High school wrestling: Highland's Brandon Bickerton last local wrestler standing at Ironman

CUYAHOGA FALLS — Highland junior Brandon Bickerton has been in this position before. He hopes his experience can lead to a different result when the 31st Ironman hosted by Walsh Jesuit wraps up today. Bickerton's first match of the day at 120 pounds will be against Cruz Little of Faith Christian (Pa.). With a win, the 2024 state champion and two-time state placer would guarantee himself a top-eight finish, a spot on the podium and earn All-American status at one of the most prestigious high school tournaments in the country. The past two seasons, Bickerton has reached the blood round only to suffer tough losses. "Being in the blood round, right now, it's lighting a fuse under me," he said. "I don't want to feel like I did last year, sitting down against the wall without a medal. I've got to get that first win, hopefully. After that first win, it's just about climbing back up to third." Bickerton was the only one of five Medina County wrestlers to reach the second day of the tournament. Reigning Gazette MVP Blake Bartos withdrew from the event due to illness. He beat Westlake's Joe Whitford by 13-7 decision before losing to Mason Goelz of Avon (Ind.) by 8-6 decision in the second round before withdrawing. Bartos, a three-time state placer, two-time state finalist and 2024 state champion, was seeded ninth. Highland's Austin Bickerton also medical forfeited after dropping a 4-2 decision against Fargo national champion and the eighth-ranked wrestler in the country, Tommy Wurster of Dublin Coffman. Prior to that match, Austin Bickerton, the 11th seed at 126, beat Noel Verduzco of Lowell (Ind.) by 4-1 decision and Sawyer Hackbarth of Edmond North (Okla.) 2-1 in the ultimate tiebreaker. Wadsworth's Blake Frantz went 0-2, losing major decisions to the second seed at 132, Nathon Rioux of Avon (Ind.), and Jack Silfies of Bishop McCort (Pa.). Grizzlies senior Kolten Mellon also was eliminated, but not before earning a trademark win. Mellon has competed at the Ironman all four years of his career but had failed to log a victory until he earned a 16-0 technical fall over St. Paris Graham's Ryan Angel in his first consolation match. "It feels good to get that off my back," Mellon said. "This gives me a lot more confidence going into the rest of our tournaments, knowing that I jumped a level from previous years. I'm excited for that." Mellon started the day with a 17-0 technical fall loss to fifth-seeded Matthew O'Neill of Malvern Prep (Pa.). He was eliminated after his win by Massillon Perry's Mason Rohr, the 15th seed. Brandon Bickerton breezed into the quarterfinals with a pair of convincing victories before running into the top seed at 120 and third-ranked wrestler in the country, Dom Munaretto of St. Charles East (Ill.) in the quarterfinals. Munaretto finished third at the same weight at the Ironman last winter. "That last match, obviously, didn't go as planned," Bickerton said. "Despite what the score was, I feel like inside the match it was a lot closer than that. He picked me apart on two specific positions. I know what I need to work on in the future." Bickerton, the ninth seed, kicked off his tournament by pinning Dublin Coffman's Oliver Lester in 1:18. He then reached the quarterfinals with a 13-6 win over Liam Davis of Lake Highland Prep (Fla.). Davis was seeded eighth. "That first match was against a top-five opponent in Division I in Ohio, so that's obviously a good way to start the season," Bickerton said. "Then I wrestled a great match against a nationally-ranked guy from Lake Highland Prep, so that was another great win." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Semifinal pairings 106 — Jack Anello (Blair) v. Cohen Reer (Edison); Lincoln Valdez (Pomona) v. Connor Maddox (Westfield). 113 — Rylan Seacrist (Brecksville) v. Turner Ross (Edmond North); Caleb Noble (Warren Township) v. Jusin Farnsworth (Malvern Prep). 120 — Dom Munaretto (St. Charles East) v. Michael Batista (Blair); Jovanni Tovar (Miami Southridge) v. Cameron Sontz (Delbarton). 126 — Paul Kenny (Christian Brothers) v. Ignacio Villasenor (Stillwater); Nicholas Garcia (Marmion) v. Grey Burnett (Perrysburg). 132 — Jayden Raney (Union County) v. Vincenzo Anello (Blair); Jensen Boyd (Delta) v. Nathan Rioux (Avon). 138 — Keanu Dillard (Bethlehem Catholic) v. Karson Brown (St. Edward); Dale Corbin (Wyoming Seminary) v. Israel Borge (Bixby). 144 — Jordyn Raney (Union County) v. Matthew O'Neill (Malvern Prep); Clinton Shepherd (Crown Point) v. Tyler Dekraker (Lake Highland Prep). 150 — Bo Bassett (Bishop McCort) v. Bentley Sly (Stuart W. Cramer); Rocco Cassioppi (Hononegah) v. Joe Bachmann (Faith Christian). 157 — Wyatt Medlin (Washington Community) v. Jake Miller (Broken Arrow); Zeno Moore (Lake Highland Prep) v. Justus Heeg (Providence Catholic). 165 — Melvin Miller (Bishop McCort) v. Bruno Cassioppi (Hononegah); Liam Kelly (Mount Carmel) v. Jayden James (Delbarton). 175 — Brody Kelly (IC Catholic Prep) v. Brennan Warwick (Massillon Perry); Nick Singer (Faith Christian) v. Gabriel Logan (Delbarton). 190 — Adam Waters (Faith Christian) v. C.J. Betz (Delbarton); Michael White (Lawrence North) v. Jimmy Mastny (Marian Central Catholic). 215 — Maximus Konopka (Green Farms) v. Ceasar Salas (Crown Point); Aiden Cooley (Allen) v. Cael Weidemoyer (Faith Christian). 285 — Mark Effendian (Faith Christian) v. Trayvn Boger (South Summit); Kameron Hazelett (Lowell) v. Alex Taylor (Mount Vernon).