Brecksville wrestling's Seacrist beats World champ at Ironman, Jaxon Joy tops 2x champ
CUYAHOGA FALLS – When you’re used to wrestling at the highest level, the Ironman Tournament can be like riding a bike.
Well, almost.
In a tournament where 86 nationally ranked standouts and seven No. 1 invade the gyms of Walsh Jesuit, anything can happen and often do.
That anything happened to Brecksville’s Rylan Seacrist (113 pounds) who knocked off top-seeded Dom Munaretto of St. Charles East, Ill.
That would be Munaretto, the reigning World champion, Ironman champion and formerly undefeated state champion.
“That’s probably the best match I’ve ever wrestled,” Seacrist said. “Seeing all this competition around me — I lost in the blood round last year — so this meant a lot.
“This is unbelievable. I never thought that would happen. Most people probably didn’t think that would happen, but I’ve been working my butt off to get that extra.”
How Brecksville's Rylan Seacrist beat World champion Dom Munaretto at the Ironman
That extra paid off in a big way against Munaretto, the third-ranked wrestler in the nation.
And the 7-3 win really wasn’t even that close as state runner-up Seacrist had a takedown to Munaretto’s back in the second period and another takedown in the third.
“I don’t know how I can dial back down,” Seacrist said. “I don’t think I can to be honest. It was unbelievable.”
That’s the key to every match at the Ironman, where a win over one state champ usually leads to a match with another even if you gave one the first loss of his high school career.
The need to refocus becomes paramount in the semifinals as fourth-seeded Hunter Taylor of Liberty, Mo. sits in the round of four. Taylor is a two-time national freestyle champion and back-to-back state champion.
“This tells you Rylan Seacrist is for real,” Brecksville coach Todd Haverdill said. “I think we all knew how good he is but sometimes you need that win to prove it to yourself, and I think he just got it.”
Jaxon Joy knocks off two-time state champ en route to Ironman semis
Joy’s ride to the semifinals came with yet another impressive win over another standout. In a battle of two-time state champions, Joy gave up the first two points and then beat Dublin Scioto's Ty Wilson 11-2.
“I have fallen in love with wrestling the best guys,” Joy said. “Going to Fargo and Super 32, a lot of guys try to find ways to get out of it, but I love wrestling the best guys. That’s what’s fun to me. We wrestle a tough schedule, but this is the one circled.”
He’ll have freestyle national champ and state champ Vince Bouzakis of Wyoming Seminary, Pa. in his semifinal bout.
“It’s good to see these guys early on,” Joy said. “I’ll keep getting better every week and hopefully I can see that progress over the course of the season.”
Perry state champion and three-time All-American Aidan Fockler (285) and teammate Charles Curtis (138) made the quarterfinals but lost, and are one win away from placing.
Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Brecksville wrestling's Rylan Seacrist beats World champ at Ironman
