BY HAYLEE JOY

The Wadsworth High School wrestling team sent nine boys to Columbus to wrestle in the Division I High School State Tournament. Seven of them ended up placing. Knowing that this is a difficult year, all of them faced adversity and were determined to have some success. The team worked hard and came out with a 3rd-place finish overall and senior Logan Messer took home the state title for his weight class. 

The Bruin profiled each state qualifier. They are listed below by their weight class.

Jaxon Joy 106

Jaxon Joy, Wadsworth’s 106-pounder, made it to the state finals as a freshman. Being a state runner-up, he is instantly back to work and training to bring home the title next year. 

“I did not accomplish my goal but I still accomplished something to be proud of,” Joy said. “I don’t ever want to feel that again, so I won’t let myself feel it again next year.”

He is only a freshman who is already accomplishing outstanding achievements, so Joy still has plenty of time to reach his goals. 

Joy’s coaches and teammates are a big factor to his success. His coaches helped his confidence grow throughout the season, and his drill partners helped push him in the room every single day. 

Looking forward to his sophomore year, Joy is excited for what the team will have to offer.

“No matter what the team looks like next year, I know we can compete with the best in the state,” Joy said. 

Mason Brugh 113

Wadsworth’s 113-pounder, junior Mason Brugh, placed third at the state tournament. Brugh is now a three time state qualifier and two time placer at the Division I State Championship Tournament. He took fourth his freshman year, and qualified his sophomore year but could not wrestle due to COVID-19. Because of that setback, Brugh was looking forward to this event even more.

“The missed opportunities were always in the back of my mind this season and I wanted to achieve my goal of being a state champ that much more,” Brugh said.

Falling short of his goal is only going to push him to work even harder and trust his coaches’ process to achieve a state title his senior year.  

“Taking third isn’t what I wanted and I felt pretty down on myself after my loss but winning four matches in a row and coming back to take third definitely helps to keep the momentum rolling into next season,” Brugh said. 

Mikey Lewarchick 126 

Senior Mikey Lewarchick placed fourth in the state in the 126-pound weight class. While times are hard because of the pandemic, he and his team pushed through the difficult moments, and were prepared going into the state tournament.

“My coaches were very supportive and encouraging when times were up and down throughout the season, they taught us to trust in them and ourselves,” Lewarchick said. “I think those characteristics made us better in the sport and life.” 

He is now a three time state qualifier. He made it to the tournament his freshman, junior, and senior year. After high school, Lewarchick will be wrestling in college at Kent State University. He looks forward to meeting new people from different backgrounds and working hard on and off the mat. 

Christopher Earnest 132 

Christopher Earnest, a sophomore 132-pounder, brought home a fourth-place medal. Earnest shared that he fell short of his personal goal, but that it only pushes him to work even harder in the future. 

“I feel that I had a really good tournament even though I didn’t place as high as I was hoping for,” Earnest said. “I set my standards very high for a sophomore and I’m only planning on doing better my junior and senior year.”

Lucky for him, he still has another two years to reach his goals and continue to be successful. 

Earnest said that his family and coaches have constantly been motivating and encouraging him throughout the years. His teammates are also part of his support system.

“Being in the room with so many good wrestlers only makes you better,” Earnest said. 

Landon Hacker 145

Senior Landon Hacker got to stand on the podium wearing a 7th place medal. Throughout this past season, Hacker had injuries that were setbacks to some of his goals. His teammates and coaches were a great support system that helped encourage him to fight past the injuries. 

“My injury prevented me from training and competing as much as I had liked, so I had little to no mat time going into the sectional tournament,” Hacker said. 

That being said, between that and the state tournament getting cancelled last season, he learned to appreciate his time on the mat even more.

“Not having the state tournament last year made this year just that much more special because I was just grateful that we were given the opportunity to compete,” said Hacker.

Ending a high school career on the podium is something to be proud of, even if he was striving for a higher placement.

“I personally am disappointed in my finish this year as I had high hopes for my season, but as a team I am very proud of everybody,” Hacker said.

 After high school, he will continue his wrestling career at the University of Virginia, so this is not the end for him. He is looking forward to getting his feet on the mat again. 

Dave Shue 138

David Shue, junior, had a successful season and had fun with his teammates as well. 

“I feel that I did good this season, but I want to be on the podium next year,” said Shue.

He is motivated to continue having fun with his teammates during his last year of high school. 

“Going into my senior season, I am looking forward to getting back on the mat, meeting new people, and playing partner dodgeball,” Shue said. 

Logan Messer 170

Logan Messer, 170-pound senior, brought a state title back to Wadsworth with him. Being the team’s 170-pound senior, Messer pushed himself and worked as hard as he could to win the championship. He shared that a lot of extra effort has to be put in to get what you want. 

“You have to put in a lot of effort, one of the things that helped me the most is asking a lot of questions after practice to just make sure you understand what you are doing,” Messer said. 

After suffering an injury his sophomore season and having his junior season cut short because of COVID-19, Messer wanted to make the best out of his senior season. This season meant a lot to him and he did not take any mat time for granted. 

“Coming back this year really meant that I had to prove who I was and really who the team was because we all compete together as a family,” said Messer. 

As he will be leaving the high school wrestling program, his advice to the underclassmen is to keep the sport fun and not get burnt out on the sport that they love. After graduation, Messer will go to George Mason to continue his wrestling career.

Jazz Jackson 182  

Another senior, Jamisen Jazz Jackson, had a successful season as well. He appreciates the bonds that have been made with his teammates and coaches. 

“Those friendships and relationships I’ll have forever,” said Jackson. “Wadsworth wrestling has meant a lot to me because it gives me more than just skills to be good at wrestling, it teaches me things to be good at anything in life.”

Although ending up on the podium was his biggest goal, Jackson made it out of the sectional and district tournaments to qualify for the state tournament, which is also a huge accomplishment. 

Jon List 195

Jon List, senior, had a very successful weekend as well. Placing 4th in the state tournament, List ends his high school wrestling career as a four time state qualifier and a two time state placer. List shared that his teammates played a big role in keeping everyone motivated towards the end of the season. His coaches were always pushing him in practice, making sure he was always prepared. 

“I feel disappointed I didn’t meet my goal, but at the same time I’m proud of my accomplishments throughout high school,” said List. 

Although his high school career is over, List will continue wrestling at George Mason after graduation.

“My advice to underclassmen would be to always keep it fun and to make sure you have a good dodgeball partner,” said List.