Joy, Earnest, Ries, Limbert, King reach finals

COLUMBUS — Wadsworth's Jaxon Joy is a returning state champion with plenty of success and accolades. Yet the incredibly confident, humble 132-pounder does not need to feel the need to flaunt his success. In fact, the junior hopes his affinity for simplicity will be the key to repeating. Joy dressed in a plain red singlet with no markings whatsoever that the Grizzlies used to give to freshmen and varsity "B" wrestlers until they earned the right to wear one of the first-string singlets. The plain look worked just fine for Joy, who pinned two-time state placer Jack McCall of Lebanon in the quarterfinals to start Saturday and then got a 7-0 decision against Mentor's Nick Blackburn to earn a spot in the Division I final against St. Edward's Kade Brown, a Medina resident. Last year, Brown placed seventh at the 120 class that Joy won. Joy debuted the look while winning at Maumee Bay. He also wore the singlet at the Grizzly Invitational, Wadsworth Sectional and Hoover District. "I think plain things are really cool," Joy said. "It's the most comfortable singlet I've ever worn. It was really comfortable, and I wrestle really well in it." Despite his humble nature, Joy still has extremely high standards and was slightly disappointed that he was not able to earn a major decision against Blackburn. With eight takedowns against McCall and three against Blackburn, Joy now has 325 for the season to place him ninth in state history. "I set a goal to get bonus in every match and now I can't achieve that, so it hurts a little bit," Joy said. "I feel good, and over the next few hours I'm just going to relax, play games and not really focus too much on the match until it's go time. Then it's the same mindset, as always: score as many points as possible." Joy was the first of three Grizzlies to reach the finals, with fellow returning champion Chris Earnest (157) and Aaron Ries (285) joining him. Senior 150-pounder Jake Keirn, who is battling a shoulder injury, nearly advanced but fell to St. Edward's Bradley Eaton 4-2 and will finish between third and sixth place. Wadsworth sits fourth with 86 points. Defending champion St. Edward leads with 170.5. "I'm coming with my A-game," Earnest said. "(Joy) is coming with his A-game. Our 150 made it to the state semifinals (injured) and almost won. That's insane. Our team peaks at the right time and makes jumps when it matters most." In D-II, Buckeye placed juniors Colyn Limbert (113) and Kaden King (157) into championship matches and sits in third place with 62.5 points behind St. Paris Graham (122.5), which has won every contested state championship since 2001. The Bucks had beaten the Falcons 35-32 to win the Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association State Duals D-II title. Earnest, a senior, was overcome by emotion after he took an 11-2 major decision against Nordonia's Gino Perrine in the semifinals. He also pinned Olentangy Liberty's Broc Fitzpatrick in the quarters. "I was overcome with joy," Earnest said. "I was thinking about what it would be like to win it again, getting flashbacks from last year." Ries, who finished eighth last year, advanced to his first final when he beat Barberton's Roosevelt Andrews 6-4. The matchup was one the junior had been anticipating since losing to Andrews 3-1 in overtime in the Hoover District semis. "Since (last) Saturday night, I knew we'd see each other," Ries said. "I was looking forward to the state semifinals and coming to get that back." Earnest meets Dublin Coffman's Ethan Birden, while Ries will take on Massillon Perry's Aidan Fockler. King (157) edged Graham's Luke James 6-5 in the semifinals. It was his second high-profile victory over James in four weeks after he won 4-3 in a pivotal match at state duals. Limbert was dominant while topping St. Mary's Tate Hisey, who took fifth last year, 6-0. Last year Limbert reached the semifinals, but lost to former Graham standout Beric Jordan, who is now at Stillwater (Okla.) and an Oklahoma State recruit. Jordan won two state titles before transferring. "It's a different atmosphere wrestling here in the Schott and when you look up, some people get kind of scared," Limbert said. "I wrestled a tough match last year and lost, but it got me ready for this year." King gets Indian Creek's Dominic Paterra and Limbert will face West Holmes' Mason Taylor in the final. Freshman 106 Blake Bartos reach the semifinals and lost 5-2 to New Lexington's Ethan Burkhart after being called for a controversial illegal move late in the match that waved off a takedown and potential nearfall points. It also gave Burkhart his final points. Junior Eddie Neitenbach (175) continued to have misfortune at the state tournament when he aggravated an ankle injury against two-time state placer Dylan Newsome in the semifinals during an 8-4 loss. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. State final pairings Division I 106 — Ethan Timar (St. E) v. Rylan Seacrist (Bre). 113 — Kaiyon McKinney (Ely) v. Karson Brown (St. E). 120 — Marcus Blaze (Perrys) v. Micah Medina (Clay). 126 — Phoenix Contos (Wait) v. Ryan Avalos (Perrys). 132 — Jaxon Joy (Wad) v. Kade Brown (St. E). 138 — Omar Ayoub (Cof) v. Ryan Bennett (St. E). 144 — Brock Herman (Bre) v. Jeremy Ginter (Whit). 150 — Eugene Harney (Syc) v. Bradley Eaton (St. E). 157 — Chris Earnest (Wad) v. Ethan Birden (Cof). 165 — Carson Thomas (LaS) v. Joey Blaze (Perrys). 175 — Jarrel Miller (St. E) v. Myles Takats (Perrys). 190 — Camden McDanel (TV) v. Wyatt Ferguson (Oak). 215 — Dylan Russo (Lib) v. Max Vanadia (Bre). 285 — Aaron Ries (Wad) v. Aidan Fockler (Perry). Division II 106 — Javaan Yarbrough (Cop) v. Ethan Burkhart (NL). 113 — Mason Taylor (W. Hol.) v. Colyn Limbert (Buck). 120 — Noah Moreland (But) v. Joe Curry (Watt). 126 — Aiden King (Hart) v. Bryce Skinner (St. V-M). 132 — Brogan Tucker (Grah) v. Donovan Paes (Stre). 138 — David McClelland (DeS) v. Hayden Hughes (Grah). 144 — Mitchell Younger (Watt) v. Lance Overmyer (Cly). 150 — Eli Jacks (Grah) v. Dominic Hoffarth (Lou). 157 — Kaden King (Buck) v. Dominic Paterra (IC). 165 — Gunner Cramblett (Grah) v. Oliver Byerly (JA). 175 — Lincoln Shulaw (DeS) v. Dylan Newsome (Hart). 190 — Max Ray (Col) v. Kyle Snider (CVCA). 215 — Elijah Llewellyn (IC) v. Max Shulaw (DeS). 285 — Zane Pletcher (NL) v. Trentt Fulgham (Circ). Division III 106 — Adam Mattin (Delt) v. Parker Pikor (ELC). 113 — Eli Campbell (Leg) v. Abe Hermes (Edi). 120 — Max Hermes (Edi) v. Cooper Shore (Mia). 126 — Brock Durbin (Map) v. Dillon Campbell (Leg). 132 — Landen Duncan (Chal) v. Brock Christian (Per). 138 — Ashton Homan (Mon) v. Ashtan Hendricks (Green). 144 — Boede Campbell (Leg) v. Brodie Dominique (Arch). 150 — Reese Stephen (Barn) v. Joshua Greenwood (Beac). 157 — Tristin Greene (Key) v. Brayden Doran (Shaw). 165 — Hunter Andel (Gar) v. Cody Coontz (Root). 175 — Hayden Dickman (Arch) v. Xander Myers (Leg). 190 — Keegan Sell (Gar) v. Wyat Ripke (Arch). 215 — Lucas Thomas (Harr) v. Tyler Shellenbarger (Mog). 285 — Dallas McCracken (Uni) v. Allen Criblez (AE). Girls 100 — Averi Wiley (Piq) v. Makennah Craft (Jack). 105 — Nikera Johnson (Sand) v. Chloe Dearwester (Harr). 110 — Hayley Snyder (War) v. Gabi Gartin (Chip). 115 — Molly Wells (Hay) v. Kira Cole (Mia). 120 — Lacie Knick (Northm) v. Calli Leng (Marys). 125 — Raegan Briggs (Harr) v. Anna Madi (Bre). 130 — Cassia Zammit (Miam) v. Cadence Wallace (PC). 135 — Jaydyn McKinney (Manch) v. Rejan Alhashash (AL). 140 — Sophia Rohrs (Leb) v. Eve Matt (Gre). 145 — Jesse Foebar (Cler) v. Lexi Fornshell (Leb). 155 — Savannah Holderby (Rey) v. Kylee Tait (War). 170 — Rebekah Oladokun (DeS) v. Elizabeth Madison (Love). 190 — Savannah Isaac (Whit) v. Laney Oliver (Find). 235 — Alaina Jackson (Min) v. Brooklyn Wade (Wash).