A relentless pursuit of improvement and achievement continues to propel Perrysburg graduate Joey Blaze to the highest levels of college wrestling.

Blaze put together a remarkable run to the championship match at the NCAA national tournament last month. The 2023 Perrysburg graduate, now a true sophomore at Purdue, finished second in the country in the 157-pound weight class.

Blaze became Purdue's youngest national finalist in more than 75 years.

“I'm not surprised,” Purdue coach Tony Ersland said. “We knew he was capable of this. Joey is a worker who is always relentlessly pursuing his goals. He never takes his focus off his goals and how he is working towards achieving them.”

Blaze, the lowest-seeded wrestler (No. 8) to make it to the finals at the national meet, competed in front of a sold-out crowd of 18,826 in Philadelphia and live on ESPN.

“I felt really good before that match because it was just kind of cool,” Blaze said. “I wasn't super nervous. I was just so grateful to be experiencing it. It was positive emotions. You get to wrestle in front of 20,000 people. You put some of those things into perspective when you're thinking about being an NCAA champion. That helped mellow me out a little bit more. I just appreciated the moment.”

Blaze faced Nebraska's No. 3-seeded Antrell Taylor in the title match. Blaze gave up a takedown in the last three seconds of the first period before battling back and chasing Taylor around the mat as the aggressor for most of the second and third periods. Taylor was warned for stalling but posted a 4-2 decision over Blaze.

“I was upset at myself a little bit,” Blaze said. “But I'm one of those people that if I gave everything I had and wrestled as hard as I could, sometimes matches like that just hurt. I didn't leave anything out there and I can be proud of that. I wrestled super hard. At the end of the day, I go home and I still have my best friends, my family, my coaches. It's staying level. You can't get too high, can't get too low. You kind of appreciate everything.”

Blaze said wrestling in front of a national TV audience made him want to wrestle even harder.

“I wanted to leave it all out there,” he said. “Wrestling can be fun and entertaining, and I try to wrestle that way. But it makes it a lot easier when you know you've got your family in the crowd.”

Perrysburg coach Scott Burnett traveled to Philadelphia to watch his former wrestler compete.

“I wasn’t surprised at all about the run Joey went on at the national championship,” Burnett said. “I know how dedicated he has been with his approach from both physical and mental perspectives.”

Blaze rolled through the first four rounds, highlighted by a sensational upset over the top-ranked wrestler in the country, Tyler Kasak of Penn State, a 5-4 decision in the quarterfinal.

“I focused on staying poised and relaxed,” he said. “I fell back on my training and knowing that I have what it takes so to just keep wrestling through every position and have fun. Having fun is a huge part of wrestling for me. Every match is just fun.”

This season Blaze finished with a 24-6 record, winning 80 percent of his matches. He went 10-1 in dual meets and 14-5 in tournaments. He got on a roll late in the season with eight consecutive wins.

“[The Purdue coaching staff] put me in the right positions,” he said. “Just like in high school, how I had that trust in coach Scott, I put that same amount of trust into my coaches in college. I believe in their plan.”

Blaze also said his belief in his abilities to go toe-to-toe with the nation's top grapplers also grew.

“I try to give myself a little bit more credit, knowing that I'm at that level,” he said. “I'm on the level to make those kind of runs and to consistently do that kind of stuff. It's trusting in the process.”

At Perrysburg, Blaze was a three-time state champion and in 2023 was named Ohio’s top wrestler.

Burnett said Blaze has become more in tune with himself as a wrestler.

“He's learned what truly makes him tick as a competitor and once someone like Joey Blaze realizes how to utilize the process of getting better at something, anything becomes possible,” Burnett said.

Blaze also had qualified for the national tournament as a true freshman.

“That was a big factor. Being able to get a feel for what the environment's like is huge,” he said.

Overall, Blaze has a 41-18 record, including 22-13 in tournaments.

“Joey has improved significantly in some areas from last year to this year,” Ersland said. “He has improved a lot in his hand fighting and his positioning. From an attack standpoint and scoring from his feet, he's become more efficient. He can put more points up there. He's worked very hard to improve.”

Blaze scored first in 23 of 30 matches. He led the team in most decisions won at 13 and in Big Ten wins with 13. He also ranked second on the Boilermakers with 8.2 points per match and led the team in third-period points with 82.

“Joey's always a tough out,” Ersland said. “He's in shape. He wrestles hard. He competes well. But I thought he really showed a lot of a really high wrestling IQ.”

Blaze is just the 10th NCAA runner-up in Purdue history.

“Joey brings great leadership as a whole to the room,” Ersland said. “I appreciate his viewpoint and his takes on position and mindset. I love that he has taken on more of a leadership role and he's voicing his opinion. I think he's added a lot to the practice room.”

Burnett said Blaze holds many characteristics that make high-end wrestlers successful at all levels.

“He has the ability to stay cool and calm in bigger, highly stressful situations and scenarios,” Burnett said. “He is able to slow things down mentally.”

The Perrysburg coach, who has worked with Blaze since he was in grade school, said Joey's self-confidence continues to grow.

“His belief in himself also allows him to be confident when odds seem like they are stacked against him,” Burnett said. “He always looks to hone his craft and competes with gratitude.”

Blaze said he entered the Big Ten tournament with high goals. He finished third, beating Nebraska's Taylor in the consolation finals.

“That's a good tournament and I went in thinking I was gonna win the whole thing. That's not in kind of an arrogant way,” Blaze said. “I train super hard, so I always have that confidence.”

On the same weekend, Joey's younger brother Marcus captured his fourth state title for Perrysburg in Columbus.

Joey said he watches his brother's matches via streaming whenever he can and stays in constant touch.

“I talk to him a good amount and it's mostly about love,” Joey said. “I'm super proud of him. I've got the best family. I'm just always grateful.”

Next college season, the brothers are bound to run at each other at Big Ten and other college meets. Marcus has committed to compete for Penn State.

“It'll be funny, and also it'll be kind of weird,” Joey said. “When we'd go to tournaments together, we're there together. Now he won't necessarily be in my group. But I'll be right there watching him wrestle every time. So that'll be nice.”

Blaze said he has improved technically but also has matured off the mat.

“I've gotten better at life in general,” Blaze said. “I'm more disciplined. I've grown up a lot and gotten a lot stronger mentally. In just every facet of life, I've gotten better.

“The goal is to be a national champion, a world champion, and Olympic champion. Those have always been my big goals. But the real goals are just trying to be a better me. I just try to work as hard as I can to be a good person. I think that takes you a pretty long way.”

Blaze said the close setback in the national title bout will pay dividends in the end.

“It's more motivation than I've ever had,” he said. “I dipped my hands and my feet into the water of what I could be. All I want to do is keep getting better and keep having fun with the sport. I got so close, I want to be back there.”

First Published April 3, 2025, 9:34 p.m.