Wrestling: Marian Central hires Jordan Blanton, Ryan Prater as co-head coaches

WOODSTOCK – Marian Central initially made a run at former Richmond-Burton star Jordan Blanton to become its new boys wrestling coach and was turned down.

Then, the Hurricanes asked Ryan Prater, Blanton’s brother-in-law and co-owner of Relentless Training Center in Johnsburg, where they train young wrestlers. Prater also declined.

Eventually, Marian athletic director Cody O’Neill and assistant wrestling coach Jim Herff, who was instrumental in the search, figured they would offer them both the job.

Blanton and Prater are married to sisters, so they do almost everything together already. So this time they accepted.

On Thursday afternoon in Marian’s auditorium, Blanton and Prater were introduced to students as the new co-wrestling coaches for a thriving state power of a program.

“Jim Herff was a big part of this,” O’Neill said. “He’s been a part of Marian wrestling since I can remember. Jim let me know [former coach] Fernie [Silva] stepped down and was like, ‘We have to find a coach.’ Marian’s been on an upward path the last couple of years, and I couldn’t mess that up. I had to get somebody who wouldn’t just continue it, but build off of it.”

Blanton is one of the most accomplished wrestlers in McHenry County area history. He finished his high school career with a 152-1 record and three state titles. He was a three-time NCAA Division I All-American at Illinois.

Prater won a state title at Plainfield Central and was teammates and roommates with Blanton at Illinois before he transferred to D-III Elmhurst, where he won an NCAA championship.

“The success that coach Fernie, coach David Silva, coach Herff and the foundation that’s been laid for us, you couldn’t ask for anything better,” Blanton said. “The expectations we have for these guys, it will be a first-class program. We want to mentor you, coach you up, build you into the best people you can possibly be.

“There’s high expectations, but we want that. I don’t want to come here and sit on our heels and be like ‘We’re Marian.’ I want to really challenge these kids to push themselves to their absolute limits. The process of building a program around that mindset is going to have a lot of positive results.”

Blanton and his wife, Caitlin, have an infant daughter, Blayke. Prater’s wife, Lauren, is Caitlin Blanton’s older sister. Since they are business partners with Relentless, the four (now five with Blayke) are frequently together.

“We do do everything together. There’s not many times when our wives and the baby aren’t doing something [with us],” Prater said. “It’s kind of a total package. I live five minutes from him in Spring Grove. You don’t get to pick your brother-in-law, but we’d been on national teams together and were teammates and roommates at Illinois, so it’s just another journey we get to go on.

“We’re always busy. I like to have a full plate. We go from one thing to another to another. We just grind.”

David Silva built Marian into a state powerhouse in recent years. The Hurricanes’ Dylan Connell won three IHSA state titles, joining Blanton and Crystal Lake Central’s Trevor Jauch and Joey Kielbasa and the only area wrestlers with three. Connell missed his shot at a fourth IHSA state championship because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but did win at 182 pounds in the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association Summer Championships in 2021.

Marian won the Class 2A team title by a wide margin at that tournament. The Hurricanes advanced to the Class 2A Dual Team State Tournament in 2018 and 2019, taking third in 2019.

David Silva left after the 2021 season, and his nephew, Fernie Silva, took over last year. The Hurricanes, beset by injuries, did not advance to the Class 1A Dual Team State Championships, but lost only one wrestler to graduation.

Blanton is a plumber with his father, Jack’s, company, J. Blanton Plumbing. Prater is a sales consultant with Breakthru Beverage. As co-coaches, they will have some flexibility if needed to work around their regular jobs.

“This is a heck of an opportunity,” Blanton said. “It’s important to build a program that’s striving for championships, individual and team. When I was growing up, there was wrestling headlines all the time. There was a vibe around McHenry County wrestling. We want to follow that same model.”

O’Neill, a 2009 Marian graduate who became AD this month, appears to have made a splash on his first coaching hire.

“When I was here, there were four on the wrestling team,” O’Neill said “Jared Koch and I made it to state, and that was great for us. Now, with coach [David] Silva and coach Fernie, you guys have made your way to the top. I know what you’re capable of.

“Marian wrestling should be the pinnacle. That’s what we want to be. I didn’t want to just fill the void of wrestling coach, but take it to the next level. I feel that between myself and Jim Herff, there were a couple names that came to mind. I not only think we made a great decision, but we got two of them.”