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Joshua Lamar Didion, one of the newest members of the
Bellevue Athletic Hall of Fame, continued a family legacy
during his wrestling days at Bellevue Senior High School.
Along with the four letters he earned in wrestling, Josh
earned three letters in football, but he will forever be
remembered for his success in wrestling, earning a State
Championship for the Redmen and completing a cycle begun by
his father, Don, who was Bellevue’s first-ever state
wrestling champion and who is also a member of the Redmen
Athletic Hall of Fame.
A
1997 graduate of BSHS, Josh was honorable mention All-NOL in
football during his sophomore season. The following year he
earned first team All-NOL honors, and was first team All-NOL
his senior season. Josh was also named first team
All-District, special mention All-Ohio, and was team captain
during that 1996 season.
In
wrestling, Josh took third place at the NOL Tournament as a
freshman. The following year he improved to second place at
NOL’s, was second at sectionals, third at districts, and was
a state qualifier.
As a
junior, Josh was named team captain and eventually earned
the school’s fourth-ever state wrestling title. During his
senior campaign, Josh was again named captain and nearly
pulled off back-to-back state title before settling for
state runner-up.
He
had a career record of 124-20 and at the time of graduation
he was first in number of wins and first in winning
percentage. He was a three-time Bellevue Invitational and
three-time Oak Harbor Invitational champion, a two-time Avon
Lake champion, a three-time state qualifier, and had two
undefeated seasons (26-0 in 1996 and 25-0 in 1997).
Josh
was also a member of the BSHS National Honor Society, won
the Friendliest Junior Award, and took the 1997 Archie
Griffin Sportsmanship Award.
In
college, Josh wrestled for Cleveland State University where
he earned a scholarship, was named team MVP, and was a
Division I NCAA wrestling championships qualifier in both
1998 and 1999.
Josh
and his family reside in Hillsboro, OH |