High school wrestling: Wadsworth rallies to beat Massillon Perry for district title

WADSWORTH — The Wadsworth wrestling team had a job to do Saturday, and while the Grizzlies accomplished the mission, they still left their home gym hungry. Ranked 28th in the nation by InterMat, Wadsworth topped No. 38 Massillon Perry 32-25 in a Division I Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association district final to advance to the state quarterfinals at St. Edward for the fifth straight time. "We've been to St. Edward the last four years, and it hasn't been the outcome that we wanted," senior Coen Grimm said. "It's been close and we've had some good outcomes, just not the one we wanted. Having that in the back of our mind to compete with the high-caliber teams like this week and will be there next week will help us get ready for the final straw." Wadsworth, a two-time state duals champion, will have its hands full with the host Eagles, who have won the last four titles. One year ago, the Grizzlies beat Perrysburg 37-26 in the third-place match after losing to rival Brecksville 25-24. Grimm recorded what turned out to be the deciding victory when he beat the Panthers' Ryder Hartshorn 9-5 at 190 pounds. Grimm built a 7-3 lead after two periods to give the Grizzlies their first two-match lead at 26-19. Perry forfeited at 215 and Wadsworth did the same at 285, much to the disappointment of fans who wanted to see Wadsworth's Aaron Ries face the Panthers' Aidan Fockler in a rematch of the Grizzly Invitational Tournament championship. "My senior season didn't have the best start that I hoped for, and that's really motivated me," Grimm said. "It doesn't really matter how the year started — or my freshman year, sophomore year. It just matters what I think I can do and how to do it. The last part is actually doing it." Second-seeded Wadsworth reached the final by topping seventh-seeded Solon 64-12. The Comets started the day by beating No. 10 Barberton 42-32 in the only quarterfinal. The Grizzlies lost the first four matches of the Perry dual to fall into a 13-0 hole after Austin McBurney earned a 15-5 major decision over Kyle Jardine at 126. Kade Mellon started Wadsworth's climb with a 4-2 victory over Cameron Plotts at 132, earning a takedown with 19 seconds left. Jaxon Joy followed with a technical fall over Brennan Warwick, who wrestled in place of Charles Curtis, the team's usual 138 who bumped up to 144. Joy broke coach Clay Wenger's Medina County record for takedowns in a season and now has 235. "I'm feeling good," Joy said. "It was a fun couple of dual meets to get some takedowns and get some good work in. "We got the win, but we're not content with that at all or satisfied. I don't think that match should be that close." Joy and Mellon were wrestling up a class due to A.J. Jardine, the Grizzlies' starting 138, being out with a left shoulder injury. Jardine entered the starting lineup. Mellon, Joy and Grimm each recorded two victories. The Panthers appeared on the verge of avenging last season's 47-19 loss to Wadsworth in the district final after picking up a pair of close middleweight wins. Curtis broke a 2-2 tie against Nick Humphrys with a takedown with 18 seconds left on his way to a 4-3 decision at 144. Christian Giltz followed with a 7-5 overtime win over Jake Keirn at 150 when he recovered from a 5-2 deficit after two periods by getting a tying takedown with 2 seconds left in regulation and another 9 seconds into overtime, giving Perry a 19-8 lead. Brenden Barlett stopped the bleeding for the Grizzlies at 165 with a 5-1 decision over Connor Shephard that cut the deficit to 19-17. Barlett twice kicked out when Shephard had him in a single leg hold. "I'm always nervous as heck before my match, and I won't lie and be a guy that says I'm super confident," Barlett said. "I just had the feeling that I had the shot there and I kept hitting it. I worked in the room all week on single leg and 'trip', although it's really just kick their leg until they go. Good things happen when you follow your instincts." Wadsworth closed the match by getting forfeit wins in three of the last six weight classes. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Wadsworth 64, Solon 12 106 — Blake Frantz (W) p. Kevin Lee, 1:01. 113 — Adom Sharpley (S) p. Kolt Mellon, 3:50. 120 — Jack Dinwiddie (W) ff. 126 — Kade Mellon (W) d. Aiden Hays, 1-0. 132 — Jaxon Joy (W) t.f. Malakhi Sharpley, 22-6. 138 — P.J. Tomazic (S) ff. 144 — Nick Humphrys (W) p. Boston Hazelwood, 3:33. 150 — Jake Keirn (W) p. Michael Frenk, 4:14. 157 — Chris Earnest (W) ff. 165 — Brenden Barlett ff. 175 — Louie Schaefer ff. 190 — Coen Grimm (W) t.f. Daryl Brown, 21-6. 215 — Maverick Blackburn (W) d. Donovon Jackson, 5-0. 285 — Aaron Ries (W) p. Tyler Brown, 0:54. Wadsworth 32, Massillon Perry 25 106 — Liston Seibert (P) d. Frantz, 5-1. 113 — Emeric McBurney (P) d. Ko. Mellon, 5-4. 120 — Mason Rohr (P) d. Dinwiddie, 5-0. 126 — Austin McBurney (P) m.d. Kyle Jardine, 15-5. 132 — Ka. Mellon (W) d. Cameron Plotts, 4-2. 138 — Joy (W) t.f. Brennan Warwick, 21-6. 144 — Charles Curtis (P) d. Humphrys, 4-3. 157 — Earnest (W) ff. 165 — Barlett (W) d. Connor Shephard, 5-1. 175 — Schaefer (W) ff. 190 — Grimm (W) d. Ryder Harshorn, 9-5. 215 — Blackburn (W) ff. 285 — Aidan Fockler (P) ff.