WHITEHALL — Former Whitehall wrestlers Ira and Wyatt Jenkins have thought on and off for some time about hosting their own wrestling camp, but it wasn't until Saturday morning that it came to fruition.
A couple of days after first publicizing the camp on Facebook, the brothers welcomed a half-dozen wrestlers to the Whitehall Middle School wrestling room, ranging from middle to high school age. The camp was billed as the State Champ Camp, referencing the three combined MHSAA titles won by the two brothers. Ira won two as a Viking and now wrestles at the University of Michigan, and Wyatt claimed his first title this March and is set to join Southeast Community College in Nebraska this fall.
"We've been thinking about it for a while," Ira said of co-hosting a camp. "It's nothing crazy right now, but we hope to keep building on it and make it a community thing."
The small number of participants did create the benefit for each side of more one-on-one time with each wrestler, enabling more deep diving into techniques. At times, the two brothers demonstrated certain moves on one another to illustrate them to the young wrestlers.
Ira said he's done camps before, but as it was the first time doing one together, it was a different experience. However, Wyatt said wryly that he felt both brothers were good teachers.
"We had a couple more kids sign up (and not come), too, so it wasn't too bad," Ira said. "Getting people in here, it's good for them. It's what we're here for."
The brothers plan to continue the camp in coming years, anticipating more interest as they build up their college resumes. Ira hasn't seen a lot of competitions to date - he competed in four events last season and was 11-6 in 2023-24 - but could take on a bigger role in his junior season of eligibility, while Wyatt's mat accomplishments suggest he could excel at the community college level.
Ira said the six wrestlers on hand Saturday did well; "they locked in," he said. He looks forward to seeing campers again in future years.
"We hope to make it an annual event," Ira said. "We're happy to do it."
