The Ohio Wesleyan wrestling team recently welcomed its newest addition: assistant coach Sonnieboy Blanco.  Blanco excitedly joins the Ohio Wesleyan staff after finishing graduate school at Thomas More University in Kentucky.

Blanco was born in Liberia and came to the United States in 2004 when he was just 6 years old, along with his grandmother and two others. They came as refugees, as there was a civil war going on at the time. After arriving in Houston, Texas, they relocated to New Jersey, where some of their family resided.

Blanco started elementary school shortly after arriving in the United States.  As he grew older, Blanco started playing different sports and eventually picked up wrestling in fifth grade after watching a WWE match.

"I was the first wrestler in my family and as I began my sophomore year of high school, I started to take the sport more seriously," said Blanco.

After winning a district title his junior and senior years of high school, then winning a regional title and qualifying for the state championship as a senior, he received a call from the wrestling coach of Washington & Jefferson College.

"I always knew I wanted to go to college but I just didn't know where or how; it was just one of my goals...ever since I was a little kid," said Blanco.

Blanco was the first person in his family to go to college. When he arrived on the W&J campus, he fell in love with the school and knew he would succeed there.

"My grandma couldn't even speak English and I just knew at an early age that I had to fend for myself if I wanted to be successful."

Blanco said he did not realize the value of education until he arrived on campus. He had never been pushed so hard academically before that, and he realized he had to work really hard to achieve good grades.

"I had that will [to succeed] and I told myself that I will stay and I will graduate because I did not come this far to quit and go back home," said Blanco. "I want to be that example for my little cousins to look up to because one day they're going to go to school."

W&J had lots of academic resources, so Blanco took advantage of them. He understood he had to make a sacrifice and work twice as hard as everyone else regarding academics.

"I was around a lot of smart people who were having intelligent conversations that I wanted to be a part of," said Blanco. "When everyone on your team has a 3.5 grade-point average and they are trying to go to law school or medical school, it motivates you to do better."

Already an All-American after finishing fifth nationally in NCAA Division III as a junior, Blanco believes he truly learned who he was by his senior year, as well as the kind of man and leader he wanted to be in life. He is very passionate about helping people, but he did not quite know where that would take him.  He went on to finish third nationally as a senior, and upon graduating from Washington & Jefferson in 2017, he applied for an assistant coaching position at Muhlenberg College and was hired.

"I tell people 'hard work beats talent if talent doesn't work hard' and I knew I was talented and that I just needed to work hard at it, just like I did when I was wrestling," said Blanco. "I wanted to mentor young people and coaching just came to me."

Two months before his first season coaching at Muhlenberg, the head coach who had hired him resigned.

"All of a sudden I was a 21-year-old running the show by myself," said Blanco. "I told the boys to remember that they came here for their education, though, not for their coach."

Blanco eventually got to a point where he figured out his own coaching strategy and realized he wanted to go to graduate school and then later, become a head coach. He knew a lot of schools wanted someone with a master's degree and that it would improve his chances of getting a head coaching job.

"I'm young and I'm an African American man, so if I wanted people to take me seriously, I knew that having a master's degree would take me to another level," said Blanco.

Blanco received his master's degree in ethical leadership from Thomas More, graduating with a 4.0 grade-point average.  As an assistant coach there, he helped the Saints finish 15th in the nation in NCAA Division III in 2018-19, then place 36th nationally in their first season of NAIA competition in 2019-20.

"I had a 2.5 grade-point average at Washington & Jefferson and it was like I got a second chance in graduate school," said Blanco. "I knew I had to embrace what God was calling me for and to not run away from being a leader."

Blanco believes that once people recognize the power and value of education, it is evident that education can change their lives by simply making them aware. Blanco gives back to his high school in New Jersey through the Sonnieboy Scholarship. The goal is to give those kids hope and inspire them to go on to higher education.

"You have to push yourself because no one else is going to give anything to you.  If you want to be successful in life, you need to find a way to be successful," said Blanco.

Blanco admires Ohio Wesleyan head coach Paul Reid's work ethic and the wrestlers who he brought into the program. Blanco believes Reid is the kind of coach that he can look up to and he is excited to work with Reid.

"My goal as a coach is to give you hope and encouragement," said Blanco. "When you start doubting yourself, that's when I pick you up. Sometimes it just takes someone to believe in you and that makes a huge difference; I will always be that person."

Reid believes that Blanco will bring a lot to the Bishop wrestling program.

"He is young and excited about coaching so there is a lot of passion there," said Reid. "He complements my coaching style so there will only be a positive impact in all areas of the program."

Blanco provides another set of eyes and ears during practices and competitions, which is very beneficial for the wrestlers, as Reid has not had an assistant coach for the past two years.

"As long as our guys are coachable and willing, they can learn a lot from [Blanco]," said Reid.  "His wrestling ability speaks for itself through his accomplishments."

Reid notes that Blanco has an amazing life story about overcoming adversity and becoming successful in many areas of his life. He thinks his wrestlers will respond to Blanco's story in terms of persevering through difficulties, whether that be on the mat, in the classroom, or just life in general.