PHILADELPHIA — Purdue wrestler Joey Blaze, a 2023 Perrysburg High School graduate, pulled off an upset of No. 1 seed Tyler Kasak of Penn State on Friday at the NCAA wrestling championships, on his way to reaching Saturday’s 157-pound championship match.
He edged Kasak 5-4 in the quarterfinal, rallying in the closing seconds. Then the sophomore defeated Northwestern’s Trevor Chumbley 4-2 in Friday night’s semifinals.
Blaze advances to the championship Saturday where he will face off with Nebraska’s Antrell Taylor.
While at Perrysburg, Blaze was a three-time state champion and in 2023 was the Mark Zimmer Award winner, an honor that goes to Ohio’s top boys wrestler. He is the older brother of Marcus Blaze, who captured his fourth consecutive state title for Perrysburg earlier this month.
Also from the area, former Genoa standout Dylan D’Emilio reached the 149-pound semifinal for Ohio State, falling 6-2 to Virginia Tech’s Caleb Henson.
First Published March 22, 2025, 2:18 a.m.
