Purdue's Joey Blaze grapples way to NCAA Wrestling Championships title match
For the second time in three seasons, Purdue will have a sophomore wrestling for an NCAA title.
Joey Blaze pulled off an unpredictable upset of top-ranked Tyler Kasak of Penn State by a 5-4 decision Friday during the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
The 157-pounder then backed it up with a 4-2 decision over Northwestern's Trevor Chumbley in the semifinals.
Now Blaze will meet a familiar foe in Antrell Taylor of Nebraska for the third time in two weeks.
Blaze lost to Taylor 4-3 in the Big Ten quarterfinals but avenged the setback by beating him 3-2 in three overtimes in the bronze medal match on March 9.
Now Blaze, the No. 8 seed will face No. 3 Taylor in an attempt to become Purdue's first NCAA individual wrestling champion since Charlie Jones won the 167-pound title in 1992.
Matt Ramos, who in 2023 stunned then No. 1 125-pounder Spencer Lee of Iowa on his way to the national final before a runner-up finish, also earns All-American status after bouncing back following just his second loss of the season.
Just a kid from Ohio who's going to the national title match. 🤩
— Purdue Wrestling (@PurdueWrestling) March 22, 2025
WHAT A RUN FOR @joeyblaze18!!! pic.twitter.com/1cxi3DELHa
Ramos' run to the 125-pound final two years ago provided inspiration for Blaze to make an unlikely run, he said last week.
"He consistently believed in himself the year he made that happen. He consistently believes in himself to this day," Blaze said of Ramos. "It makes it real easy for someone like me to believe in myself if you see what someone like him can do off of just believing when no one else believes and working every day towards something."
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue wrestling's Joey Blaze to compete for NCAA Championship
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