By JEREMY HINES
Muhammad Ali once said, “Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”
Milan sophomore Matthew Baylor has that will. It’s what drives him on and off the mat.
“Matthew is a very smart student and wrestler,” Milan coach Adrian Wilburn said. “he’s methodical and he doesn’t do anything that he hasn’t thought out already in his mind. His greatest strength is his brain. He outthinks his opponents.
“He is better than average with his speed and strength, but what gets him to the next level is his intelligence.”
Last year Baylor was trailing Wawasee’s Kaleb Salazar in the Friday night round at state. He was outmuscled and found himself trailing 6-2. But Baylor wasn’t ready to throw in the towel.
“I thought about how there aren’t many kids from my school that had ever made it as far as I had,” Baylor said. “I didn’t want it to end there. I just decided to wrestle my match and give it everything I had.”
It worked. Baylor went on to win the match 11-7 and became only the second Milan grappler to ever place at state. He finished 8th at 106 pounds and completed his freshman campaign with a 48-4 record.
He had the distinction of going up against fan favorite, Northeastern’s talented female wrestler Heather Crull in the Richmond regional last season. He won the match 9-3.
“That match was a little stressful because I was the guy everyone seemed to want to lose,” Baylor said. “I knew Heather was a really good wrestler and I had to be cautious against her.”
Currently Baylor is ranked No. 5 at 113 pounds. His goal this season is to climb higher on the podium than he did last year.
“I have worked really hard in the offseason, and I want to climb the podium,” Baylor said. “Last year it was nerve racking as a freshman. When I qualified for state, it was a feeling I’ll never forget. It was hard to believe. The thrill, the energy. I had confidence before, but it was something special that has led me to working even harder for this season.”
Baylor is successful in whatever he puts his mind to. He played football up until eighth grade, and according to coach Wilburn, he was very good at it. He played on the defensive line and weighed around 100 pounds. That didn’t matter to Baylor. He would use his smarts and his speed to outmaneuver the linemen across from him and more often than not make the tackle.
In the classroom he has a 3.9 grade point average. He also devotes time helping out younger wrestlers in the Milan program – particularly his brother Mason.
“I’ve got a younger brother and my coach will try to take credit for how good he is, but I’m the one that coaches him the most,” Baylor joked. “He’s a special little wrestler. Every match he has I’m right there with him. That’s one of my favorite things about wrestling. I like this sport a lot and I hate to admit it, but he is going to be better than me. But it’s really a thrill to get to watch him.”
Coach Wilburn believes Milan can be a force to be reckoned with in the small school division at team state for the next few years.
“We were hoping to get voted in this year for team state,” Wilburn said. “We were hoping to get voted in last year, too. I haven’t had a senior in four years and I don’t have any seniors this year. We’re hoping for big things out of this team.”
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