KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa – Jeremiah Drummer might have been happy settling for winning his weight class in last year’s Far East wrestling tournament. But he couldn’t help but feel a bit empty afterward.

Though he and his brother Josiah won individual championships, his Kadena team only placed fourth in the Far East standings. And he felt he and his Panthers could have done better.

That they did in the 2024 iteration of Far East. Not only did he and Josiah repeat as individual champions, but

the Panthers finished second in the individual freestyle team standings, then won the dual-meet portion.

“This was probably my more enjoyable wrestling year,” Drummer said following Far East, in which he won the 215-pound title. He said he came out of last season with “more motivation, to bring back the banner. This year was more fulfilling.”

For all that, Drummer has repeated as Stars and Stripes Pacific’s high school wrestling Athlete of the Year. This on top of earning the same honor for football four months ago.

Much of the building toward Kadena’s and Drummer’s Far East mat championships began during the fall, when the Panthers won their Pacific-record eighth Far East Division I football crown.

Many of Drummer’s teammates decided to follow him into the wrestling; some of them were quite successful, such as Tre Shears, who in his first year on the mat came out a Far East champion at 189 pounds.

And in the practice room and during regular-season dual meets, Drummer took on more of a leadership role, uplifting teammates when things went off the rails, essentially “show them what they could do better,” Drummer said.

Drummer’s on-mat performance was not that much different from last season, Panthers coach Joey Wood said.

“We hadn’t brought back any banners since 2010 (and) we had the team to do it with this year,” Wood said.

The relationships that Drummer developed with football and wrestling teammates over the last several months “was a reason we had more athletes come out” for the team, Wood said.

“We had more competition, we had good athletes in the wrestling room,” Wood said. “It made the team stronger heading into Far East. Changing the culture. When you have guys who come out and wrestle like Tre and Jeremiah, that sets a good example for others.”

The Drummer file

Jeremiah Drummer

Age — 17.

Place of birth — Wichita, Kansas.

Other sports besides wrestling — Football, track and field (discus, shot put).

Favorite school subject — Physical education.

Least favorite school subject — Math.

Favorite athletes — Gable Stevenson, Marshawn Lynch.

Favorite actors-entertainers — Martin Lawrence, Chris Tucker.

Favorite TV series — Spongebob Squarepants.

Favorite movie — Get Out.