Local wrestlers win medals at Pan-Am Games

Former Wadsworth wrestling great Jaxon Joy is bringing the bronze medal back to the United States from his first international competition. Joy, who grayshirted at Cornell last season, beat Puerto Rico's Josuel Medina Ocasio by 10-0 technical fall to earn the 70-kilogram freestyle bronze at the U20 Pan-American Games in Lima, Peru, on Saturday. Joy's quest for gold was brought to an end by another wrestler with Medina County ties. Kade Brown beat Joy in the semifinals on criteria after the two finished the match tied 2-2. Brown is a Medina resident that graduated from St. Edward and currently wrestles for the University of Pittsburgh. He was competing for Canada after winning the Canadian national championship earlier this summer. After edging Joy, Brown beat Mexico's Jazziel Balam Canul by 11-0 technical fall to win gold. Brown's younger brother, Karson Brown, also won a bronze medal competing for Canada. He beat Ecuador's Angel Yong Cabrera by 11-0 technical fall in his bronze medal match at 61 kilograms. The younger Brown, an incoming senior at St. Edward and Pitt commit, was knocked out of the championship bracket in the semifinals by American Kyler Larkin by 12-2 technical fall. Larkin went on to beat Puerto Rico's Omar Ayoub, a former Dublin Coffman wrestler, by 7-4 decision to win the gold medal. The United States took the team gold medal with 230 points, while Canada (153) was second. Joy started the tournament by beating Guatemala's Brandon Hernandez Cardona by 11-0 technical fall, giving him 22 points in his three matches. Kade Brown topped Medina Ocasio by 11-0 technical fall in the quarterfinals and finished with 24 points. Karson Brown pinned Guatemala's Alex Vega Tun in the quarterfinals after amassing a 10-0 lead. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com.