Wadsworth wrestler Jaxon Joy bags third state title, ties county record

COLUMBUS — Wadsworth senior Jaxon Joy finished his high school career on top. Joy cruised to a 15-7 major decision against Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller's Londen Murphy in the Division I 150-pound championship at Value City Arena to win his third state title, tying the Medina County record held by former Wadsworth great and Medina County Sports Hall of Famer Nick Tavanello. The Cornell recruit also matched Hilliard Davidson's Gio DiSabato for most wins in D-I state history with 189. "It's cool," Joy said of the state record. "It's nothing I really ever thought about, but it's cool to see it happen, for sure." Highland freshman Brandon Bickerton (106) joined Joy as a D-I state champion. Buckeye's Blake Bartos (113), Colyn Limbert (120), Kaden King (157) and Eddie Neitenbach (190) did the same in D-II. Bickerton's finish was the most exciting of the finals, as he defeated Perrysburg's Ayden Dodd 6-5. Dodd escaped early in the third period to go up 5-4 and held that lead into the closing seconds of the match. Bickerton faked a shot and leaped over Dodd for the deciding takedown on a moved called the flying squirrel. "To be honest, I don't even know what happened," Bickerton said. "I'm not going to take a guy like that down with a single (leg) with 10 seconds left. It's not happening. I had to pull something off, and I saw it there. "It might not have worked, but it did, and gosh that's the most exciting wrestling moment of my life." Bickerton also beat Dodd 6-4 in sudden victory at the Perrysburg Invitational. "He's so strong," Bickerton said. "I don't know what it is, but he destroys me in the ties, and it's hard for me to get to my offense. He's probably the most tough kid I've wrestled from the state of Ohio." Wadsworth (65.5) finished eighth as St. Edward won its 37th title and ninth consecutive with 226.5 points. Highland (30) placed 12th, Medina (22) 18th and Brunswick (10) 34th. Joy was Wadsworth's only state champion this season, marking the fourth straight year the Grizzlies have had at least one. After finishing state runner-up at 106 as a freshman, Joy won at 120 and 132 as a sophomore and junior, respectively. He went undefeated in 2024, with his last loss in a 51-3 season coming in the Powerade Tournament finals in Pennsylvania. "My faith in Jesus has grown a lot in the past couple of months," Joy said. "That's where I get all of my strength and courage to do what I just did. I've got a great friend up there, and that obviously helps out a lot." The match with Murphy, who placed fifth at 126 two seasons ago, was the only one that went the full three periods for Joy. His first three bouts were technical falls. In 11 postseason matches, Joy had eight technical falls, one pin, one major decision and one decision. "My goal was to get a tech, but (Murphy's) a good wrestler," Joy said. "He's strong and kind of wore my arms out a little bit. It was a good match." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com.