High school wrestling: Wadsworth's Jaxon Joy takes All-American honors at Walsh Jesuit Ironman

CUYAHOGA FALLS — For the second straight year, the Wadsworth wrestling team produced an Ironman All-American. Junior 132-pounder Jaxon Joy placed seventh after defeating Blair Academy (N.J.) junior Matthew Lopes 1-0 in his final match of the weekend. The honor came one year after Joy lost to Malvern Prep's Jack Consiglio in the 120-pound consolation bracket, putting him one match shy of placing. This year Joy took an early takedown against Gunner Andrick of Point Pleasant (W.V.) and rode that to a 3-1 win in his blood-round match. "I've come up short in go-to matches plenty of times, and it hurts every time," Joy said. "It motivates me more than it hurts me. It felt good to get that win." After defeating Andrick, the sixth-seeded Joy lost 3-2 against Matthew Botello of Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) to send him into the seventh-place match. Joy joined teammate Chris Earnest (7th, 2021) as an Ironman All-American and became the Grizzlies' 16th placer in the tournament's 28 editions. "I didn't get what I wanted, but I battled through some adversity," Joy said. "It's all right. I'll take it." Blair Academy repeated as tournament champion with 190.5 points. The Grizzlies finished 22nd out of 119 teams with 53.5 points. Buckeye placed 100th with 6.5 points. Senior Todd Allen was scheduled to participate in the consolation round on Saturday and needed two wins to place but forfeited his first match due to injury. Joy's success did not come as a surprise to his teammates. "He's always calm and ready," senior Coen Grimm said. "I think we were all pretty well-rounded this weekend, but Jaxon is definitely more experienced at this level than, I would say, me and the other guys." Out of five Grizzlies that reached the blood round, Joy was the only one that made his way onto the podium. Earnest lost his 157 blood-round match when he was pinned with 1:14 left in the second period by Andrew Harmon of Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.). Like Joy, Earnest initially lost in the quarterfinals to Ethan Birden (Dublin Coffman), who placed made the finals before losing to Ethan Stiles (Conant) 12-6. Showcasing just how tough the competition was at the Walsh Jesuit Dome, Wadsworth 285-pound junior Aaron Ries entered the weekend with a long list of credentials after winning a national championship at the 16-U tournament in Fargo, N.D. and leading Team Ohio to a national team duals championship in the summer. Ries then lost his blood-round matchup against Leighton Jones of Brownsburg (Ind.) 3-2 after getting taken down with 13 seconds left in the first period. Ries trailed 3-0 entering the third, got an escape from the down position and received a stalling point with 9 seconds left. "I didn't square my hips and he got a takedown, then he got an escape," Ries said. "I tried to push the pace, but he's a big boy and it was hard to get something going. "This tournament is crazy. Second match of (Friday) I wrestle a Super 32 kid (Parker Ferrell of Christianburg (Va.), and then today I wrestle an Iowa football commit (Jones), so that's pretty tough." Grimm also fell victim to an early deficit when he was taken down by Kael Bennie of Layton (Utah) and gave up two back points as time expired in the first period. Down 5-0 after the second period, the 190-pounder battled hard with two takedowns and a stalling point in the final period of a 7-5 loss. "The four points he got was from my mistake," Grimm said. "I put myself in that hole, but you can't really stop no matter what the score is. You have to try different things, and I found some things that worked. I think if I would have had a little more time, I would have gotten him." After getting pinned in the first round, 215-pound senior Maverick Blackburn battled all the way through the consolation bracket, including a 1-0 victory over Massillon Perry's Mike Millin in his first match Saturday before losing 6-1 to Ethan Gallo of Minisink Valley (N.Y.), in the blood round. Of the five Grizzlies to make the blood round, Blackburn was the only one that did not reach the quarterfinals Friday. Louie Schaefer overcame a loss in his first match on Friday to make it into Saturday but lost his first match of the day, 6-1 to Landon Jobber-Spence of Fauquier (Va.). Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Results Standings (out of 119): 1. Blair Academy 190.5, 2. Stillwater 137.5, 3. Wyoming Seminary 135.5, 4. Malvern Prep 102.5, 5. St. Edward 99, 6. Crown Point 87, 7. Bishop McCort 84.5, 8. Bethlehem Catholic 82.5, 9. St. Charles East 80.5, 10. Lake Highland Prep 78, 11. Edmond North 77.5, 12. Ponderosa 70.5, 13. Brecksville 69.5, 14. Bixby 64.5, 15. Dublin Coffman 62, 16. Notre Dame 61, 17. Waynesburg Central 59.5, 18. Minisink Valley 58.5, 19. Perrysburg 57, 20. Brownsburg 56.5, 21. Mt. Carmel 54.5, 22. Wadsworth 53.5, 23. St. Francis DeSales 51.5, 24. Lockport Township 44, 25. Massillon Perry 43,25. Western Reserve Academy 43, 100. Buckeye 6.5. 106 — Dom Munaretto (St. Charles East) d. Tyler Dekraker (Blair Academy), 8-4; Third: Ayden Smith (Notre Dame) d. Ethan Timar (St. Edward), 7-2; Fifth: Davis Motyka (Wyoming Seminary) inj. def. Javaan Yarbrough (Copley); Seventh: Devon Harrison (Liberty) d. Revin Dickman (Brownsburg), 2-0. 113 — Bo Bassett (Bishop McCort) m.d. Beric Jordan (Stillwater), 9-0; Third: Nate Desmond (Bethlehem Catholic) d. Louie Gill (Reynolds), 7-2; Fifth: Anthony Mutarelli (Malvern Prep) d. Mack Mauger (Blackfoot), 7-0; Seventh: Seth Mendoza (Mt. Carmel) d. Jayden Raney (Union County), 4-2.120 — Luke Lilledahl (Wyoming Seminary) d. Jax Forrest (Bishop McCort), 3-1 (OT); Third: Marcus Blayze (Perrysburg) d. Leo DeLuca (Blair Academy), 3-2; Fifth: Jordyn Raney (Union County) p. Kael Lauridsen (Bennington), 2:31; Seventh: Sebastian Degennaro (Jensen Beach) d. Hunter Taylor (Liberty), 1-0. 126 — Ben Davino (St. Charles East) d. Marc-Anthony McGowan (Blair Academy), 2-0; Third: Dillon Campbell (Legacy Christian) d. Max Gallagher (Bayport Blue Point), 5-2; Fifth: Mason Gibson (Bishop McCort) d. Draegen Orine (Wyoming Seminary), 3-1 (OT); Seventh: Logan Frazier (Crown Point) d. Jameson Garcia (Marmion Academy), 5-4. 132 — Cael Hughes (Stillwater) d. Sergio Lemley (Mt. Carmel), 5-2; Third: Zan Fugitt (Nixa) d. Vincent Robinson (Homewood-Flossmoor), 3-0; Fifth: Jack Consiglio (Malvern Prep) d. Matthew Botello (Wyoming Seminary), 1-0; Seventh: Jaxon Joy (Wadsworth) d. Matthew Lopes (Blair Academy), 1-0. 138 — Kannon Webster (Washington Community) d. Brandon Cannon (Ponderosa), 5-4; Third: Kollin Rath (Bethlehem Catholic) d. Omar Ayoub (Dublin Coffman), 6-2; Fifth: Eligh Rivera (Lake Highland Prep) fft. Nasir Bailey (Rich Township); Seventh: Spencer Barnhart (Malvern Prep) d. Vincent Bouzakis (Notre Dame), 3-2 (OT). 144 — Mac Church (Waynesburg Central) d. Sam Cartella (Western Reserve Academy), 2-1 (OT); Third: Brock Herman (Brecksville) d. Colin Dupill (Greeneville), 5-2; Fifth: Kael Voinovich (Stillwater) d. Ty Wilson (Dublin Scioto), 3-1 (OT); Seventh: Logan Rozynski (Blair Academy) d. Brodie Dominique (Archbold), 1-0. 150 — P.J. Duke (Minisink Valley) d. William Henckle (Blair Academy), 8-6; Third: LaDarion Lockett (Stillwater) d. Weston Dalton (Pueblo East), 2-0; Fifth: Jeremiah Price (Surry Central) d. Ethan Mojena (Lake Highland Prep), 3-1; Seventh: Clay Giddens-Buttram (Bixby) d. Jake Dailey (Bethlehem Catholic), 5-2. 157 — Ethan Stiles (Conant) d. Ethan Birden (Dublin Coffman), 12-6; Third: Joe Sealey (Wyoming Seminary) d. Reed Fullmer (Malvern Prep), 5-2; Fifth: Paul Ognissanti (Blair Academy) d. Anthony Rinehart (Crown Point), 2-1; Seventh: Andrew Harmon (Bethlehem Catholic) inj. def. Logan Swaw (Lockport Township). 165 — Angelo Ferrari (Melissa) d. Lorenzo Norman (Blair Academy), 3-1; Third: Daschle Lamer (Crescent Valley) m.d. Holden Garcia (Notre Dame), 13-3; Fifth: Sam Goin (Crown Point) d. Gunner Cramblett (St. Paris Graham), 5-3; Seventh: Cade Ziola (Skutt Catholic) d. Marcus Espinoza-Owens (Viewmont), 3-2. 175 — Rocco Welsh (Waynesburg Central) m.d. Jarrel Miller (St. Edward), 13-4; Third: Myles Takats (Perrysburg) d. Tyler Eise (Ponderosa), 4-2; Fifth: Dylan Newsome (Bishop Hartley) d. Omaury Alvarez (Baylor School), 3-2; Seventh: Luke Vanadia (Brecksville) d. Dominic Federici (Wyoming Seminary), 9-4. 190 — Brayden Thompson (Lockport Township) d. Camden McDanel (Teays Valley), 3-2; Third: Rune Lawrence (Frazier) p. A.J. Heeg (Stillwater), 0:32; Fifth: Orland Cruz (Crown Point) d. Justin Griffith (Sanford School), 4-2 (OT); Seventh: Nate Taylor (Green Farms Academy) d. Kael Bennie (Layton), 7-4. 215 — Max Shulaw (St. Francis DeSales) m.d. Cash Henderson (Woods Cross), 10-0; Third: Jersey Robb (Bixby) inj. def. Dylan Russo (Olentangy Liberty); Fifth: Ethan Gallo (Minisink Valley) d. Zach Delsanter (St. Edward), 6-4; Seventh: Kyle Snider (CVCA) d. Will Clark (Crown Point), 1-0. 285 — Dillan Johnson (Joliet Catholic) d. Matthew Moore (Mesa Ridge), 7-3; Third: Carter Neves (Blair Academy) d. Parker Ferrell (Christianburg), 5-3; Fifth: Richard Thomas (Edmond North) p. Leighton Jones (Brownsburg), 1:41; Seventh: Paul Clark (Crown Point) d. Kolton Weaver (Point Pleasant), 2-1.