Nicholson wins state wrestling title for Medina

Cliff Nicholson III represents the third generation of his name and now represents the third in Medina history.

Nicholson became just the third Medina wrestler to win a state championship when he capped his career with the Division I 285-pound crown this past Sunday at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus. He is Medina’s first winner since 1996.

Three Medina wrestlers went to the state tournament and all three wound up in the top five. Nicholson left the most permanent stamp on the Medina history books, winning the 285-pound Division I state title.

A familiar face was the last thing between Nicholson and the title, and he beat Wadsworth senior Jake Earnest 9-7, recording a dramatic takedown in the final seconds to win it.

Nicholson, who finished his final season a sparkling 51-1, posted two pins and two decisions in winning Medina’s first individual title since Mark Balog won the 125-pound crown in 1996 and just the Bees’ second crown in half a century, joining Balog and Jerry Lee, who won the first in 1977.

Nicholson started his quest with a second-round pin of Anthony Galloway of Cleveland John Adams, following with a pin in just under two minutes of Jaiden Davis of Middletown. Dublin Coffman’s Braylon Wright fell 10-6 in the semifinals.

With Nicholson leading the way, Medina ended the year with a top-10 team finish. The Bees finished with 53 points to wind up ninth. Perrysburg won with 173.5 points, just ahead of the 168.5 of runner-up St. Edward.

Taegan Gilmore placed third at 120 pounds for the Bees. Dominic DiFilippo placed fifth at 113.

Gilmore won by pin in the first round, then stopped Ayden Dodd of Perrysburg 5-4 to reach the semifinals. He fell there 9-3 to Bradley Bauman of St. Edward.

Gilmore bounced back to win his first consolation match 4-1 over Asibek Anvaroz of Mayfield before defeating Perrysburg’s Dodd in the match for third place. Gilmore’s 3-2 finish put his final record at 52-4.

DiFilippo started in impressive fashion, moving into the semifinals with back-to-back 15-0 technical falls. In the semis he ran into eventual champion Rylan Seacrist of Brecksville, who topped the Medina sophomore with a technical fall of his own.

DiFilippo dropped his first consolation match to Connor Bagdonas before rallying to beat Paxton Laughlin of Louisville 13-4 in the match for fifth place. DiFilippo’s 3-2 weekend pushed his final record to 47-6.