High school wrestling: Wadsworth's Jacob Earnest rolls into Brecksville semifinals

BROADVIEW HTS. — The road back to the mat has been long for Wadsworth senior wrestler Jacob Earnest.After missing his junior season due to a football injury, the Grizzlies heavyweight is back with a vengeance.Earnest smashed his way to the North Canton Hoover Holiday Tournament title last weekend and into the semifinals Monday at the Brecksville Invitational Holiday Tournament."I am just grateful to be back out here on the mat," he said. "I missed all of last year with an injury. I am just grateful to be back out here competing again with all my friends. I feel great."Earnest entered the Hoover tournament unseeded but picked up the top spot in Brecksville and dominated with a pair of pins and a 13-2 major decision to lock up a spot on the podium."Everyone loves to win," he said. "You win and you get momentum. It's like a snowball affect. You keep winning and you keep getting more confidence. At some point, you just have to go out there and believe that no one can take you."The two-time All-Ohioan in football now stands two wins from back-to-back championships in prestigious and tradition-rich tournaments.Joining the Wadsworth big man in the semifinals are the Bickerton boys of Highland.The first to advance was top-seeded Brandon Bickerton, who pinned his way into the 120-pound quarterfinals and dominated that match with a second-period 17-1 technical fall over Massillon Perry's Sam Adams."Things went really well," he said. "I worked a lot this week on top-bottom stuff, and I incorporated a lot of that in my game. Ultimately, the goal is when it's their choice not to have them choosing down. That should be a punishment for them if they are underneath me. That is what I want to do. I want to be really dominant on top, and so far I have been very good with that."The consensus state title favorite is looking to improve on his third-place finish from last season."The goal is to win," he said. "I think that would be anyone's goal. I trust in my coaches and I have a lot of faith in God. I've been working hard. The end goal is to win. I'm not going to settle for third place or second place. I want to come in here and show who I am and do what I have to do."Austin Bickerton came in seeded fourth and advanced to the 126 quarterfinals with a first-period pin and a technical fall before having a battle. The junior took control of his match against Massillon Perry's Lincoln Rohr with a late first-period takedown and nearfall points. He made it stand up in a 6-1 win."I knew it was going to be a good battle," he said. "I've wrestled him a bunch of times, and so has my brother. He's a great opponent and we have been friends for a while, too. It is always hard wrestling people like that, but at the end of the day that is what is going to help me win the tournament." Austin Bickerton will get a chance to avenge his state tournament semifinal loss to Grey Burnett of Perrysburg and improve on his third-place finish in the Brecksville tournament."He ended up majoring me and got bonus points late," he said. "But that was last year, and I am a different man. I just came back from an ankle injury and I am ready to go for that (today).The Hornets also have four wrestlers battling through the blood round: Riley Pylypiak (113), Hoyt Pylypiak (138), Brennan Kicker (150) and Niko Giatis (165).Hoyt Pylypiak pulled off an upset of returning state placer Blake Frantz of Wadsworth in an ultimate tiebreaker in the championship second round before falling into the consolation bracket.Frantz is the only other Grizzlies wrestler still alive in the consolation bracket, convincingly winning both his consolation matches. He stands two wins from placement.Kicker wrestled to the quarterfinals before being pinned in the second period by Hudson's Beckett Campbell but needs just one win to finish in the top eight.Defending California state champion Buchanan has run away in the team standings with 188.5 points, easily in front of second-place Perrysburg (140.5). Highland is 10th with 67.5 points and Wadsworth stands 25th with 38.5.Contact Chad Grant at sports@medina-gazette.com.ResultsBrecksville Invitational Holiday TournamentStandings: 1. Buchanan (Calif.) 188.5, 2. Perrysburg 140.5, 3. Brecksville-Broadview Heights 116, 4. Massillon Perry 115, 5. Dundee (Mich.) 104, 6. Dublin Coffman 100.5, 7. Cincinnati Elder 76, 8. Olentangy Liberty 73.5, 9. Hudson 72, 10. Highland 67.5, Mentor Lake Catholic 67.5, 12. Hartland (Mich.) 58.5, 13. Columbus St. Francis DeSales 57.5, 14. Canyon View (Ariz.) 56, 15. Millersburg West Holmes 50, 16. Teays Valley 49, 17. Milan Edison 48.5, 18. Barnesville 47.5, 19. Cincinnati LaSalle 46.5, 20. Marysville 42.5, 21. Summit (Tenn.) 41, 22. Massillon Perry 39.5, 23. Akron St. Vincent St. Mary 39.5, 24. Garaway 39, 25. Wadsworth 38.5, 26. Cleveland St. Ignatius 38, 27. Mount Vernon 37.5, 28. Cleveland Benedictine 36, 29. Franklin 33.5, 30. Beaver 31, 31. Elyria 29, 32. North Royalton 28, 33. Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy 27.5, 34. Streetsboro 26, 35. Revere 25.5, 36. Strongsville 25, 37. Beachwood, Massillon Jackson, Garfield Heights Trinity 22, 40. Brecksville 'B' 17, 41. Mechanicsburg 16.5, 42. Sheridan 14.5, 43. Garrettsville Garfield 14, 44. Monroeville 8.Semifinal pairings106 — Thales Silva (Buch) v. Collin Bagdonas (Pbrg), Jordan Bates (Beav) v. Cohen Reer (Edi). 113 — Rylan Seacrist (Breck) v. Thiago Silva (Buch), Loc Webber (DC) v. Jarreau Walker (Street). 120 — Brandon Bickerton (High) v. Mason Haines (Dun), Derion Williams (Trin) v. Oliver Lester (DC). 126 — Grey Burnett (Pbrg) v. Austin Bickerton (High), Tommy Wirster (DC) v. Rocklin Zinkin (BucH. 132 — Nicholas Sorrow (Hud) v. Mason Katschor (Dun), Alex Denkins (Pbrg) v. Paul Ruiz (Buch). 138 — Ashton Besmer (Buch) v. Bohdan Abbey (Hart), Urijah Lopez (Pbrg) v. Liston Seibert (MP). 144 — Mason Rohr (MP) v. Huggy Williams (OL), Cole Speer (Breck) v. C.J. Huerta (Buch). 150 — Beckett Campbell (Hud) v. Cameron Plotts (MP), Brody Bauman (Pbrg) v. Carlo Contino (Buch). 157 — Blake Cosby (Dun) v. Louden Dixon (WH), Eli Esguerra (DC) v. Ivan Arias (Buch). 165 — Zack Aquila (Breck) v. Blake Woodward (Buch), Joel Welch (SFD) v. Caleb Greenwood (Beach). 175 — Brenna Warwick (MP) v. Patrick Roberts (Buch), Keegan Andrews (Mary) v. Colin Woolridge (CL). 190 — Caige Norak (MP) v. Shane Salto (Pbrg), Dylan Frass (OL) v. Hines Ford (Barn). 215 — E.J. German (Breck) v. Mason Parrill (DC), Seb Hignite (Eld) v. Sammy Seja (Buch). 285 — Jacob Earnest (Wad) v. Clayton Shipley (DC), Braylon Wright (DC) v. Cole Ditzig (Breck).