Mount Vernon wrestler heads to U17 world championships in Greece
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (WCMH) -- It’s easy to spot Mount Vernon’s Alex Taylor at a wrestling meet. The 17-year-old is powerful, He’s poised, and he’s platinum.
"Have to look good, wrestle good,” he said, smiling, running his hand through his bleached hair. "It's just good luck, you know. I do it every year for state. It's something my coach was the last to do, so I had to bring it back for him."
"That was like the thing, you know!” Mount Vernon assistant wrestling coach Matthew Lybarger said while laughing. At least you always know where he is, right?
“His dad says that: I know where to find him."
This year, Alex has definitely stood out beyond the blonde hair.
In March, he became Mount Vernon’s first-ever state wrestling champion after coming close both his freshman and sophomore years. Alex said those losses definitely hurt, but maybe needed to happen for him to gain perspective.
“It didn't really matter if I was to win or lose that match,” he said of last year’s state tournament.
“It wasn’t my trajectory. That wasn't my entire season, you know, that was just one match. And I came back next year in the semis and got a pin. And, you know, I think I was just a lot more prepared and calm when I go out there and calm and ready to go. It’s when I wrestle my best.”
“You know, he’s a young kid still. He will be a senior. He just turned 17. So he’s super young and had a lot of mental growing to do,” Matthew said. "He knows how to win. That's probably his biggest strength is I mean, he loves wrestling, but he just knows how to win. He finds a way every time."
Many times, lately: first the state championships in March, then the U17 U.S. Open in April, followed by international gold in freestyle at the U17 Pan American games in Rio De Janeiro.
He also got a silver medal at those U17 Pan Am games in Greco-Roman.
All of that success qualified him to represent Team USA at the U17 World Championships in Greece, July 28-29.
“My mom even said the other day, she's like, I never thought I'd go out of the country, and now I'm going to watch my kid wrestle! It's just such a heartwarming moment for me and everybody. It's something that I could have never dreamed of. And now I'm out here doing it!” Alex said. “International wrestling is a little bit different. The reffing is different. Scoring is different. I'm going to be seven hour time zone difference. So I got to learn how to wrestle when I'm not comfortable, and I think that's something I can really take away from this."
"It's another big stage,” Matthew said. “So I'd like to see him, you know, even improve as the week goes on. You know, learn from every match, get a little better, open up a little bit more every match, and just be confident."
Alex said what he loves about wrestling is that there is always something to chase, whether that’s a personal best, a title, or someone to beat.
The thing is, this summer Alex has been the one everyone is chasing.
"It's exciting, really. I like being at the top,” he said. “Some people get nervous there. I feel comfortable when everyone else is chasing me, and it doesn't really stop me from working any harder."
"I don't think there's anything stopping him,” said Matthew, who has known Alex since he was a kid in the “Little Stingers” program while Matthew wrestled on the Yellow Jackets' varsity squad. “I think that if he wants to go get an Olympic gold, then he'll do that."
That is, of course, the dream. First, Alex has a few goals he wants to accomplish along the way.
“Looking at it in hindsight, when I was four years old, it's hard to believe when you're a little kid that you're going to go wrestle division one,” explained Alex, who is committed to wrestle for Arizona State in 2026. “Like that's your obviously that's the goal, that's the dream. But I'm headed that way now, and you know, I've seen guys similar in my path. You look at Colton Shultz -- Arizona State graduate this year, he wrestled in the Olympics and been on world championships – he’s headed the same route and everything tells me I should do the same exact thing.”
Alex’s dreams aren’t limited to the wrestling mat. He knows that eventually, that life is over, and a new one with new aspirations begins.
“My dream is to become a doctor one day and, you know, just live out life the best I can,” he said. “I want to go into Arizona State, be a national champ, Olympics, Olympic champ, obviously. But my goal is a lot more than just wrestling, too. I want to become the best person I can.”
A dazzling future, to go along with a dazzling hairdo.
"I have haters for it and lovers for it,” he said, laughing. “Makes me wrestle all the better."