by The Walsh Ironman, arguably the most premier wrestling tournament in the country, begins Friday December the 6th. Amongst some of the best wrestlers in the country, we find Ohioans such as those from Lakewood St. Edward, one of the most storied and most successful high school wrestling programs ever.
Northeast Ohio has always had a tradition of excellent wrestling. Even outside of Cleveland, you can find some of the best wrestling your eyes will ever see. One such wrestler would be Marcus Blaze of Perrysburg, the 138-pounder and Penn-State commit is not just the best wrestler at his weight in the state of Ohio, but the best at his weight in the COUNTRY according to Sports Illustrated.
Other headliner wrestlers from Ohio in this tournament include brothers Tyrel and Jarrel Milller of St. Eds, seeded in the top-10 at 175 pounds and 190 pounds respectively. Both are committed to the University of Iowa, one of the most successful collegiate programs ever led by head coach Tom Brands.
Outside of the state of Ohio, Blair Academy of New Jersey, Wyoming Seminary of Pennsylvania, and Sunnyside of Arizona will be amongst many other high schools nationally sending wrestlers to compete on Ohio turf, Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls.
Some of the greatest collegiate wrestlers of all time have competed in this tournament and won such as Nathan Tomasello of Ohio State, who wrestled at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy in high school. Tomasello went on to win a National D1 Championship as an individual and he helped capture Ohio State’s only national championship in the sport of wrestling in 2015.
Another legend of the sport, David “Magicman” Taylor, now head coach at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, won FOUR Ironman titles in high school for St. Paris Graham. He went on to be a major success at Penn State University, also winning the gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in freestyle wrestling.
Wrestling lives in Ohio. The best tournament in high school wrestling in the nation being hosted in Ohio annually is all you need to know. Not only does this tournament give exposure to multitudes of wrestlers from around America but it helps these wrestlers etch their names in stone in the annals of wrestling history.
To conclude, this year has the potential to be one of the best Ironman tournaments yet!
Photo via www.ironmanwrestlingtournament.com
