LAKEWOOD, Ohio — St. Edward took home its 10th consecutive OHSAA state wrestling championship on March 10 at Ohio State’s Schottenstein Center. Cleveland.com photographers Josh Gunter and John Kuntz followed the Eagles throughout much of the season, capturing photos of wrestlers on and off the mat leading up to the state tournament. This installment, the second of three in the series, features St. Edward senior Bradley Eaton during his pursuit of an individual state title. Above all, Eaton, who was a three-year starter and a captain on the Eagles’ football team, is proud to have gotten an opportunity to compete against others and represent St. Edward. “I think it’s a lot about wearing the uniform, wearing the ‘E’, wearing the name across your chest with pride,” Eaton told cleveland.com at the state wrestling tournament. “Every time I put something on, whether it’s my shoulder pads, jersey, wrestling singlet, track uniform, soccer jersey, I’m representing the school. That’s what I love about it. I love St. Ed’s, you know, it feels like home, and I have a blast every time I get to go out and represent them on a big stage.” RELATED: St. Edward wrestling’s state title quest: Behind the scenes of Adam Butler’s 2024-25 season Eaton has done a phenomenal job representing the Eagles. The Princeton football commit also has three Division I state football championships under his belt, as well as four OHSWCA state wrestling duals titles. “I think it honestly brings everyone up. Everyone rises to the occasion, because you’ve got this expectation, and it’s kind of a fun one to have,” Eaton said of the pressure that comes with being an athlete at St. Edward. “A lot of people are rooting against us all the time, but you kind of learn to embrace it and love it. I want to go out here and fulfill that expectation. So I feel like I can’t let my team down, I can’t let my coaches down. I can’t let myself down. So it’s kind of fun having that.” Here’s a look at Eaton’s season. Jan. 4: Tri Meet at Graham High School Eaton joined his teammates for the three-hour ride to Graham High School for a tri-meet with Graham and Bishop Watterson. Jan. 6: Endurance Work Out This practice was specifically designed by coach John Heffernan to build the endurance of his wrestlers. A lot of sprints, distance and interval runs. Using weights for timed drills and pairing up with a partner to work the fireman’s drill, where you carry your partner up two and half flights of steps. “Everyone hits those points in their match where you know you might feel like you got nothing left to give,” Eaton told cleveland.com. “That’s that time that you think back to your practices in the room and know you felt this before, and know you want it more than the other guy. Because if I’m feeling tired, if I just got hit hard, they are too. So I just gotta, you know, want it more than them and fight harder.” Jan. 8: Practice Most practices are structured to have the wrestlers work on taking shots and holds. It fills the two-story wrestling gym with the sound 50 wrestlers smacking the mat. Feb. 1: OHSWCA District Qualifiers After the District Qualifiers the Eagles took down Marysville, Springboro and Massillon Perry to win their seventh consecutive OHSWCA State Duals title. Eaton went 3-0 on the day, earning a 16-8 major decision against Marysville’s Boston Burkardt before a pin in 3:51 against Springboro’s Evan Hemmeter and a 10-3 decision over Massillon Perry’s Marshall Geckler. Feb. 22: State Sectional Eaton handled the sectional tournament with ease, earning a 20-second pin against Shaker Heights’ Shi Zi, before technical falls of 18-1 and 20-5 against Twinsburg’s Bearon Grant and Strongsville’s Dominic Grecol respectively. Eaton was the runner up at the district tournament. March 7-9: State Tournament The state high school wrestling tournament celebrates its 88th annual boys tournament. Held at OSU’s Schottenstein Center in Columbus, the tournament begins with the arena floor covered with 10 wrestling mats. Once it begins, it’s non-stop matches running through three high school boys divisions and a girls bracket until the evening. Winning a state title means four consecutive wins in this tournament. After a 9-1 major decision in the first round of the state tournament, Eaton made his way into the championship bout with decisions of 5-4 and 11-2. The luck of the draw was not on Eaton’s side as Perrysburg’s Marcus Blaze, who had wrestled at 138 all season, jumped two weight classes at the sectional to wrestle at 150. A Penn State commit, Blaze is one of the best wrestlers the state of Ohio has ever seen. He won the Ironman at the beginning of the season and beat Eaton with a 17-2 technical fall to win his fourth consecutive state championship. Eaton compiled a 24-8 record this season on his way to his second state runner-up finish in three years. He’s landed on the podium four straight times, with a fifth-place finish as a freshman and a sixth-place finish as a junior. He ends his career with a record of 100-38.