High school wrestling: Wadsworth holds its one at first day of Ironman

CUYAHOGA FALLS — Despite the fact that the quarterfinal round did not go how the Wadsworth wrestling team planned, the Grizzlies still made plenty of noise on the first day of the 28th Ironman. Jaxon Joy, Chris Earnest, Coen Grimm and Aaron Ries lost their quarterfinal matches and enter today needing one win to make the podium. Wadsworth is currently 13th with 49.5 points, despite none of its four quarterfinalists advancing to the semifinals at the prestigious national tournament. The Grizzlies entered the weekend ranked 27th in the nation by FloWrestling and 16th among teams competing at the Walsh Dome. "It's a hard tournament and you come to Ironman to get these kinds of matches and face these kinds of kids," Earnest said. "I knew coming into this one it was going to be close." Buckeye, which had 285-pound senior Todd Allen and 175-pound junior Eddie Neitenbach enter the tournament, sits in 95th with 6.5 points. Junior Colyn Limbert (113) was supposed to wrestle but was a late scratch after coming down with an illness. Earnest, the fourth seed at 157 pounds, took a 3-0 lead over fifth-seeded Ethan Birden from Dublin Coffman early in the third period, but midway through the period Birden got a takedown and turned it into a pin with 33 seconds left in the match. "When I faced him my sophomore year we went back and forth," Earnest said. "I just couldn't come through at the end. Goal for tomorrow is to make weight, fuel back up, win that first match and then I want to do better than I did last year (placing seventh)." Earnest was dominant early with 16-0 technical falls over Notre Dame's Nathan Thomas and Broken Arrow's Andrew Lollis. He then defeated Jude Randall of Edmund North (Okla.) 6-4 with a third-period reversal. Joy, the sixth seed, lost the 132-pound quarterfinal matchup 4-3 to third-seeded Vincent Robinson from Homewood-Flossmoor (Ill.) on a third-period takedown that put Robinson ahead 4-2. Robinson is a reigning Ironman champion. "I've been looking forward to this match for a long time and I wanted it really bad," Joy said. "He's really quick on his feet and has good timing. He knew I was going to be aggressive and he took advantage of that." Prior to his match with Robinson, Joy fought through a 9-4 decision over St. Edward's Kade Brown and then a 7-1 decision to reach the quarterfinals. "I plan on coming in (today) and burning through the bracket," Joy said. "I'm coming in to finish in third." Grimm suffered a 7-0 loss to two-time Pennsylvania state champion Rune Lawrence (Frazier). The 10th seed at 190, Grimm earned a major decision over LaSalle's Kamm Harden and Reynolds' Brayden McCloskey. He then reached the quarterfinals by upsetting seventh-seeded Justin Griffith of Sanford with an escape and then a reversal in the third period for a 3-1 victory. The seventh-seeded Ries lost to second-seeded Christianburg's Parker Farrell 7-5 in the quarterfinals after giving up an early reversal in the third period. Ries, the seventh seed at 285, topped St. Charles East's Austin Barrett, the 10th seed, in his first match of the tournament to make the quarterfinals. The Grizzlies have two others who advanced through the first day of the consolation bracket and now sit two wins from placing. At 175 pounds, Louie Schaefer lost his first match and then won three matches. At 215, Maverick Blackburn lost in the first round, took a bye in the first consolation round and then earned a 3-2 decision. Allen is also alive after winning his first consolation match 7-1. He lost his first match of the day 3-1 on a last-second takedown. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Ironman results Standings: 1. Blair Academy 114.5, 2. Stillwater 95.5, 3. Wyoming Seminary 90.5, 4. Malvern Prep 78.5, 5. St. Edward 74, 6. Crown Point 62, 7. Lake Highland Prep 60, 8. Edmond North 58.5, 9. Bethlehem Catholic 56.5, 10. Ponderosa 54.5. 13. Wadsworth 49.5, 95. Buckeye 6.5. Semifinal pairings 106: Tyler Dekraker (Blair Academy) vs. Ethan Timar (St. Edward); Dom Munaretto (St. Charles East) vs. Ayden Smith (Notre Dame). 113: Bo Bassett (Bishop McCort) vs. Anthony Mutarelli (Malvern Prep); Nate Desmond (Bethlehem Catholic) vs Beric Jordan (Stillwater). 120: Jax Forrest (Bishop McCort) vs. Kael Lauridsen (Bennington); Luke Lilledahl (Wyoming Seminary) vs Leo DeLuca (Blair Academy). 126: Ben Davino (St. Charles East) vs. Max Gallagher (Bayport Blue Point); Mason Gibson (Bishop McCort) vs Marc-Anthony McGowan (Blair Academy). 132: Sergio Lemley (Mt. Carmel) vs. Zan Fuggitt (Nixa); Vincent Robinson (Homewood-Flossmoor) vs Cael Hughes (Stillwater). 138: Nasir Bailey (Rich Township) vs. Brandon Cannon (Ponderosa); Kollin Rath (Bethlehem Catholic) vs Kannon Webster (Washington Community). 144: Mac Church (Waynesburg Central) vs. Kael Voinovich (Stillwater); Sam Cartella (Western Reserve Academy) vs Ty Wilson (Dublin Scioto). 150: LaDarion Lockett (Stillwater) vs. William Henckle (Blair Academy); Weston Dalton (Pueblo East) vs P.J. Duke (Minisink Valley). 157: Joe Sealey (Wyoming Seminary) vs. Ethan Birden (Dublin Coffman); Anthony Rinehart (Crown Point) vs Ethan Stiles (Conant). 165: Angelo Ferrari (Melissa) vs. Holden Garcia (Notre Dame); Daschle Lamer (Crescent Valley) vs Lorenzo Norman (Blair Academy). 175: Rocco Welsh (Waynesburg Central) vs. Tyler Eise (Ponderosa); Jarrel Miller (St. Edward) vs Omaury Alvarez (Baylor School). 190: Brayden Thompson (Lockport Township) vs. A.J. Heeg (Stillwater); Camden McDanel (Teays Valley) vs Rune Lawrence (Frazier). 215: Jersey Robb (Bixby) vs. Cash Henderson (Woods Cross); Dylan Russo (Olentangy Liberty) vs Max Shulaw (St. Frances DeSales). 285: Dillan Johnson (Joliet Catholic) vs. Carter Neves (Blair Academy); Matthew Moore (Mesa Ridge) vs Parker Ferrell (Christianburg).