State wrestling: Semifinal nerves of past lead to Div. I finals for Joy, VanDyke, Earnest

COLUMBUS — Nerves on the biggest stage of them all in Division I high school wrestling may be trumped by the round that comes before it.

Confused?

Don’t be.

The area has three finalists in Wadsworth’s Jaxon Joy (120 pounds) and Chris Earnest (150) and Walsh Jesuit’s Dy’Vaire "Boots" VanDyke (138) and all of them will tell you it’s the semifinals where the nervous system takes a hit the most.

That played out again Saturday.

All three will advance to Sunday’s final thanks to wins on the mat and in their own heads.

Overcoming it all in Earnest

“It was like 20 times worse than any final I’ve ever been in,” Earnest said. “Just going out there knowing that if you win this match you’re going to wrestle on the stage in front of a huge crowd and get your name announced and all that.

“If you lose, you get nothing. You know? No one really remembers the person that got third. They remember the person that wins it.”

Armed with a state semifinal loss in last season’s round of four, Earnest remembered the feeling all too well.

That’s why he wasn’t messing around in a 9-0 major decision win over Cincinnati Colerain’s Tim Smith.

A three-time state qualifier and two-time state placer, Earnest will face Perrysburg’s Wynton Denkins in the last match of the season.

Earnest will also do it with a two-point loss in last season’s semifinal in the rearview mirror.

“It definitely ran through my head a couple of times,” Earnest said. “Having those flashbacks of losing by two points, when it came in my head I said, ‘Never again. That’s not happening again.’ I pushed it aside.”

Boots kicks into gear

Like Earnest, VanDyke knows the nerves of a state semifinal having been in one last season.

It pushed him through it this time to claim a 7-4 win over three-time Elyria state placer and Clarion recruit Nate Burnett on Saturday.

“In a final, no matter what, you’re done after the match,” VanDyke said. “You’re top two in the bracket regardless. In the semis, you can have a bad day and get all the way down to sixth place even if you were supposed to be in first. Just knowing you were one match away from competing in the top spot, it adds pressure to it because you have to limit your mistakes.”

VanDyke will let if fly Sunday night against two-time runner-up Jake Niffenegger of Cincinnati LaSalle.

He’ll also do it without a thought in his mind of a one-point loss in last year’s semifinal.

“That loss was all I’ve thought about for a year,” VanDyke said. “This is where I wanted to be. I knew I wanted to get back here and correct some mistakes that I made the last time, finish my shots, be more productive and stay out of ties I’m not comfortable in. This means the world to win this match.”

The Joy of winning

Unlike Earnest and VanDyke, Joy knows what it’s like to be in the state final after a runner-up finish last season.

That’s not to say the legs weren’t shaking in the tunnel before his name was called.

He beat Centerville’s Damion Ryan 4-3 to kick off a solid night for the Grizzlies.

“In my head, I know I deserve to wrestle Sunday night on the big stage,” Joy said. “But you have to get past the semifinals. That kid was a tough wrestler. I knew I had to wrestle smart and stick to my offense.

“It’s focusing on every little task like it’s a match. Every practice this week I was focusing on that practice and not thinking about the finals. Now my next test is to refuel, get a good night’s sleep. I’m not even going to think about the finals until go time [Sunday].”

Up next, is two-time state placer Ryan Avalos of Perrsyburg.

“I’ve never gotten to wrestle in ‘The Schott’ on the big stage,” Joy said. “It’s completely different. I feel like I’m built for those kinds of moments. I get to show that I deserve to wrestle Sunday night.”

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Nerves of past lead to Sunday's finals for Joy, VanDyke, Earnest