Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

As Hayden Taylor paced the warmup area beneath the stands at Wells Fargo Arena last month awaiting his 145-pound state title match something stood out about the Solon sophomore.

Taylor appeared calm almost tranquil leading up to his second state championship appearance.

In the moments after the title match Taylor was equally unruffled and composed.

It is when Taylor steps on the wrestling mat that he unleashes a fury like few competitors across the state.

“To me his tenacity once he steps on the mat is what separates him,” Solon coach Blake Williams said. “He has a calmness to him outside the wrestling room but once he steps on the mat it’s amazing how he can flip a switch like that.”

It is that energy on the mat, a strict contrast to the demeanor Taylor shows away from wrestling, that has turned him into one of the best wrestlers in the state.

Taylor became the first two-time state champion at Solon winning the Class 2A 145-pound title to complete the second unbeaten season in program history.

For all of his accomplishments Taylor has been named the Your Prep Sports wrestler of the year and captain of the Your Prep Sports area wrestling team for the second year in a row.

“In the room just trying to get everyone motivated and ready to go,” Taylor said. “On the mat, I try to go as hard as I can all the time.”

That attitude on the mat combined with a non-stop desire to improve off of it has made Taylor nearly unbeaten during his prep career.

Taylor backed up a breakthrough freshman campaign that ended with a 20-match winning streak and a state title with an even more impressive sophomore season.

He went 52-0 to become the first Spartan to go undefeated since Lance Evans in 2014, capping his perfect season with a 5-2 win over Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont junior Trestin Sales in the 145-pound title match.

Even with all of his success the past two seasons, Taylor prefers to look forward rather than back.

“Obviously there is always room to do better,” Taylor said. “I felt like I had a good season, an undefeated season is obviously good, but I could have been more offensive at the state tournament and scored more points. Other than that, I thought I had a good season.”

Taylor turned heads at the state meet last season when he knocked off defending state champion Andrew Flora of ADM in the semifinals on his way to the 126-pound title.

He had to repeat the feat of taking down a defending champion in the semifinals this season, edging Union senior Jack Thomsen 3-2 in ultimate tie breaker before downing Sales in the final.

“He was happy to win a second time obviously but he would be the first to tell you that he could have wrestled better throughout the tournament and that’s good,” Williams said. “That keeps him thriving and wanting to dominate more.”

Matches coming down to the wire were rare for Taylor this season.

Of his 52 wins this season 27 ended via fall and 10 more by tech fall or forfeit.

“When someone is going to wrestle him they are going to get a six minute battle no matter what,” Williams said. “If it goes that long.”

Taylor owns a 103-2 career record and has won his last 72 matches but still obsesses over areas he can improve.

Midway through the season Taylor was ridden for the final 90 seconds of a period.

That didn’t sit well with the ultra-aggressive Taylor.

“I wasn’t exploding off the whistle and I got ridden out for like a minute and a half,” Taylor said. “I just decided that right off the whistle I was going right away. I worked on that a lot.”
During his freshman season Taylor followed the lead of some of the upper classmen in the Solon wrestling room.

This season he worked hard to become a leader and set an example for everyone, even the younger kids that will be coming up in the program.

 “The goal is trying to be the best leader you can and to make all your teammates better,” Taylor said. “I want to set a good example for the young kids coming and show them how we do things at Solon.”

Williams has watched Taylor grow in all aspects while become one of the most dominate wrestlers in the state.

“I think his mentality continued to grow and he kept getting more confident,” Williams said. “There is a big difference between cockiness and confidence and he definitely has the confidence when he steps on the mat every time.”

Taylor is already looking ahead – starting with a busy summer.

His summer plans include world team trials, free style state, junior duals in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Fargo Cadet Nationals in July.

The global coronavirus pandemic has put those plans in peril for the time being but Taylor, always looking ahead, is still preparing.

“We have world team trials in April and even if that gets cancelled, I’m still training like I’m going to do it,” Taylor said. “I’ll call up a buddy and we’ll find a place with a few mats and we will go there and get a workout in but it’s definitely been a little bit different lately.”

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