FEATURE: With 'thirst for knowledge,' wrestling's Taylor learns from mistakes to become national qualifier

How does one go from being dominated in 17-0 tech fall loss in the conference title match to two weeks later beating the same opponent by a 16-10 decision in the NCAA Southeast Region quarterfinals? If you’re Averett University men’s wrestling junior Anthony Taylor, you do it by learning from your mistakes.

And few have the ability to do it as quickly as Taylor, according to Averett head coach Blake Roulo.

“He’s the type of person where if he loses, he’s going to fix the mistake,” Roulo said. “He’s going to get on a coach, whether it’s me or an assistant, he’s going to fix whatever the mistake is immediately. Most kids can’t do that. Most kids have to train and it can take them weeks or even a month or a season to incorporate new techniques. You can show him something one time and he can immediately apply it to the next match. It’s absolutely remarkable what he can do and how much better he can get from one week to the next week. I haven’t coached many kids with the ability to do that. He’s got an outstanding mind and he has this thirst to want to be great and want to learn.”

When it comes to wrestling, Taylor said he’s always been a fast learner.

“If I take a big loss, I’m straight to the film to see what exactly what I did wrong,” Taylor said. “The biggest thing for me that helps me change match to match is watching that film to see what mistakes I made and how to capitalize on those mistakes.”

Taylor’s most recent adjustment helped put him in a position to qualify for his first NCAA Division III National Championship, which takes place March 15-16 in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Taylor was one of six Cougars to make the national tournament thanks to their individual finishes at regionals.

Taylor won his first two matches at the NCAA Southeast Regional, setting up a rematch against Washington and Lee University’s Mark Troni, who had defeated Taylor 17-0 on Averett’s own mat Feb. 17 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference final for 165 pounds. This time, a spot in the region semifinals was on the line.

Roulo was at a different mat coaching another Averett wrestler as Taylor began battling Troni, but he soon checked in on the bout. 

“I was coaching another kid and I walk over and he’s wrestling Troni in the quarterfinals and I look at the score and its 9-4,” Roulo recalled. “I was like, ‘Ah, gosh, we’re getting whooped.’  Then, all of a sudden, I’m watching 20 seconds later and I see he’s got a red ankle band on. It hit me that, ‘Oh, we’re winning!’ We just lost 17-0 to him two weeks ago and now we’re winning 9-4?”

So what changed in a short amount of time? Taylor had gone to the film.

“The first time we wrestled in the dual (on Jan. 27), I didn’t attack at all,” Taylor diagnosed. “I saw that on film. Then we wrestled at the ODAC Championship and it was even worse. I just didn’t set anything up or attack. Going into regionals, I thought, ‘What happens if I just try to work to my setups in this match.’ Once I learned how to work to the setups and defend his attack — he only had one attack and he was just kind of spamming it — and once I learned what he was doing, it clicked for me and I beat him.”

Although the win was monumental for Taylor, it didn’t yet qualify him for nationals. He still had work to do and had another obstacle to overcome. Taylor fell in the semifinals to 2023 NCAA national runner-up Matt Lackman from Alvernia University, sending him to the consolation bracket for the blood rounds. Taylor didn’t waver. He pinned Messiah University’s Clay Gainer to get back to the third-place match, where he won by a 15-6 major decision over Delaware Valley University’s Adam Coleman, to become a national qualifier.

“Losing in the semis was definitely not an easy thing to have on you,” Taylor said. “Your mental drops a little and you’re like, ‘Dang, am I going to make it?’ But fighting back and trying to place top three is really about keeping your mind straight and keeping it consistent with what you’ve been doing before. Keeping that consistent mindset is what really helped push me through those matches.”

Roulo couldn’t be prouder of Taylor for his development as a wrestler to get to this point. From backup as a freshman to ODAC champion as a sophomore and now an NCAA qualifier as a junior, Taylor has continued his trend upward.

“To see the amount of gains he’s made is great,” Roulo said. “It seems like every time you doubt him, he finds a way. … That thirst for knowledge is the definition of wanting to get better every day, because he does it. You’ll never see him take a day off because he’s a workhorse and a grinder. When you’re talking about a guy you want to mold your team after, Taylor is definitely one of those guys.”

Roulo recalled when Taylor contemplated the idea of transferring after his freshman season. Taylor, a native of Richmond Hill, Georgia, felt homesick. But after a long conversation where Roulo told him he saw him as one of his main guys the next year, Taylor ultimately decided to stay. In order to become more comfortable with his new surroundings in Danville, Taylor began to plant roots. He became a resident advisor on Averett’s campus as a sophomore, which allowed him to meet new people. He then spent last summer in Danville to learn more about his adopted community. He got a job, took boxing classes and continued to meet new others around town.

“It makes me feel more connected,” Taylor said. “It’s hard to try to wrestle your best if you don’t feel like you belong in a place and you don’t want to be there.”

That comfortability has certainly translated on the mat this year as he’s gone 32-12. Now he’s ready to take what he’s learned all year to the biggest stage.

“I’m just ready to perform at nationals,” Taylor said. “Usually, you would get some sort of nervousness or anxiety, but for me it’s excitement. I’m ready to go out there and wrestle.”