Sat Mar 13 2010
By CHUCK MARTINEZ
COLUMBUS -- Welcome back!
It's been awhile, 11 years to be exact.
It was 1997 when Defiance High School senior Carlos Marroquin battled his way to a third-place finish in the Division I state brackets back at the Nutter Center on the campus of Wright State University.
Since then, several have tried to return the blue-and-white to the podium and forefront of the state high school wrestling tournament.
Markus Black gave it a shot, Jack Bridenbaugh also made it as did Sam Carrisalez. Jameson Fee attempted it and Chris Earich tried it, twice. But all fell short of the coveted two victories needed to earn their spot among Ohio's elite.
But all that changed this year when a little 112-pounder with a fighter's heart and a great arm bar suited up for his second season with the Bulldogs.
B.J. Miller ventured to the Schottenstein Center last season as a freshman, but met a fate familiar to DHS wrestlers. A two-and-out weekend, including a loss to the eventual 103-pound state champion, sent Miller home early, but more importantly what it did was light a fire.
As Miller battled through the regular season, his sights were singular ... getting back to Columbus and winning.
Along the way, winning was all that Miller did and on Saturday he achieved ... PLACEMENT!
He set a school record for consecutive wins (43) and pinned eight of his 10 postseason opponents en route to a second state berth.
Miller's pinning ways, he also set the school record for pins (27), earned him a Western Buckeye League tournament title, a sectional crown and a district championship, but all along it was Columbus on his mind.
"I'm happy and proud to do it," Miller said after qualifying for a second time. "Some of that pressure is off, but now I need to go down there and place."
And place Miller did.
After a 48-second pin to start things off on Thursday, Miller suffered his first loss of the season to projected state runner-up and eventual sixth-place finisher Nate Westfall of Perry. But upon his return to the mat, Miller made good on his promise.
Miller defeated Media Highland's Bart Young for the second time in two weeks which earned that spot on the podium.
"That was his goal, not just coming down here (to state), but to stand on the podium," explained DHS mentor Josh Neilson. "He worked hard all season and he improved on things, too, like scoring from the bottom, and it showed against people like Young. He took us down and B.J. scored at will on him."
With placement assured, Miller recalled setting his sights for this season after a disappointing end to his freshman year.
"I'm really happy, all that work in the offseason and that work during the season finally paid off," said Miller. "After that first loss, I told myself: 'That's all in the past.' I needed to put it behind me and just continue to give it my all. I knew he (Westfall) had gone back and practiced hard this week, so last week (when I beat him for the district title) didn't matter, I needed to go out and win again."
In the consolation quarterfinals, Miller lost again before getting pinned by Erik McLaughlin of Canal Fulton Northwest in their match for seventh-place.
Although Miller didn't finish the season quite the way he wanted, he's going to let it make him stronger for 2008-2009.
"I'm happy that I was able to come down here and place," said a disappointed Miller, who finishes the season with a 44-3 overall record. "But at the same time, I'm upset, because I know I can do better. I know I have to get back to work to place higher."
Miller's eighth-place finish already assures him a spot in DHS lore, but he's striving for immortality.
Defiance has only had one state champion Dave Harrow in 1971, who is also one of only two (Todd Miller in 1989 and 1990) DHS two-time state placers. Another two-win weekend in Columbus and Miller would join Harrow and Miller in that rarefied air, but it's the gold that Miller really wants.
"Placing eighth makes me want to go back and work harder and place better next year," said Miller. "It's nice getting on the podium, because it's the first time in a while for Defiance and it means a lot to me representing the school back on the podium, now I hope that I can do it again and do it better next year."
Comments
By Posting to this site, you agree to our Terms of Service Be polite.
Inappropriate posts may be removed.
Crescent-News.com doesn't necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post.
Login above or Register to comment.
0 Total Comments Home | Back
Copyright Defiance Publishing, LLC 1995-2010. All Rights Reserved.
Content may not be republished without the expresse written consent of the publisher.
Content may not be republished without the expresse written consent of the publisher.
Dix Communications