Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/115002
EYE TO EYE ���I���ve been training for one reason all season, and that reason isn���t going to change,��� said the defending NCAA champ. ���It���s going to continue to be preparation for my ultimate goal, which is to be national champ.��� Teammate Ed Ruth said Taylor has seemed nearly unfazed by the previous losses. As much as technique and strength play into the sport, brains and strategy may play a larger role. A top student, Taylor���s hallmark is his deceptiveness on the mat, which he uses to outsmart opponents. He���s taking a similar approach to his training. ���It doesn���t seem like he���s trying to make up for the losses,��� Ruth said. ���It���s more like he���s training smarter in preparation for the [NCAA championship] match, but he���s not changing Dake (left) and Taylor square off in an exhibition match in November at the NWCA All-Star Classic. Dake won a 2-1 tiebreaker. the intensity or anything. He���s just being smarter about it. He���s training his body in a different way. ���I ultimately believe that whatever he���s doing is working, because David is a smart kid, and the way that he trains, he knows how to train for certain matches.��� Dake is a three-time NCAA champion, having won at 141, 149 and 157 pounds. If he wins a fourth title at 165, he���ll go down as one of the best of all-time. He already holds bragging rights as the only college wrestler to ever win titles at three different weights. A fourth would only raise his pedestal. Taylor has a distinctive resume of his own. In addition to being a national finalist and AllAmerican during both of his college postseasons, he is still considered perhaps the most successful high school wrestler of all time. He finished at St. Paris Graham (Ohio) with an 180-2 career record, and to this point, he only has two losses in college. He���s not used to losing, and he doesn���t plan on losing again. ���A lot of people think I���m going to lose, which is really weird to me,��� Taylor said before the season. ���It���s not something that I���m used to feeling. I feel like it���s my weight class, and it���s time to go out there and prove it.���