Boys district wrestling: Wadsworth benefitting from home cooking

WADSWORTH — The comforts of home suit the Wadsworth wrestling team quite well.After taking over hosting duties from North Canton Hoover, the Grizzlies put four wrestlers into the Wadsworth Division I District semifinals Friday night.Wadsworth (45) sits in fifth. Massillon Perry (99) and Louisville (78.5) lead after both put eight into today's championship semifinals.Blake Frantz (132 pounds), Kolten Mellon (144), Kyle Jardine (157) and Jacob Earnest (285) will represent the Grizzlies in the semifinals. Each needs just one win in the next two matches to return to the state tournament.Frantz is looking to qualify for the fourth time."I'm feeling good, really good," he said. "I'm on my offense, doing what I need to do."Medina (42) is tied for sixth out of 42 teams and saw Dominic DiFilippo (113), Taegan Gilmore (120) and Cliff Nicholson (285) reach the semifinals.Meanwhile, Brunswick (30.5) is 10th and saw Brayden Miles (150) and Carter Wickes (165) pick up the necessary two wins to reach the semifinals.Earnest pinned Ashland's Steven Garrett in 1:05 before earning a 23-3 technical fall over Louisville's Zander McCrobie, a projected state qualifier according to Matscouts' Josh Lowe, in the quarterfinals. Earnest opens today against Painesville Harvey's Marvin Guerra.A win there could set up a very interesting Medina County battle between Earnest and Nicholson, who beat St. Ignatius' Luke Spinos and Perry's Marco Salazar by pin to set up a semifinal against Walsh Jesuit's Joey Ma, a projected state qualifier.Lowe projects Earnest as the second and third wrestlers, respectively, at 285 in D-I."It's nice to get them under my belt," Nicholson said of his matches Friday. "I'm more focused on what I'm going to do (today) and putting myself where I want to be for the state tournament."Frantz, who placed fourth at state as a sophomore, was dominant with a technical fall and a pin to set up a semifinal against Brush's Josiah Sims.His mission is simple."(Not placing last year) fuels me a lot, but I also don't dwell on it," Frantz said. "This is a new year, new me. I'm wrestling to win a state title, so that's all I'm shooting for."Mellon, a two-time state placer, won by 16-1 technical fall against Barberton's Mason Cline and 8-0 major decision against North Royalton's Sean Heilto to set up a meeting with Louisville's Aric Criss for a chance to clinch a state berth.Jardine is in a semifinal against Austintown Fitch's Stephen Pontius after both won close quarterfinals. Jardine beat Painesville Riverside's Ben Hainzey 5-4, while Pontius needed sudden victory against Berea-Midpark's Xaviere Harden.Along with its four semifinalists, Wadsworth has Blake Hoover (175) and Carter Raymond (215) in the consolation bracket. They need to win three matches today to reach state.While Wadsworth's semifinalist quartet has state experience, Miles and Wickes are attempting to reach the stage for the first time.Wickes pinned Bedford's Kameron Horne before taking an 8-6 win against Ashland's Talon Boyd, a projected state qualifier, in the quarterfinals to set up a match with Canton McKinley's Adonis Kelley.Miles pinned Hoover's Seth Dorland and beat Aurora's Grant Eaton by 15-7 major decision to reach a match with Walsh Jesuit's Tyler Tirabassi."I did my business today and have the semifinals (today) and hoping to get to the state tournament," Miles said. "It would be huge. I've never made it down before. It's a big goal of mine. If I get the job done (today), I get to check off a box and keep going from there."Danny Gamer (113), Jacob Kash (126) and Travis Latta (157) will represent the Blue Devils in the consolation bracket.DiFilippo was in a hurry to get the job done Friday, as he pinned his first two opponents in a combined 1:19 to set up a semifinal against Louisville's Paxton Laughlin, a fellow projected state qualifier.Meanwhile, Gilmore recorded his 100th career pin — North Royalton's Nico Lallo 20 seconds into the first round — and made a semifinal against Ashland's Max Ohl after Hoover's Stamatios Paxos defaulted on their match.The Bees still have Cooper Kaplack (126), Tyler Bradshaw (132) and Cooper Lavender (138) alive in the consolation bracket.Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com.Semifinal pairings106 — Tyson Mateo (Ashland) v. Constaninos Paxos (Hoover); Bennett Wachter (Elyria) v. Andrew Cassetty (Lake). 113 — Paxton Laughlin (Louisville) v. Dominic DiFilippo (Medina); Gaspar Reymundo (Barberton) v. Wyatt Cleary (Walsh Jesuit). 120 — Taegan Gilmore (Medina) v. Max Ohl (Ashland); Asibek Anvaroz (Mayfield) v. Xavier Pollard (Louisville). 126 — Lincoln Rohr (Perry) v. Colton Rhoads (Louisville); Michael Rusinko (Strongsville) v. Nathan Hale (Valley Forge). 132 — Liam Montgomery (Louisville) v. Liston Seibert (Perry); Blake Frantz (Wadsworth) v. Josiah Sims (Brush). 138 — Mason Bauer (Ashland) v. Kaiden Barker (Louisville); Evan Protopapa (Fitch) v. Seth Cavazos (Perry). 144 — Mason Rohr (Perry) v. Blake Cancel (Elyria); Aric Criss (Louisville) v. Kolten Mellon (Wadsworth). 150 — Tyler Tirabassi (Walsh Jesuit) v. Brayden Miles (Brunswick); Guardian Miller (Ashland) v. Cameron Plotts (Perry). 157 — Kyle Jardine (Wadsworth) v. Stephen Pontius (Fitch); Lukas Jordan (Lake) v. Andrew Ramos (Perry). 165 — Carter Wickes (Brunswick) v. Adonis Kelley (McKinley); Tyler Rowles (North Royalton) v. Caden Mariola (Walsh Jesuit). 175 — Drake Brasiel (Aurora) v. Boston Abdul (Lake); Brennan Warwick (Perry) v. Luke Evensen-Hein (Walsh Jesuit). 190 — Caige Horak (Perry) v. Nik Kofinas (North Royalton); Bodie Smith (Ashland) v. Frankie Salvino (Massillon). 215 — Jackson Phillips (Barberton) v. Drayston Martin (Ashland); Jakeb Beard (Louisville) v. Eian Englehart (Avon). 285 — Marvin Guerra (Harvey) v. Jacob Earnest (Wadsworth); Cliff Nicholson (Medina) v. Joey Ma (Walsh Jesuit).