MOUNT VERNON — Walking into the Mount Vernon High School wrestling practice room, there is a noticeable difference.
The room is the same, the practice mats are the same. It is the hair!
“You gotta earn the bleach,” said Alex Taylor.
The 6-foot-2, 285-pound Mount Vernon grappler is favored to win the state championship in his weight class this weekend.
Taylor’s locks are frosty white. Members of the wrestling team who earn a berth in the statue finals, also “earn” the right to bleach their hair, too.
“It’s an advantage that we found a couple of years ago, the whole team did it, it helps bring us together,” Taylor said.
Does the heavyweight feel any extra pressure with the expectation of winning the championship?
“I’ve been the one seed most of my life, in my eyes, I’m always the number one seed,” Taylor said.
Standing next to Alex Taylor and tipping the scales at 165 pounds, is Jake Taylor, Alex’s brother. The bleached hair is a sure sign that he too will be headed to the Schottenstein Center at Ohio State Jake is making his third trip to the state finals.
“I feel really good about it (this year’s championship), really confident,” Alex Taylor said. “It’s my senior year and I want to stand on that podium.”
Head coach Corey Firebaugh said that having a brother who wrestles is good for both.
“They are only a year apart and they have been growing up wrestling, they kind of push each other,” Firebaugh said. “We’re really excited, wrestling is such a long season, you have little goals as you go along and then the bigger goals of winning the district and then the state.”
The Taylor siblings will be joined by teammates, Caleb Snyder at 106 pounds, Maverick Gregory at 157, and Luke Mullins is at 190 pounds, completing the Mount Vernon contingent.
“We’re looking for a good weekend, getting five down there is pretty special and all five o them have a chance to be standing on the podium,” Firebaugh said.
Centerburg’s Chris Marshall favored at state
Another Knox County wrestler picked to win the state tournament is 144 -pound Cenerburg senior Chris Marshall.
“There are different ranking organizations,” Centerburg Coach Alec Szanati explained. “It is based on how well they have done during the season along with other factors.”
Marshall will enter this weekend’s state championship with a record of 31-4. On Monday he traveled to Northridge High School to practice for the tournament.
“He is practicing with Treven (Angus), Treven is one weight class above Chris so it is good for him,” Szanati said.
Angus is also a state qualifier.
The trip to Columbus is familiar territory for Marshall, as a three-time state qualifier.
“He is a senior and has set the bar high for the team, he is one that pushes his teammates,” Szanati said.
Tthe championship which will take place at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus. Parking, security and ticketing information may be found at ohsaa.org.