In years past, there's always been one wrestler who prevents Mt. Hebron's Jeff Hayden from standing atop the podium at the state wresting tournament. This season, however, Hayden is the one with the target on his back.
Carrying a 126-pound Howard County title and a 32-0 record into the 3A/4A East regional tournament Friday and Saturday, Hayden is on a mission to capture the state title that has eluded him the past two seasons.
As the home stretch of his final season unfolds, Hayden took time to talk about how his mindset changes for the postseason, what his rivalry with River Hill's Michael Beck was like, and what it would mean to him to become the Vikings' first-ever individual state champion.
So how would you describe how your season has gone so far?
Good. I just take every match like it's the state finals. Just go out hard, do what I know I can do, and just win takedowns. The biggest thing I've done differently this year is I've been more aggressive and pushing the pace. I've really been dominating in neutral, and I think that's what's been helping me win these matches — getting the first takedown and then going from there. It wears down on the other people as I've been getting my endurance up. I think that's really helped me this year.
I think any wrestler would say that once the postseason comes, everything is different. What changes for you when this time of the year comes around?
Everybody has a clean slate in the postseason, and it's what we're building up for. Whether I have 29 wins and no losses, or 29 losses altogether, it doesn't matter. You've just got to go out there and work hard every match, because this is what people are fighting for. This is where champions are made, and if you don't go out hard every match, it may be the end.
What are your expectations for the postseason?
Obviously I want to win it. I'm just going to go hard. There are definitely some tough kids in my weight class, but I dropped down (from 132 pounds) at the end of the year hoping it would give me a better chance. Anything that can help me, I'm willing to do. So that's my mindset right now.
Mt. Hebron has never had an individual state champion. What would it mean to you and the program to be the first one to accomplish the feat?
It would be great. Just to represent the school and do something nobody has ever done before, I think it would be awesome. It's what I'm working for. This has been my dream since freshman year, and honestly, sophomore and junior year I was not expecting to make it to the state finals. And this year, I'm kind of on this pedestal because I'm up in the rankings, and people are gunning for me. This year is supposed to be my year, so I really have to push it because it's my last year and it means everything to me. The most important thing in the high school season is to win the state championship.
Like you said, you've been so close the last two years. What's it like to lose in the state finals twice?
It definitely sucks because you always go into it thinking you're going to win — thinking you want it more than the other guy — and to be so close and be right at your fingertips, it's devastating. But you can't get down on yourself because it's just got to make you work harder. If you don't have those downfalls and mistakes, you're never going to get better. And I think those losses have made me better. I think losing those matches have made me work so much harder in the offseason, and I don't want to feel that defeat ever again. That's what's really motivating me this year.
Last year, you lost to River Hill's Michael Beck in the county, region and state finals. He isn't standing in your way anymore, so tell me what that rivalry was like, and your mindset now that he has graduated.
I think I was 0-8 against him. ... Without him in the way this year, I feel like there's a big weight lifted off of me. That was just like a roadblock last year. I didn't win a tournament until this year because there were always great guys like him standing in front of me. Not that I couldn't have beaten them or anything, but it was always a struggle to have him there. It's great to finally be the top-dog.
Two of your teammates –seniors Connor Strunk and Nick Suri – suffered injuries that cost them their senior seasons. Did seeing those guys go down make you appreciate the sport a little more?
Yeah it did. I always see myself as 'I'm invincible' but these guys were in the best shape of their life and working hard, and seeing them – I've been very blessed to not have any serious injuries broken bones or torn ACL's. I stretch a lot to play it safe, but if that happens it's absolutely devastating for the guys that have to go through that and have to have surgery and are out for multiple seasons. You never get those high school years back.
You've been bleaching your hair blond the last few seasons. Where did you get that from?
I think it's something I picked up from my brother. He used to do it in New York. It's just a postseason thing. I think it means it's the game-time. This is when I've got to go.
What's it like mentoring your younger brother Jimmy on the team?
A lot of people don't know this unless you're on the team, but my brother and I — we bash heads a lot. I don't even usually wrestle him at practice. A lot of brothers wrestle with each other, but whenever I wrestle him and he scores, it just turns into Mortal Kombat. Somebody is going to end up bloody or hurt in a couple of seconds because I hate being scored on by my brother. I go so much harder. It's actually exhausting and it's good for me, and that's why coach sometimes puts me up against him, but it is just a bloodbath every time. ... It's a different side of me when I wrestle my brother. It's great though because he's doing well and it's good to have him there. We're always up in the finals together. It's fun – the Hayden brothers doing well.
At this point, you only have maybe seven or eight matches left in your high school career. Has it hit you yet that you're in the home stretch?
Yeah, it's really starting to hit me, especially when I'm applying to these colleges. I'm like, 'Is wrestling really something I want to have in my life after high school?' And I think it is, so I'm really looking to continue to do this in college. But I also have to make the most of these last few matches because this is it. I've got to put it all on the line. This is the end of my high school career, and I've got to make it count.