TOLEDO, Ohio — The high school wrestling regular season is coming to a close, which means area athletes are gearing up for a run toward the state championship. One young star who has his eyes set on Columbus is Waite High School sophomore Phoenix Contos.
"Going undefeated this year is my ultimate goal," Contos said. "Just beat everyone in front of me is all I have to do."
A dominant season in his sophomore campaign has looked easy for the transfer from Genoa.
"I feel like my technique has been unstoppable this year because the practices I go through and the coaching I have is very good," Contos said. "One of the highest levels possible."
At the top of Division One, Contos is ranked No. 1 in the 126-pound weight class according to BoroFanOhio. Contos is also undefeated on the year, yet still determined.
"I'm going to run every day as hard as I can, practice as hard as I can and get my conditioning up," Contos said. "Then I just need to learn some new things and then feel like I'll be good to go."
His father, Kevin, who placed at state as a wrestler himself during high school, serves as an assistant coach for Waite's wrestling team.
"The amount of work he puts in. He does extra, he runs as hard as he can and he's got a good set of guys that he trains with here as well," Kevin said. "I think that makes a lot of the difference."
Lineage has played a big role in forming this young phenom. Multiple state wrestlers have come from the Contos family including Phoenix's brother, father, uncle and grandfather.
"It gives him a different advantage I guess," Kevin said. "When you live with your coach and have access to certain guys and information, I think that makes it a little easier."
Contos said the support from his family is proving unique.
"It's very good to lean on them because my dad and my uncle know a lot about wrestling, even my grandpa who knows everything it seems like," Contos said. "The coaching is perfect for me."
A combination of knowledge and skill helps the young mat prodigy continue improving.
"He's made up his mind to do what it takes to be really good at wrestling," Kevin said. "That's a hard decision to make when you're a young kid and in a family that has wrestled a lot as well."
History is also motivating Contos as he seeks to become just the second wrestler in program history to bring a state title back to Waite High School.
"Recently, I've been thinking about it a lot after learning it's a really big deal," Contos said. "I didn't really think of that before I came here, but yeah, it's crazy."