MOUNT VERNON — Success is no stranger to Alex Taylor.
Mount Vernon’s 6-foot-2, 260-pound wrestler has compiled a 14-1 record this year, vaulting to the top of the Ohio high school wrestling world.
With only one loss, who is the toughest opponent Taylor has faced?
A smile creases the wrestler’s face “Coach Matt, every day in the room” — a reference to assistant coach Matt Lybarger.
Taylor’s lone setback took place at Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls during the Iron Man Tournament.
According to coach Corey Firebaugh, the heavyweight wrestled even though he was under the weather, and lost by technical fall to Michael Mocco, from Cardinal Gibbons High School out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. — ranked by some polls as the No. 6 grappler in the nation.
Meanwhile, Taylor is ranked No. 19 in the nation, and headed for Arizona State on a wrestling scholarship.
Wrestling since he was 5 years old in the Mount Vernon Little Stinger’s program, Taylor has also played football. But he concentrates primarily on wrestling these days.
“I played football, and baseball when I was younger, but I decided on wrestling because I enjoy the one-one-one competition and I just really dominated in it,” he said.
Taylor still gets nervous before some matches, citing the psychological aspect of the sport as one of his toughest hurdles.
“Sometimes I get nervous before I go out there because I want to do well,” Taylor said. “I know the work that I have put in, but sometimes I still get nervous and I just have to control that.”
Even though Taylor enjoys the individual aspect of the sport, he understands very clearly that his success has been a team effort.
“All the people I’m surrounded by push me to be great,” Taylor said. “My mom (Amanda) and my dad (Zach), supporting me and taking me to all of the tournaments, and my brother (Jake, also a member of the wrestling team), I get him to ‘fight’ with me, and my sister (Sadie, a freshman basketball player).”
Firebaugh believes that his wrestler is solid off the mat as well.
“He does all the right stuff, as far as in school, he is a good athlete, a good student, a good teammate, he helps his teammates and pushes them,” Firebaugh said.
Taylor goes above and beyond to excel in his sport, his coach said.
“He does a lot of stuff in the off-season beyond the four months that we are here, I cannot say enough good about him.”
All of Taylor’s hard work has paid off, next year he will be wrestling in Tempe, Arizona on a scholarship. The Sun Devils were not the only ones to come calling.
“I received offers from Arizona State, Oregon State, Wyoming, and a bunch of other schools,” Taylor said.
What tipped the scales in favor of the Sun Devils?
“I only took visits to Arizona State and Oregon and Arizona State was beautiful, and everything they have to offer is just unbeatable.” Taylor said.
While NCAA rules prohibit college officials from commenting on specific committed athletes, Larry (Zeke) Jones, head coach for the Sun Devils, did offer a statement about his recruiting class.
“We are excited that we get a commitment from wrestlers that we know are well-rounded young men that are committed to their goals in the classroom on the wrestling mat and come from great families,” Jones said. “They are hard-working, passionate and love the sport of wrestling.”