Prosper Family Builds Perseverance, Faith, and a Legacy through the Sport of Wrestling

In North Texas, an endless supply of sports or after-school activities for children can pull families in multiple directions. Amid these exhausting, fast-paced schedules, it may be hard to find one thing that brings the entire family together consistently. For David and Amy Jukes and their children, they found two: faith and wrestling. 

The Jukes family are longtime residents of the booming town of Prosper, Texas and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. David and Amy have four children: Xavier, Eleanor, Lillian and Harry. When David, a former wrestler, found a local wrestling clinic in 2012, he took tiny Xavier to try it out. It was such a positive experience that they enlisted their friends, Mark and Jennifer Sedwick, to create a nonprofit wrestling club. In 2013, the four of them began the process of building Talons Wrestling, and the Jukes got to work on building their own wrestling dynasty. Amy half-jokingly comments, “You could say that Xavier, Eleanor, Lillian and Harry Jukes grew up on wrestling mats.” 

With any sport, soaring highs also come with devasting lows. In March 2021, at the UIL Wrestling Regional Meet, Xavier, then a high school junior, took a hard loss and had to battle back to place third, which would advance him to the State meet. Xavier secured that win dramatically with a quick pin. This win was special not just because he celebrated with his dad, but also because he decided that he wanted to continue wrestling in college while obtaining an education to become a high school teacher and wrestling coach.  

At that same UIL Regional Meet, Eleanor was having her own battle. As a sophomore, she also had to win her way to third place. Pushing through an injury, she stepped onto the mat and secured her advancement. This time, it wasn’t her dad she turned to in celebration, it was Xavier—her biggest cheerleader. 

Younger siblings Lillian and Harry are forging their own path in the sport and are sure to make their older siblings proud. 

The children have found that the sport pushes them both on and off the mats. They feel like they belong to another family. The long hours at practice and tournaments help to create a bond that encourages not only self-accountability, but a sense of collective responsibility with their teammates.  

Xavier and Eleanor have found that their faith has played a large role in their development as athletes and individuals. Xavier says, “I have been lucky that my faith gives me the strength to stay away from some of the things that other wrestlers have been involved in. Planting my feet on a firm foundation has allowed me to be there for my friends and support them when they are trying to resist the world’s temptations. While I am not perfect, my faith gives me strength to try to be better and to do a little better each day.” 

Eleanor reflects on the challenges of balancing athletic endeavors and church activities, “Sometimes it is hard to get to church because we are traveling, but my mom and dad take the opportunity to pray with us often. Mom will pray for everyone. If a wrestler gets hurt at a tournament, she asks everyone to pray for them. It doesn’t ever matter to her if she knows the wrestler or not. Prayer helps me get through a lot and I am grateful for my parents teaching me to pray.” 

The future is bright for the Jukes family. Xavier has accepted a spot on the Southern Virginia University wrestling team in the Fall of 2022. He plans to wrestle for one year and then serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ. Xavier’s goals include becoming a high school history teacher with a welding trade certificate. His ideal job would be one that allows him to coach a high school wrestling team back in his hometown of Prosper. Eleanor plans to attend Texas Woman’s University and wrestle on the team. She will study psychology to work with veterans with PTSD. Lillian plans to attend a college where she can wrestle and study medicine. Harry just wants to wrestle for right now.  

Best wishes to Xavier as he moves on to the next chapter in his life—and look out for those Jukes taking over the mats!