PHILADELPHIA — Wrestling in front of a Wells Fargo Center crowd that included President Trump and Elon Musk, 2023 Perrysburg High School graduate Joey Blaze finished second in the 157-pound class at the NCAA wrestling championships that concluded Saturday.
Blaze, a sophomore at Purdue, lost 4-2 to Nebraska’s Antrell Taylor in the championship match.
Entering the tournament as the eighth seed, Blaze upset top-seeded Tyler Kasak of Penn State in the quarterfinals en route to reaching Saturday’s final.
Taylor, the No. 3 seed, scored a takedown with three seconds remaining in the first period to take a 3-0 lead. Taylor then took the down position to start the second period and drew a stalling warning on Blaze before Blaze conceded an escape 37 seconds into the second period to give Taylor a 4-0 advantage.
Blaze quickly scored an escape point after starting the third period in the down position. He kept attacking Taylor, wearing him down to the point where Nebraska’s coaches called for a challenge with 1:09 to go to help Taylor regroup.
Taylor evaded Blaze the rest of the way, taking a one-point stalling penalty with 27 seconds to go before running out the clock.
Blaze finishes the collegiate season with a 24-6 record. Taylor finished with a 27-4 mark.
First Published March 23, 2025, 3:42 a.m.
