don’t get the same feeling as you do with wrestling as you do with them. It’s one-on-one," she said. "It’s something you work hard for, and you win or lose. It’s a great feeling."

As for Hahn's talents, she says it runs in the family. The tradition of the sport has roots on both sides of her family.

Her father Sylvester Green wrestled for Lakewood High School from 1998 to 2002 alongside her mother’s brother Damion Hahn.

Damion went on to wrestle for Minnesota University and became a two-time national champion. He is currently the head wrestling coach at South Dakota State University.

Growing up, Jayla heard countless stories about iconic tournaments and moves that originated in the gym where she now wrestles every day.

“Being able to be around that energy and hear about all the stories that came out of that room, it meant a lot to her (my mom) and to my grandma,” said Jayla. “My dad also put so many hours in that room, and so did her brother. I feel like it’s in the family and getting the chance to wrestle in there means a lot to me."

Jayla’s grandfather Miles Hahn wrestled for Howell High School and pioneered the Team Hammer wrestling club in 1987, where he mentored many student athletes, including his son Damion and Lakewood High School's current athletic director, Oscar Orellana.

The Central Jersey club gave wrestlers an opportunity to practice outside of school and strengthen their skills. Multiple state champions would train alongside each other, Sylvester said.

“My grandfather passed away, but I believe he’s still looking down over me and being in that room, I feel like it brings a different type of energy than any other room,” Jayla said.

Watching Jayla carry on the family legacy out on the mat during a season that was nearly canceled has been thrilling for her two younger sisters, her mother, and especially her father who competed in the same room at Lakewood High School 20 years ago.

“It’s been beautiful because to me, it’s getting to see myself all over again,” he said. “Jayla’s definitely the older sister to look up to. They see exactly what happens when you work hard and get the reward. She’s the first girl in her school to go up on the wall in a men’s dominated sport.”

Same Skills, Different Team

At Central Regional High School, Jayla would train with the boys team, practicing the same drills and strategies.

Though she's applying the same techniques, she said this season — the first where she's trained alongside a full team of girl wrestlers— has felt different.

“These girls—you can tell they want it. They want to learn and it’s something they fell in love with and it’s great because I’ve never been on a high school girls team,” she said. “It’s people who can relate to me in the same ways as a female, and with wrestling.”

Lakewood High School wrestling coach Kyle Shelly said Jayla’s athletic talents have boosted the confidence and furthered the skills of the girls on his team.

Of the three girls at Lakewood High School who qualified for the regional tournament last year, two of them graduated, leaving behind several girls who are still learning the fundamentals of wrestling.

“Now we get a girl that is very much in contention to be a state champ this year, so our girls see her come into the room, see how good she is, see how hard she works and they’re kind of impressed,” Shelly said.

“Where you get some kids that come out to be a part of the team or try to stay in shape, she’s a girl that genuinely loves wrestling and is a wrestler, and it’s definitely rubbing off on some of our girls,” he added.

While most student wrestlers’ seasons end in the spring, Jayla plays the sport throughout the summer with the Elite Wrestling Club in Toms River, where she is coached by Steve Rivera.

Beyond school and the private club, she also trains with Terrance Clendenin, a longtime staple in the Jersey Shore wrestling community, according to Sylvester.

Shelly said Jayla has motivated a few of her other teammates to pursue club wrestling in the off-season.

“It’s all around a great feeling knowing I have people looking up to me in different ways,” said Jayla. “Being able to help people in doing something that I love, it just makes me feel good.”

With the co-op program, the number of matches available to Jayla doubled from six to nearly 12. As the only girl representing Central Regional's team, Jayla sometimes had to wait two or three weeks to attend a tournament where she could showcase her skills on the mat.

Her time to shine would usually arrive at the end of the season when large, weekend tournaments gave her more chances to wrestle against other girls.

“There was nothing else in between. She might get to wrestle one match here and there, but it’s not a sanctioned match. It's just to try to get her some mat time,” Sylvester said. “She’s wrestled three state champs in one week, which she would have never got that opportunity at Central.”

Jayla looks forward to seeing the sport evolve across the state and building a team at Central Regional High School next year.

“I’m very excited to be back with the boys, and hopefully get more girls out there and start a team there,” she said.

Jayla is preparing to wrestle in the 143-pound weight class at the girls wrestling state tournament on Saturday in Phillipsburg.

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