Marcus Blaze, a high school junior, entered The Clarion Open on Sunday, November 5, and pulled off a huge upset in the semifinals over Purdue's returning national finalist #1 Matt Ramos. Check out the match below:

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Blaze and Ramos went scoreless through the first period after Blaze was able to defend against multiple leg attacks by Ramos. The two then traded escapes in the second and third periods respectively to take a 1-1 match into overtime. The key exchange in the match occurred when Ramos got in deep on a single leg and lifted Blaze into the air. Despite the compromised position, Blaze was able to scramble out to safety and immediately fired off a counterattack and converted the takedown to win 4-1.

Prior to the match with Ramos, Blaze defeated the #1 ranked 126-pound high school wrestler in the quarterfinals, Jax Forrest - 9-4. In the finals, Blaze lost a close 6-4 bout to Chattanooga's Brayden Palmer. Palmer is notably a 2-time national qualifier at 133 pounds and finished in the round of 16 at the 2023 NCAA Tournament. 

Marcus Blaze is currently the #2 ranked recruit in the class of 2025 and has accumulated incredible accolades thus far in his high school career. Over the summer Blaze made the U17 World Team and traveled to Istanbul, Turkey where he won gold at the U17 World Championships. Blaze has not yet made his college commitment but with his accolades, and win over Ramos, Blaze has proven he'll be a huge factor at the next level.