'I've gotten bits and pieces of the state experience'

BLUFFTON — It's been three years in the making for Bluffton's Kaden Basil. Before COVID-19 shut down the 2020 OHSAA wrestling meet at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, the then-sophomore was set to wrestle on the state's biggest stage. Then in 2021, Basil placed second in his district to make it to the state tournament, yet again. But again, Columbus evaded him, as he wrestled at Marion Harding High School due to COVID-19 restrictions. Finally, the now-Pirates senior will be wrestling on the Ohio State campus. Basil (175 pounds) went a perfect 3-0 in the district tournament that was held in Rossford. He'll face off against Glenn Keaton (34-12) of Westfall to start his run to the podium. "I felt like I've gotten little pieces of the state experience each time I've made it," Basil said. He goes into the weekend with a 38-5 record. "We were practicing for state my sophomore year and as I was getting ready to leave, they canceled it. Then last year, it was in a high school, so I don't really feel like I've wrestled in state yet. Those little bits and pieces that I've gotten, should hopefully prepare me for this weekend." It's not just the last three years that have prepared him, though. Rather, it's been years in the making. "I actually started wrestling when I was about five," he said. "I played sports a lot when I was a kid, but once I started getting a little older; I started winning those biddy wrestling tournaments, I was going to camps and everything else you could think of. "I think it kind of become my sport, though, when I made it to the state tournament in junior high. That was when I realized that if continue to go down this path, (I think I'd do well)." It's easy to see why he says that. In addition to qualifying for the state tournament three years in a row, Basil has accumulated several accolades on the mat in the Northwest Conference. Despite that, in last season's state tournament, Basil bowed out early, going 0-2. It'll certainly play a part in how this weekend goes for the senior. "He's talked about that to the point where he doesn't wanna do that again," Bluffton head coach, Nick Siferd said. "He reminds himself of it constantly, I remind him of him constantly and it fuels him. I don't think it haunts him necessarily, but it's sticking in his mind." That feeling of last year won't deter him, though. "I feel like in the past years — when they told me I'd be wrestling in the Schott — I'd get really nervous before wrestling," Basil said. "With this being my senior year, I'm of the mindset that this is my senior year and the last time that I get to wrestle, I can't let nerves get to me. I'll give it the best shot I can and can't worry about those losses." So, what kind of goals does Basil have for himself this weekend in the last time he'll wear a Bluffton singlet? Lofty ones. "I have a board up, where I told him to put goals down at the beginning of the season. He wrote down that he wanted to finish top-3 at state this year," Siferd said. "Now, you can look at the bracket and it looks like it's not going to be easy, but state's never easy." "I'll start from the bottom and work my way up, and I know that I'm not gonna just walk in there and win a state championship," Basil said. "You have to start at smart and as I win, I need to build off those wins." If the Bluffton senior can do that this weekend, maybe he'll be crowned champion at the venue that always seemed to get away from him.