We continue – and this week conclude – the countdown of JJHuddle’s “Top 50 Ohio High School Athletes of the Decade” for 1999-2009. Today we unveil the No. 3 athlete in our countdown. No. 1 will be announced Friday!
Today’s entry is the most decorated wrestler in state history…he’s done things no one else has.
3. David Taylor, Graham, Wrestling, 2005-2009: Taylor’s resume reads like Aesop wrote it. The recent Graham graduate and current Penn State freshman won four Division II state titles, three junior high state titles, five National Championships, two Super 32 titles, a Beast of the East crown and was the 2009 Dave Schultz National Award winner (the country’s most prestigious high school wrestling honor).
Taylor also did several things no one else ever has.
Taylor is the only wrestler in history to win the vaunted Walsh Ironman four times. He’s also the only wrestler ever to beat Logan Stieber (remember him?), which he did in the Ironman finals.
And there was also that epic with Collin Palmer. In the only meeting ever between two three-time defending state champions, Taylor bumped up a weight class and handed Palmer his only loss ever to an Ohio wrestler (that’s two, remember Stieber?). Did we mention both Taylor and Palmer were ranked No. 1 in the country at their respective weight classes (135 and 140) at the time?
There’s literally nothing Taylor didn’t accomplish during his high school career. He even lost. So he’s human…kind of. Finishing 180-2, Taylor went undefeated his final two years of high school.
After originally committing to juggernaut Iowa State, Taylor ended up at Penn State after head coach and legend Cael Sanderson left Ames for State College. Taylor is red-shirting. He is a legitimate threat to win an NCAA title in 2011.
