Boys district wrestling: six Wadsworth grapplers advance to state

NORTH CANTON — The Wadsworth wrestling team saw Kyle Jardine (150 pounds), Troy Myers (165) and Brody Grimm (175) each qualify for the state tournament for the first time by reaching the finals of the Hoover Division I District on Saturday. They followed experienced state placers Blake Frantz (120), Kolt Mellon (138) and Jack Dinwiddie (144) in giving the Grizzlies six qualifiers. The success allowed Wadsworth (134) to pass Highland (132) for third in the team standings. Massillon Perry (358) ran away from second-place Brecksville (247.5) by qualifying all 14 wrestlers. The Panthers crowned nine champions, while the Bees had four. Brush's Johnathan Sims (190) was the only winner not from either school. The Hornets have four returning qualifiers in Brandon Bickerton (113), Austin Bickerton (120), Brennan Kicker (144) and Niko Giatis (157). Conner Haney (138) and Brady Bendau (285) are alternates and will get the call if someone from the Hoover District can't wrestle Friday. Brunswick's Brayden Miles (144) and Carter Wickes (165) each lost their go-to match and then their alternate match to finish sixth. The Blue Devils (29.5) finished 13th. Jardine qualified with a thrilling 8-5 victory thanks to an overtime takedown of Massillon Jackson's Vann Riordan in the semifinals before losing to Perry's Marshall Geckler 4-1. Geckler, a junior, has taken fourth and eighth the last two years. "Missing out (of the state tournament) the past two years has definitely been horrible," Jardine said. "I've watched my teammates and friends make it. It's awesome to cheer them on, but at the end of the day it kept me up at night. "It feels good to finally punch my ticket there." Mellon, Myers and Grimm also took second for Wadsworth. Mellon lost to Brecksville returning state placer Jace Jett 9-3 in the final after beating Perry's Cameron Plotts 4-0 in the semifinals. Myers took a medical forfeit against Perry's Landen Johnson after pinning Wickes with one second left in the first period. Grimm beat Walsh Jesuit's Chase McKenna 4-2 before losing by 20-5 technical fall against returning state placer Caige Horak of Perry in the final. Dinwiddie, a four-time state qualifier and a placer as a freshman and sophomore, bounced back from a 12-7 loss to projected state champion Joseph Sanderfer of Perry in the semifinals to beat Louisville's Beau Nezbeth 7-3 to enter state as a No. 3 seed. Frantz, a fourth-place state finisher last season, is also a third seed after beating Brecksville's Cole Speer 3-2 in the ultimate tiebreaker. He started the day with a 4-1 loss to Austin Bickerton. "I've lost to (Speer) two times this year, and I really wanted to get it back," Frantz said. "It's not how I wanted the score to be. I wish it was more, but a win is a win." Austin Bickerton, who placed sixth at state last year, followed that win with a 5-2 loss to freestyle national runner-up Liston Seibert of Perry. "I gave up a takedown in the beginning (against Seibert), and I think that determined the match," Austin Bickerton said. "I know I'm right there with those guys. I wish I could have got that one, but hopefully I'll get a win when it matters the most at state." Kicker and Giatis also took second. Kicker was pinned by Sanderfer after squeaking out a 2-1 win over Brecksville's Drew Moro. Giatis took a 10-2 major decision loss against Perry's Brennan Warwick after clinching his return to state with a 9-2 win over Canton McKinley's Ben Brownfield in the semifinals. "I came out of a tough district. It's probably one of the toughest in the state," Giatis said. "It's exciting to go back to Columbus. It's crazy there, like no other tournament I've ever been to. I didn't do as well as I wanted last year, but it was good experience." Brandon Bickerton followed a 2-1 loss in overtime against eventual district champion Rylan Seacrist of Brecksville with a 10-2 major decision win over Walsh Jesuit's Gavin Gruber to finish third. He won the state title at 106 pounds last year as a No. 3 seed. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Results Standings: 1. Massillon Perry 358, 2. Brecksville 247.5, 3. Wadsworth 134, 4. Highland 132, 5. Louisville 113, 6. North Canton Hoover 88.5, 7. Walsh Jesuit 76.5, 8. Massillon Jackson 57.5, 9. Austintown Fitch 47.5, 10. Brush 46.5, 11. St. Ignatius 39, 12. Massillon 35, 13. Brunswick 29.5, 14. Midview 28, 15. Barberton 25, 16. Canton McKinley 24.5, 17. Westlake 23, 18. Amherst 22.5, 19. Lorain 21.5, 20. Stow 21, 21. New Philadelphia 19.5, 22. Green 19, 23. North Ridgeville 17, 23. Revere 17, 25. Normandy 16, 26. Hudson 14, 27. Avon 12.5, 28. Boardman 12, 28. Valley Forge 12, 30. Berea-Midpark 11, 31. Painesville Riverside 9, 31. Solon 9, 33. Nordonia 7, 34. Cleveland Heights 3, 34. Wooster 3, 36. Painesville Harvey 2, 37. Dover 1, 37. Garrett Morgan 1, 39. Akron North 0, 39. Willoughby South 0. 106 — Lucas Schulz (Bre) d. Sam Adams (Per), 3-0. 113 — Rylan Seacrist (Bre) d. Lincoln Rohr (Per), 7-2; THIRD: Brandon Bickerton (Hig) m.d. Gavin Gruber (WJ), 10-2. 120 — Liston Seibert (Per) d. Austin Bickerton (Hig), 5-2; THIRD: Blake Frantz (Wad) d. Cole Speer (Bre), 3-2 (UTB). 126 — Emeric McBurney (Per) d. Harrison Haffner (Bre), 5-2. 132 — Mason Rohr (Per) med. fft. Broderick McKinney (Jac). 138 — Jace Jett (Bre) d. Kolt Mellon (Wad), 9-3; FIFTH: Conner Haney (Hig) med. fft. Tyler Ulmer (NP). 144 — Joseph Sanderfer (Per) p. Brennan Kicker (Hig), 1:20; THIRD: Jack Dinwiddie (Wad) d. Beau Nezbeth (Lou), 7-7; FIFTH: Drew Moro (Bre) d. Brayden Miles (Bru), 1-0. 150 — Marshall Geckler (Per) d. Kyle Jardine (Wad), 4-1). 157 —Brennan Warwick (Per) m.d. Niko Giatis (Hig), 10-2. 165 — Landen Johnson (Per) med. fft. Troy Myers (Wad); FIFTH: Caden Mariola (WJ) med. fft. Carter Wickes (Bru). 175 — Caige Horak (Per) t.f. Brody Grimm (Wad), 20-5. 190 — Johnathan Sims (Bru) d. Xander Horak (Per), 11-10; FIFTH: Devin Phillips (Fit) p. Boden Ballinger (Wad), 0:57. 215 — Riley McPherson (Bre) d. Landon Ristoff (Per), 4-2. 285 — Mike Millin (Per) p. E.J. German (Bre), 3:48. FIFTH: Brady Bendau (Hig) p. Jake Clapper (Hud), 1:26.