»Did your team make top local sports stories of ’09? Article on B1
ST. PARIS — It’s easy to take the Graham High School wrestling program’s dominance for granted, and in choosing the top local sports story of 2009, it would be easy to overlook Graham because of that.
But this wasn’t just your average state championship team — if any such team could be considered average. This was perhaps the greatest Ohio wrestling team ever.
In March, the Falcons broke a 58-year-old record with seven individual champions and also set the all-divisions points record with 229.
That kind of historic achievement sets the 2009 team apart, and it’s why the News-Sun sports staff has selected it as the story of the year.
“This is a great team,” Graham coach Jeff Jordan told the News-Sun in Columbus on March 7. “It’s the closest team I’ve ever coached. It’s just a privilege to coach a team like this.”
The star of the 2009 team was David Taylor, who capped one of the greatest careers in Ohio history with his fourth individual title. He finished 48-0 in his senior season and 180-2 in his career. He now wrestles at Penn State University.
“Ever since I got to high school, people have had such high expectations for me,” said Taylor after his final match. “That’s what motivated me, when people expect greatness.”
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