The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Firelands graduate Burgdorf commits to Gannon
Payton Burgdorf finally has a new home.
More than four months after his senior high school wrestling season was cut short, the Firelands graduate made his college decision on July 10 by committing to wrestle at Gannon University in Erie, Pa.
“I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders,” he said. “I knew I’d be wrestling in college. I just didn’t know where it would be at.”
Burgdorf’s college commitment has been a long time coming. After winning a Division II district title at Norwalk in March — and thus qualifying for the state tournament — Burgdorf decided to push his college decision off until the end of the state tournament so that way he could see if any schools got in touch based off his performance.
That plan was upended by the novel coronavirus pandemic, however, as the state tournament was initially postponed before being canceled on March 26. Instead of visiting campuses and spending time in college’s wrestling rooms, Burgdorf met and talked with coaches through a computer screen on Zoom.
“It’s been super hard,” Burgdorf said. “Obviously, most of the time you visit a college before you make a decision, but I just really had to make my decision blindly.”
It was on one of those Zoom calls that he made his decision, as Burgdorf committed to the Golden Knights’ wrestling program despite having never stepped foot on campus.
“I’m supposed to visit for the first time next weekend,” Burgdorf said.
“I could tell from the Zoom calls that it was the best fit for me and that the coaches have a plan for what they want from me. Everyone I’ve talked to has had nothing but good things to say about it. I haven’t heard anything really bad about it.”
Despite not being able to finish his senior season, Burgdorf leaves Lorain County as one of the county’s most decorated wrestlers in recent memory. In addition to being a two-time district champion at Division II, Burgdorf leaves Firelands as a four-time state qualifier. Burgdorf’s leadership was also on full display this season.
After the Falcons lost to Black River in a home dual meet on Jan. 23, Firelands coach Josh Walbom saw Burgdorf shift from being a quiet leader to a vocal one, as he spent practices and matches encouraging his teammates to dig a little bit deeper. Three weeks later, Burgdorf and the Flacons tore through the Lorain County Conference Tournament to win the inaugural LC8 wrestling title.
“Honestly, I think this year more than any year he’s peaked at the right point,” Walbom said of Burgdorf in March. “The past two years he’s peaked throughout the regular season and had some really big highs in January, winning every tournament he’s been to. This year was a lot different, there was a lot of adversity throughout the year.
After wrestling at 132 pounds for the past two years, Burgdorf said he’ll either wrestle at 133 or 141 pounds at Gannon.
“I could easily wrestle at both weights,” he said. “It’ll just be about where I fit best in the lineup.”
While there’s still a chance that this winter college wresting season could be impacted by the coronavirus, Burgdorf’s eager to be back on the mat completely for the first time since he had his final state tournament taken from him.
“I’m really looking forward to wrestling again,” he said. “I’m eager to get back into it; I feel ready.”