Then-Perrysburg sophomore Marcus Blaze last March after winning his second straight state championship match by a 21-6 technical fall over Clay senior Micah Medina at 120 pounds. (Rich Wagner/Sentinel-Tribune file)
By Yaneek Smith
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
PERRYSBURG — After back-to-back runner-up finishes at the Division I state wrestling meet, Perrysburg has established itself as one of Ohio’s best programs, and one of the Midwest’s finest.
Coach Scott Burnett’s team lost key wrestlers from last year’s team that finished second to national powerhouse Lakewood St. Edward, but the expectations remain high.
Leading the way is junior Marcus Blaze, who wrestles at 132 pounds and has already won two state championships. Ranked second in the country in his weight class, Blaze won a title last year during the U17 World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, wrestling for Team USA.
Burnett has witnessed first hand Blaze’s growth from biddy wrestling to today.
“I’ve known him for a long time, since he was a little boy. He’s always been one of the fiercest competitors that I’ve ever seen,” Burnett said.’
“Ever since Marcus was small, he’s hated losing, and because of that, when he was little, he would get mad and shut down. As he’s grown up, when he suffers a failure or setback, he analyzes and uses it as a motivator and tries to improve,” continued Burnett.
“Marcus is blessed with flexibility, great balance, strength, agility, speed, stamina, grit and determination. He’s a generational athlete, a great leader and has a great older brother in Joey (now wrestling at Purdue University) that was special.
“They get it, they understand wrestling and striving for a goal. Marcus’ leadership improves all the time. His goals are set so high that it forces him to focus on his preparation.”
Just like Burnett says, Blaze loves the challenge that comes with stepping onto the mat and competing.
“I love competing, it’s always been fun. I’m a pretty competitive guy, and I like to test my skills against other wrestlers,” Blaze said. “Wrestling is so fun, I like rolling around, and as a wise man once said, ‘It’s just a game,’ so why not have fun?
“I always wanted to be like my older brother (Joey), so I followed what he did. Winning is really contagious and I like doing it.”
Blaze says the Perrysburg team’s coaching staff and philosophy is what has helped him become the wrestler he is.
“We like to set goals, and take it week by week, figure it out and know what we’re going to improve on,” Blaze said. “We want to get 1% better each day, and the other things like winning a state title will take care of itself.
“I think the coaching staff and the buy-in that the kids give is what separates us. Wrestling is not an easy sport, and we have coaches that go hard. We try to meet them in the middle. I think our coaches go above and beyond.”
Burnett recognizes it will still be difficult to improve upon last season’s state runner-up finish after having graduated quality wrestlers.
“For this year, we have a slightly different team, we have more youth. We have kids that are high-level wrestlers, they’re just a little young,” Burnett said.
“What are you working with? With our experience levels, I have to kind of tweak my philosophy on the fly with things I love to do and moving pieces.
“We’re focusing this year on not so much beating programs, but more so on us and getting our kids to understand that individual growth will help our team more.
“Our team is young, it’s just about trying to get our leaders to leave and love on our inexperienced guys and get our team to galvanize and work together.
“Every year, you strive to be a state championship team. We set big targets, and deal with what’s right in front of us. I like to worry about what’s coming up and training for that and building towards that,” Burnett continues.
“Obviously, trying to win team championships and events, and be as competitive as possible, are always goals. We want to put a good product out there for the fan base, and to continue to build the wrestling brand. We strive to win a league championship, and then peak for sectionals, districts and state.”
There are nine Yellow Jackets ranked in Ohio’s top 10 in D-I by Boro Fan, a sports publication. Three are ranked first — Blaze, Ayden Dodd (106) and Grey Burnett (113) — and Cole Evans (126) is ranked second.
Alex Denkins (120) and Shane Saito (165) are both ranked seventh while Jake Wood (157) is eighth in his weight class with Josh Takats (190) at No. 9 and Diego Chavez (150) is 10th.
The other top wrestlers are Brody Bauman (138), Alex Poll (144), Caiden Nichols (175), Ben Sawaya (220) and Eric Bush (285).
Burnett is a Fargo national champion, Dodd is a two-time Fargo All-American, Evans won a state title two years ago and Wood was a state placer last year.
Gone from last year are three state champions — Ryan Avalos, Joey Blaze, and Myles Takats — and a state qualifier in A.J. Parrish.
“Those guys were so important because they were part of the team from the year before when we got second at state the first time in my tenure,” said Burnett.
“Eight wrestlers placed at state, we were second as a team, and they were part of that run because they were experienced and were really good leaders. They were the catalyst with our team moving forward.
“The fact that they were experienced and navigated a state tournament, they were super intricate in us being prepared, and then had the firepower to possibly win a state championship.”
In the Northern Lakes League, Perrysburg will now contend with the four other biggest schools in the league in the newly realigned Buckeye Division, including newcomers Toledo Whitmer and Findlay.
“I’m kind of interested to see how it works out with it having new teams. You have your traditional teams that are doing well, and new teams that have their tradition. I think it’s a good thing for the competitiveness for the league,” said Burnett.
“The smaller schools have an opportunity to be competitive in their divisions. Kids still get to compete against everybody. I think it’s good any time you have expansion because it brings in new competition.”
Just like Blaze loves to wrestle, Burnett loves his job leading a potent and dominant program.
“I just love our program, I’m super proud of the kids that came before me,” he said. “I love where we’re at, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
