Fahey Bank Athlete of the Month: Daxton Chase on right path for Pleasant wrestling
MARION ― Daxton Chase is in the midst of his own wrestling journey, but he's got a pretty accurate and reliable map in which to plot his course.
HIs older brother Carter Chase, the all-time wins leader in Pleasant wrestling history, earned the Division III 165-pound championship at last year's state tournament at Ohio State's Schottenstein Center. He then parlayed that into a spot on the wrestling team at Ohio State.
"Obviously he’s taught me a lot," Chase said of his older brother.
And one of those lessons imparted was to seek out the best competition you can find and train with them. That's exactly what he's done.
"The whole offseason I trained with Ty Wilson and Ethan Birden down at Dublin Scioto and Coffman. I’ve trained with the best of the best," he said.
And what has he gained from spending time on the mat with Wilson, the No. 1 ranked junior in the state who also competes at 144 pounds, and Birden, the No. 5 junior in Ohio who competes at 157?
"It’s the experience and how tough they wrestle and I implement it into mine," he said.
Chase finished sixth in Division III's 132-pound class at last year's state tournament. He also placed at state as a freshman. This year he's building off those experiences as well as the experiences of training with elite competition.
"He’s one of the most battle-tested and tough athletes that I’ve ever coached in my life," Pleasant coach Joe Robinson said. "He’s hard-edged and very driven. He’s a lot like his brother in that way. I’m sure the experience at the state meet the last couple years has him more and more hungry to climb that podium and get even higher."
It showed early in the season.
Chase won his division at the season-opening invitational in Mount Vernon, then went 10-0 at the Frickers Duals in Defiance. He capped the month by finishing fifth at an invitational in Brecksville that had some of the top talent in his weight division from Ohio and Michigan.
He ended December with a 21-2 record and reached the 100-victory plateau in the process.
It was more than enough for him to earn the Fahey Bank Athlete of the Month Award for December among Marion County boys.
"I’ve been waiting to win it since Carter won it, too," Chase said of the Fahey Bank award. "It’s a good accomplishment out of everybody to get it. It’s definitely lower (on the goal sheet) than a state championship, but I was looking forward to winning it this year."
Now with January in the books, the business part of the season looms. The Mid Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament in Galion on Feb. 18 leads into the sectional, district and state competitions to follow.
"I’ve still got some work to do," Chase said recently. "I took a tough loss a couple weeks ago at the Gorman (in Mansfield). I’ve got some preparing to do and some training."
Robinson has no doubt his wrestler will be ready to go at 144 pounds.
"He’s got a motor," the coach said. "He’s incredibly driven, but he’s process-oriented. He knows what it takes to get there and doesn’t shy away from what’s necessary to do it. He seeks out the best workout situations he can get, whether it’s certain people in our wrestling room or additional workouts with open opportunities elsewhere. He doesn’t shy away from extra work inside and out of the room."
That's a page out of his older brother's playbook.
"He really dives in and sinks his teeth into the opportunity he can get in the offseason," Robinson said. "He’s got a path before him laid out by his brother. Dax has a pretty good legacy of his own. He could be a three-time placer as a junior and be one of the few in our school’s history to be a four-time placer.
"Of course, he doesn’t just want to place; he wants that last match and be on that elevated stage. I think he’s on a good path to achieve it. We’ve still got some work to do, and he knows that, but we feel like it’s there in front of us and we just need to make the most of our opportunities and keep the good culture and work ethic and go get it."
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Fahey Bank Athlete of the Month
December Boys Nominees
Winner: Daxton Chase, junior, Pleasant wrestling.
Brayden Townsend, sophomore, Ridgedale basketball.
Marquis Long Jr., junior, Marion Harding basketball.
Carson Myers, senior, River Valley basketball.
Kaiden Luikart, junior, Elgin wrestling.
This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Fahey Bank Award: Daxton Chase on right path for Pleasant wrestling
