High school wrestling: Highland's Brandon Bickerton rallies for title at Brecksville

BROADVIEW HTS. — His celebration — holding up one finger about chest high and twirling it in a circle — was subdued, but every win is special in some way. Earning his first Brecksville Invitational Holiday Tournament championship was special for Highland's Brandon Bickerton, the lone representative from Medina County to stand atop the podium. "It means a lot," he said. "After finishing seventh as a freshman and third last year, it just shows the growth that I have had. A lot of kids stay the same, a lot of kids get worse and there are a lot of kids that get better. I am one of those kids where I get better by the tournament and, you could say, by the day. Just coming in here and getting the job done means a lot." After cruising into the semifinals with two pins and a tech fall, Bickerton showed his grit by winning a pair of tough decisions to take home the crown. In the semis, he trailed 5-3 entering the third period and picked up a huge takedown midway through to knock off Mason Haines of Dundee (Mich.) 6-5. "I was down going into the third period of the semis and the finals," Bickerton said. "That just shows a lot about character. I wanted to win it on my feet and I took them down and did that. It's not easy to take someone good down with two minutes left." Bickerton trailed 1-0 entering the third period against Dublin Coffman's Oliver Lester in the championship, and once again came through with a big takedown and nearfall points to sew up a 7-2 win. Bickerton placed third at Brecksville last season and entered the tournament as the favorite. He showed why by helping his team finish seventh with 115 points. Buchanan of Clovis, Calif., blew away the field to take home the team title with 327 points. Perrysburg finished second, 65.5 points behind. Wadsworth senior 285-pounder Jacob Earnest followed his North Canton Hoover Holiday Tournament title with a runner-up finish. "It definitely boosts my confidence," he said. "Taking a year off (due to injury) I didn't really know where I stood, but obviously going into this tournament and getting second here and another tournament, winning it, it just shows that I can wrestle with anyone in the state." Earnest had to double up against the luck of the Irish, facing Dublin Coffman Shamrock wrestlers in the semifinals and final. He picked up a 4-2 win over Clayton Shipley in the semifinal before suffering a 21-1 tech fall loss to Braylon Wright. "He was good," Earnest said of his finals opponent. "He had some of that weight and the athleticism that I have. He is definitely the best guy I have faced this year." Highland's Austin Bickerton battled through a loaded 126 class to finish fourth. "It is definitely a good growing point," he said. "It shows me what I need to work on and that is what I got today. I think I wrestled well overall and won some good matches, but those ones just sting." The bracket featured several nationally ranked wrestlers. Perrysburg's Grey Burnett is ranked second in the country by FLOWrestling, while Rocklin Zinkin of Buchanan, Calif. (No. 2, 120) and Coffman's Tommy Wurster (No. 9, 126) were also ranked. "Those guys are good wrestlers, and I think I am right up there with them," Bickerton said. "I don't know what I am ranked right now. It's probably in the 20s or something. I know I am up there. I know I can beat those guys. It's just a matchup every day." Bickerton had a spectacular showing against Burnett but came up just short, 8-5. Bickerton Then took Wurster to overtime before an escape by the Shamrock wrestler led to a 2-1 loss. Hornets 165-pounder Niko Giatis turned in a spectacular effort after dropping his opening bout and then rolling through six consecutive wins to get into the third-place match. "It was really tough," he said. "After losing my first match I was rethinking the whole tournament, my strategy and my mindset. Luckily, I was able to work back. I pounded through, ground through and dug deep in the last three matches." Giatis fell 3-2 to Beachwood's Caleb Greenwood to finish fourth. Brennan Kicker also placed for Highland, finishing fifth at 150. He won his final match 5-0 over Cameron Plotts of Massillon Perry. The final placer from the county was Wadsworth 138-pounder Blake Frantz. The senior finished eighth. Contact Chad Grant at sports@medina-gazette.com. Results Standings: 1. Buchanan (Calif.) 327, 2. Perrysburg 261.5, 3. Massillon Perry 181, 4. Dublin Coffman 180, 5. Brecksville 170.5. 6. Dundee (Mich.) 153, 7. Highland 115, 8. Olentangy Liberty 114, 9. Hudson (Mich.) 110, 10. Cincinnati Elder 99, 11. Mentor Lake Catholic 97.5, 12. Columbus St. Francis DeSales 93.5, 13. Hartland (Mich.) 89.5, 14. Canyon View (Ariz.) 75, 15. Cincinnati LaSalle 66.5, 16. Milan Edison 65.5, 17. Garaway 62, 18. Teays Valley 62, 19. Barnesville 61, 20. Marysville 60.5, 21. Beaver 58, 22. Massillon Perry 56, 23. Wadsworth 54, 24. Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy 50, 25. West Holmes 49, 26. St. Ignatius 44, 27. Mount Vernon 43, 28. St. Vincent St. Mary 42.5, 29. Summit (Tenn.) 42, 30. Elyria 41, 31. Benedictine 40, 32. Brecksville "B" 39.5, 33. North Royalton 36.5, 34. Franklin 35.5, 35. Streetsboro 34, 36. Revere 31.5, 37. Trinity 28.5, 38. Beachwood 28, 39. Strongsville 27.5, 40. Sheridan 23.5, 41. Massillon Jackson 22, 42. Mechanicsburg 16.5, 43. Garrettsville Garfield 14, 44. Monroeville 11. 106 — Thales Silva (Buch) p. Cohen Reer (Edi), 5:40. 113 — Loc Webber (DC) d. Rylan Seacrist (Breck), 9-8. 120 — Brandon Bickerton (High) d. Oliver Lester (DC), 7-2. 126 — Rocklin Zinkin (Buch) d. Grey Burnett (Pbrg), 2-1. THIRD: Austin Bickerton (High) Tommy Wurster (DC).132 — Paul Ruiz (Buch) d. Nicholas Sorrow (Hud), 7-5. 138 — Bohdan Abbey (Hart) p. Urijah Lopez (Pbrg), 1:40. SEVENTH: Chase Davis (Pbrg) m.d. Blake Frantz (Wad), 9-1. 144 — Mason Rohr (MP) d. C.J. Huerta (Buch), 4-2. 150 — Beckett Campbell (Hud) p. Brody Bauman (Pbrg), 1:11. FIFTH: Brennan Kicker (High) d. Cameron Plotts (MP), 5-0. 157 — Blake Cosby (Dun) d. Ivan Arias (Buch), 4-1. 165 — Joel Welch (SFD) d. Zack Aquila (Breck), 4-0. THIRD: Caleb Greenwood (Beach) d. Niko Giatis (High), 3-2. 175 — Brenna Warwick (MP) d. Colin Woolridge (CL), 9-8. 190 — Caige Norak (MP) d. Dylan Frass (OL), 5-4. 215 — Sammy Seja (Buch) d. E.J. German (Breck), 11-6. 285 — Braylon Wright (DC) t.f. Jacob Earnest (Wad), 21-1.