Gazette MVP: Wadsworth's Jaxon Joy always on the offensive

Much like a great artist looks at a blank canvas and sees endless possibilities to create a masterpiece, Wadsworth junior Jaxon Joy looks at every wrestling match as a chance to do something uniquely great and find a new way to win. After winning the Division I state championship at 132 pounds — the second state title of his career — at the end of his second straight 51-win season, the lightning-quick Joy is still inventing new ways to beat yet another opponent, no matter the height or build. Joy shared Gazette MVP honors with teammate Chris Earnest last year but took sole possession of this year's award after becoming just the ninth Medina County wrestler to win a second state championship. "I love the creativity (of the sport)," Joy said. "Every wrestler is different and has the opportunity to be great, no matter their size. I love the work that it takes to be great at the sport, the opportunity to compete and the friends you make throughout the sport." The only losses for the 6-foot Joy in a 51-4 season came at the nationally prestigious Walsh Jesuit Ironman and Powerade Invitational in Pennsylvania, all against out-of-state opponents. He finished the season by winning the last six tournaments the Grizzlies entered on his way to a 34-match winning streak. Still, the highly accomplished Joy never allows himself to be satisfied with having his arm raised by the referee at the end of the match. "(The chase for perfection) is a huge thing for me," he said. "I expect to be perfect, even though, obviously, that's unachievable. I'm always trying to improve and be the best version of myself. "Even if I win, if I don't feel like I wrestled to the best of my ability, I want to get back to work and keep improving. It's a never-ending cycle of work." While Joy is incredibly driven, he often has a smile on his face whether he is competing or cheering on teammates. "He's always looking to get better, try new things on the mat," Wadsworth coach Clay Wenger said. "He embraces the big matches and enjoys himself when he's competing. He's a cool, relaxed guy that cares about people, enjoys competing and loves to wrestle to represent Wadsworth and himself. He's one in a million." Joy scored an average of 15.01 points per match on his way to breaking Medina County and state D-I records with 327 takedowns. The previous county standard was Wenger's 232. Joy credited Wenger with helping him craft his aggressive style, which is based primarily off a series of ankle picks and single-leg takedowns mixed with other attacks and counters. "It's pretty cool, but my goal is never really to break records," Joy said. "It's just a result of the way I wrestle. I'm fortunate to have great coaches like (Wenger), who was very offensive-minded. I try to replicate that style and get to my offense as often and early as I can in every match." Joy's ability to be quick on his feet and use his long reach at 132 helps him be aggressive on the mat. "The mentality that he has is to always score points and put as many points on the board as he can," Wenger said. "It's a relentless style that shows full trust in his ability. He's never hesitant or worried about what the other guy is going to do. He's dictating the action." Already with a state championship in his back pocket, Joy said he was able to relax more this season and stay in the moment. The ability to have fun while competing is something the Cornell commit believes is directly related to his success. "My focus each week in practice was to get better and better at every position," he said. "During my matches, I wanted to wrestle free and not get tense. I think mistakes are made when people get tense in their matches. "I try to keep it fun when I'm wrestling and off the mat I like to have fun. I like to have good energy." That personality, as well as his training habits, had an impact on the whole team. In particular, Wenger credited Joy for helping freshmen Blake Frantz and Kolt Mellon develop into not only state qualifiers, but wrestlers that finished one win shy of reaching the podium. "He's such a relaxed, fun kid to be around," Wenger said. "He's always calm, looking to have fun and laugh with his teammates and coaches. "He leads by example in how he trains, how he lives his life on and off the mat and in the classroom, in everything he does. The time he spent with our freshmen after practice, they obviously came a long way and he definitely had a piece in getting them to believe." Now that the high school wrestling season is over, Joy will not give himself much time to relax before returning to competition. He already has plans to wrestle in the U-20 division of the U.S. Open Championships in Las Vegas at the end of April. That will lead into a busy summer competing against wrestlers from across the country. Summer wrestling is something Joy credits for his success in the high school season. He also pointed out that the freestyle season he competes in over the summer is his favorite style because of the added opportunities to be creative. "It's huge," Joy said. "Each summer I try to find as many different kids as I can to work out with. I think that's a great thing because you make a ton of friends throughout the summer. Competing with kids you usually have to wrestle in-season, it's fun to learn about each kid and pick their brain. Everyone just wants to help each other out." All that work helps Joy, who sports a 3.9 grade-point average, keep his sights set on continuing to raise the bar. Along with potentially joining Wadsworth great Nick Tavanello as the county's only three-time state champions, Joy is looking to grab the two titles that have eluded him so far in the high school season, Ironman and Powerade champion. "His goals are set so high," Wenger said. "He's going to do great things at Cornell. We're lucky to have a kid like Jaxon and his family in the program." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com.