High school wrestling: Highland's Brandon Bickerton finally gets to podium at Ironman

CUYAHOGA FALLS — In his third attempt to earn All-America status at the Ironman, Highland junior Brandon Bickerton finally kicked down the door Saturday at Walsh Jesuit. Bickerton placed eighth at 120 pounds to reach the podium at what is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious tournaments in the country. He lost in the blood round the previous two years. "I've just got to keep improving from the first tournament of the year," Bickerton said. "It's a really good tournament to find out what you have to do to beat the best guys in the country." While the boys Ironman finished Saturday, the Women of Ironman tournament was just getting started. Brunswick senior Marisa McCartin made her Ironman debut a smashing start by pinning Marysville's Myranda Streng and Lebanon's Anne Schulz in the first period of her first two matches. Schulz was the eighth seed. McCartin, who was unseeded, then lost a 4-1 decision against top-seeded Caroline Hilton of Cleveland (Tenn.) in the quarterfinals. McCartin advanced to Sunday action by beating Katherine Crockett of Oakton (Va.) by 4-3 sudden victory. "I think it's an amazing opportunity, and I'm really grateful for it," said McCartin, who guaranteed herself a top-eight finish and All-America status. "It's a huge tournament, but coming from state (last year), that was also a huge tournament. I tried to take the same mindset into it." Black River junior Taylor Owen (155) battled back from a first-round loss to seventh-seeded Natalie Carlisle of Lebanon by pinning Amina Neal of Atherton (Ca.). She then earned an 8-4 win over Mogadore's Mackenzie Shellenbarger before being eliminated with a 6-4 loss to Columbus Bishop Hartley's Maya Keane. Bickerton took eighth after losing to Liam Davis of Lake Highland Prep (Fla.) 4-1 on a scramble that finished with Davis getting credit for a takedown in the final second in overtime. There was a similar scramble at the end of the first period, but the final whistle blew before anyone could get control. Davis was seeded eighth and Bickerton ninth. Bickerton beat Davis 13-7 Friday to reach the championship quarterfinals. "You don't win every scramble," Bickerton said. "It's called 50-50 for a reason. You put two good scramblers against each other and somebody's got to get the takedown." Bickerton secured his place as an All-American with a dominant 14-4 major decision over Cruz Little of Faith Christian (Pa.) in which Bickerton hit four takedowns. He came out of the gates quickly to gain momentum and put himself where he wanted to be. "I know who I am as a wrestler," Bickerton said. "I'm not the type to hold back or try to win matches by a point or so. Once I have a lead, I want to keep building on that lead." In his second match of the day, Bickerton took Alex Rozas of Teurlings Catholic (La.), the fourth seed and ninth-ranked wrestler at that weight in the nation, to the brink before losing 11-6 in overtime. Bickerton controlled the action and led 6-2 after two periods on the strength of two takedowns. He chose down to start the third period and got turned by Rozas for four nearfall points to tie the match. After a scoreless first overtime, Rozas escaped in the second. Bickerton chose top for the third overtime and allowed an escape to start the period aiming, for a takedown. Instead, Rozas got the takedown. "I'm going to be honest, I made a big mistake and should have gone neutral," Bickerton said about the third period. "I thought if I went down I could get out or (Rozas) would cut me because they needed two takedowns. I didn't think he was going to turn me, but things like that happen, unfortunately." With his first Ironman All-America honor under his belt, Bickerton was ready for the next challenges ahead this season and in his final Ironman next year. "This sets me up for the whole season now," he said. "I was the only Ironman placer from Ohio at 120 and knowing that boosts my confidence. "Now that I've placed at Ironman, next year I'm going to be looking to win it." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Results Team standings: 1. Faith Christian Academy 141, 2. Blair Academy 129, 3. Delbarton 122, 4. Lake Highland Prep 120, 5. Malvern Prep 112, 6. Bishop McCort 88.5, 7. Wyoming Seminary 85, 8. Christian Brothers Academy 80.5, 9. Perrysburg 72.5, 10. Edmond North 70, 11. Union County 68.5, 12. Stillwater 66.5, 13. Massillon Perry 63.5, 14. St. Edward 62.5, 15. Brecksville 61, 16. Crown Point 56.5, 17. Notre Dame-Green Pond 54.5, 18. Green Farms Academy 53, 19. Bixby 52.5, 20. Allen 52, 21. Brownsburg 50, 22. Hononegah 49, 23. Dublin Coffman 48.5, 24. Marmion Academy 42.5, 25. Pomona 37.5, 26. Layton 37, 26. Sunnyside 37, 28. IC Catholic Prep 36.5, 28. Warren Township 36.5, 30. St. Charles East 36, 31. Bethlehem Catholic 35.5, 32. Washington Community 35, 33. Avon 34, 34. Broken Arrow 33.5, 35. Mount Carmel 33, 36. Lowell 32.5, 36. Loyola Academy 32.5, 38. Westfield 31.5, 39. Graham 28.5, 40. Providence Catholic 28, 40. South Summit 28, 42. Coweta 27.5, 43. Lawrence North 27, 44. Edison 26.5, 45. Miami Southridge 25.5, 45. Northampton 25.5, 47. Honeoye Falls-Lima 25, 47. Mount Vernon 25, 49. Center Grove 21, 50. Spire Academy 19.5, 50. Streetsboro 19.5, 52. Marian Central Catholic 19, 52. Stuart W. Cramer 19, 54. St. Pius X 18.5, 55. AIM Academy 18, 55. Lafayette 18, 57. Baylor School 17, 57. Clay 17, 59. Canyon Randall 16.5, 60. Christian Brothers College 15.5, 60. Parkersburg 15.5, 60. Ponderosa 15.5, 63. Highland 15, 63. Shoreham-Wading River 15, 65. Teurlings Catholic 14.5, 66. Syracuse 14, 67. Cleveland 13.5, 67. St. Francis 13.5, 69. Lake Catholic 13, 69. Skutt Catholic 13, 71. Bismarck Legacy 12.5, 72. St. Francis Desales 12, 73. Delta 11, 73. SLAM Academy 11, 75. Mountain View 10.5, 76. Archbishop Spalding 9.5, 77. Lockport 9, 77. Seckman 9, 77. West Holmes 9, 80. St. Viator 8.5, 81. Staley 8, 81. University 8, 83. Columbia 7.5, 83. Merritt Island 7.5, 83. Plainedge 7.5, 86. Central Arkansas Christian 7, 86. Corner Canyon 7, 86. Davis 7, 86. Genoa Area 7, 86. Archbishop Moeller 7, 86. St. Xavier 7, 86. Westlake 7, 93. Beaver Local 6, 93. Grant 6, 93. Homewood-Flossmoor 6, 93. Lake Gibson 6, 93. South Rowan 6, 98. Beachwood 5, 98. Creighton Prep 5, 98. Hershey 5, 98. Lima Central Catholic 5, 98. Malad 5, Montini Catholic 5, 98. St. Christopher's 5, 105. St. Vincent-St. Mary 4, 105. Staunton River 4, 105. University 4, 108. Wadsworth 3.5, 109. Cathedral 3, 109. Elder 3, 109. Trotwood-Madison 3, 112. Barberton 2, 112. Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy 2, 112. Francis Howell 2, 112. Medina Buckeye 2, 112. Ontario 2, 112. Sheridan 2, 112. Walsh Jesuit 2, 119. Seven tied with 0. 106 — Connor Maddox (Westf) d. Cohen Reer (Edi), 9-6 (SV). 113 — Rylan Seacrist (Bre) m.d. Jusin Farnsworth (Malv), 11-3. 120 — Dom Munaretto (SCE) d. Jovanni Tovar (Miami), 13-11; SEVENTH: Liam Davis (LHP) d. Brandon Bickerton (Hig), 4-1 (SV). 126 — Grey Burnett (Perrys) d. Paul Kenny (CBA), 4-2. 132 — Jayden Raney (Unio) d. Nathan Rioux (Avon), 8-3. 138 — Karson Brown (St. Ed) d. Israel Borge (Bix), 6-5 (SV). 144 — Jordyn Raney (Unio) d. Tyler Dekraker (LHP), 4-0. 150 — Bo Bassett (McC) m.d. Joe Bachmann (FCA), 14-6. 157 — Wyatt Medlin (Wash) d. Justus Heeg (PC), 2-1. 165 — Jayden James (Delb) d. Melvin Miller (McC.), 8-5 (SV). 175 — Joseph Jeter (Edm) d. Nick Singer (FCA), 6-4. 190 — Michael White (Law N) m.d. C.J. Betz (Delb), 14-6. 215 — Maximus Konopka (GFA) d. Cael Widemoyer (FCA), 6-5. 285 — Mark Effendian (FCA) d. Alex Taylor (MV), 5-2.