HILLIARD — Jake and Alex Taylor have been wrestling for as long as they can remember.
The brothers from Mount Vernon grew up through the sport, going from practice to practice and tournament to tournament. They were Little Stingers, then Killer Bees, and they competed on club teams in-between.
They’ve achieved plenty in their young careers. But they’ve always had a goal: to make it to the OHSAA state wrestling tournament, at the Schottenstein Center, together.
On Saturday at Hilliard Darby High School, they wrestled well enough to make that dream a reality.
Jake, a sophomore at MVHS, placed third in the 150-pound weight class at the Division I Central District tournament. Alex, a freshman, placed third at 215. Both punched their tickets to the state tournament this weekend in Columbus.
“It’s just always been the biggest thing I’ve wanted to see, is for him to go as far as he can and for me to be right there with him,” Alex said afterwards in a joint interview with his brother.
“I was more emotional about his to-go match than mine,” Jake added. “I was about to shed a tear watching it.”
The Taylor brothers will be joined in Columbus by their teammate, junior Brock Blankenhorn, who qualified Saturday with a third-place finish in the 106-pound weight class. Freshman Mavrik Gregory placed fifth in the 144-pound weight class and will head to state as an alternate.
And three more Knox County boys made the state cut at the Division III level. Centerburg sophomore Christopher Marshall (126), Centerburg junior Caylan LeMaster (157) and East Knox sophomore Blake Elliott (190) all placed third in their respective weight classes at the district tournament at Harrison Central High School.
The OHSAA state wrestling tournament will take place Friday-Sunday at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus. Click here for information on how to attend.
THREE YELLOW JACKETS ADVANCE: Mount Vernon brought 11 wrestlers to the Division I Central District tournament, and five advanced to the semifinals with a 2-0 showing Friday.
Blankenhorn, Jake Taylor and Alex Taylor were among those five.
Blankenhorn, who placed fourth at districts last year and qualified for his first state tournament, started off Saturday with a loss. He fell to Olentangy Liberty freshman Huggy Williams via major decision, 16-5.
But he refocused and rebounded in his go-to consolation match, defeating Dublin Coffman junior Nick Lawrensen, 8-1, to punch his ticket to state. Blankenhorn went on to pin Westerville North freshman Colton Russell with 26 seconds left in the second period of the third-place match.
“I would’ve liked to win it, obviously, but I had a tough semifinal match. I got out of position a couple times. But that kid’s good, he’s ranked top 10 in the state, so it was a solid match,” Blankenhorn said.
“I think winning that last one, though, it’ll give me a little bit better seeding for next weekend. I’ll get a No. 2 seed for the first round (and I) should be able to knock ’em off hopefully and get a good start going.”
Blankenhorn went 0-2 in his first state appearance last year. He said the experience should help him this time around.
“You go to other tournaments and sometimes you get a kid that’s not as good, and it gets you warmed up for the day. But at The Schott, you’ve gotta be ready to go because every match, you’re wrestling a top-16 kid in the state,” Blankenhorn said. “Every single match, you’ve gotta be ready to go.”
Jake Taylor lost his semifinal match Saturday as well. He fell in overtime to Dublin Jerome junior Ian Cho, 10-8, on a last-second takedown.
But he rebounded to dominate his last two matches, winning both via major decision. Taylor defeated Franklin Heights senior Alex Moore in his go-to consolation match, 9-1, and he beat Central Crossing senior Jamie Ramirez, 10-2, in the third-place match.
Taylor will make his first state appearance this weekend, having finished 1-2 at districts last year.
“It was awesome. Especially my go-to match, (because) that kid beat me in my first round last year. Being a freshman at this tournament’s tough in general. If you look back on all the kids, most of ’em, their freshman year is rough and they come back strong the next year,” Taylor said.
“And I just put in a lot of work in the offseason. … Because it hurt to go out last year and not make it to the state tournament.”
Alex Taylor lost to Olentangy Liberty senior Dylan Russo, a two-time state champion, in the district semifinals Saturday.
He came back to win his next two matches, however, earning the right to compete in his first state tournament. Taylor pinned senior Gavin Karshner with 11 seconds left in the second period of his go-to consolation match, then defeated Grove City senior Isaac Carter via major decision, 9-0, in the third-place match.
Taylor said afterwards he was thrilled to qualify for his first state tournament alongside his brother.
“Our plan was to both win it, and so we settled for the second-best (option) with both of us getting third,” Taylor said. “We’re just going out, ready for state. Win and advance.”
Gregory started Saturday in the semifinals, but lost twice in go-to matches, falling one win short of a state berth. He fell to Marysville senior Nick Hart, 5-3, in the championship semifinals, before being pinned by Dublin Coffman freshman Grayson Woodcock with 47 seconds left in the third period of his go-to consolation match.
Gregory finished the tournament with a win, however, defeating Pickerington North senior Colin Touvell, 5-1, in the fifth-place match to qualify as a state alternate.
The rest of Mount Vernon’s district-bound wrestlers saw their seasons come to an end Saturday.
Sophomore Mason Mitchell (157) began his day in the semifinals, but lost twice in go-to matches before having to forfeit the fifth-place match due to an injury. He finished the tournament with a 2-3 record. Mitchell placed fourth at sectionals after winning an Ohio Cardinal Conference title this season.
Senior Rylan Firebaugh (132) fell in the third round of the consolation bracket, finishing his final district tournament with a 2-2 record. He won sectional and Ohio Cardinal Conference titles this year.
Freshman Luke Mullins (190) fell in the second round of the consolation bracket, finishing 1-2 in his first district tournament. He won a sectional title and finished third at this year’s OCC tournament.
Sophomore Kayden Packard (165) fell in the second round of the consolation bracket, finishing 1-2 in his first district tournament. He placed second at sectionals and second at this year’s OCC tournament.
Freshman Preston Hempfield (113), sophomore Aden Burdulis (120) and junior Kyler Howard (175) all fell in the first round of their respective consolation brackets, finishing the weekend 0-2.
The Yellow Jackets placed fifth as a team at the district tournament, following a two-week stretch where they won their first OCC title and their first sectional title since 2006. Mount Vernon head coach Corey Firebaugh said he was proud of the way his team performed.
“This is one of those days that we always look forward to every year because it’s an exciting day of the year. You want to get as many kids here so that you have the opportunity to get onto the state tournament,” Firebaugh said. Eleven Mount Vernon wrestlers qualified for districts this year, a program record.
“Unfortunately for eight of the 11, they didn’t make it, so that’s kind of bittersweet in that regard. But I’m super excited and super pumped for the three that did,” the first-year head coach continued. “All 11 put in hard work. (This is) just a great group of kids – working hard, pushing each other, getting along really well, being good teammates. And for those three that ended up making it on, you know, I’m just super happy and excited for those guys, because they all worked hard and kind of pushed each other to the goals that they set, and they reached those.
“So I feel bad for the eight that didn’t make it, but I couldn’t be more ecstatic for the ones that did. We’re super excited.”
ONE BULLDOG, TWO TROJANS ADVANCE: Meanwhile, at the Division III Central District tournament in Cadiz, three Knox County wrestlers punched their tickets to state.
East Knox sophomore Blake Elliott tore through the consolation bracket Saturday after dropping his championship quarterfinal match Friday night. The 190-pounder won four straight matches, placing third and qualifying for state for the second straight year.
Elliott pinned West Jefferson freshman Ayden Cordle 42 seconds into the second period of his second-round consolation match Saturday. He then defeated Fredericktown senior Mason Hoeflich, 11-5, before knocking off Liberty Union senior Troy Myers, 8-5, in his consolation go-to match.
Elliott beat Martins Ferry senior Alexander Finsley, 17-11, to capture third place.
Elliott went 0-2 in his first state appearance last year. He missed most of his sophomore regular season with an elbow injury, but was cleared to compete heading into sectionals.
Two Centerburg Trojans punched their tickets to state Saturday: sophomore Christopher Marshall (126) and junior Caylan LeMaster (157).
Marshall was pinned by Zane Trace junior Zane Pickerrell with 49 seconds left in the second period of his semifinal match, but he rebounded to win his consolation go-to match, defeating Utica sophomore Breyden Hill via major decision, 13-5. He outlasted Barnesville freshman Hines Ford, 2-0, in the third-place match.
LeMaster lost his semifinal match as well, as he was pinned by Barnesville sophomore Ayden King with 54 seconds left in the first period. But he finished the day strong, defeating Marion Pleasant senior Brandon Mulvaine, 6-5, in his go-to consolation match and pinning Huntington junior Mavrick Smith 24 seconds into the third period of the third-place match.
Marshall and LeMaster will both make their first state appearances this weekend. It will mark Centerburg’s first season with multiple state qualifiers since 2014.
Two more Trojans saw their seasons end Saturday.
Senior Mason Lanthorn (285) finished one win short of a state berth, as he was pinned in his go-to consolation match and the fifth-place match. He finished the tournament with a 3-3 record, having won his first two consolation matches Saturday before dropping the last two. Lanthorn won sectional and Knox-Morrow Athletic Conference titles this year.
Junior Charlie Sargent (215) fell in the third round of the consolation bracket, finishing the district tournament with a 2-2 record. He placed fourth at sectionals this year after winning his weight class in the KMAC tournament.
Fredericktown brought three wrestlers to districts, but none made it to state.
Hoeflich (190) fell in the third round of the consolation bracket, finishing the tournament with a 2-2 record. He placed second at sectionals and fourth at this year’s KMAC tournament.
Sophomore Trent Rooke (113) fell in the second round of the consolation bracket, finishing the tournament with a 1-2 record. He placed second at sectionals and second at this year’s KMAC tournament.
Senior Lucas Herbst (285) fell in the first round of the consolation bracket, finishing the tournament with an 0-2 record. He placed second at sectionals and second at this year’s KMAC tournament.
