Flyers, Wolverines send five to finals
By Chase Sewell
State Journal Sports Writer
It was a banner day for local wrestling as Franklin County sent four to the finals and Western Hills sent another in the Capital City Classic at Franklin County Saturday.
The Flyers came away with the only local championship from Josh Bruning at 160-pounds.
"It feels pretty good, you know, a home tournamentI'm not going to get beat on my home turf," Bruning said. "I came out and did what I said I was going to do. I beat all those kids that I wrestled today, but they always give me close matches and I stepped up today and did something I had never done beforeI took shots, I usually wrestle defensive."
Oldham County took the team title among the 20 teams in attendance with 194.5 points. Henry Clay was second with 150 while Harrison County came in third with 140. Franklin County was fifth overall with 131.5 points while Western Hills was 13th with 42.5 points.
Bruning took on Najee Calderon from Bryan Station in the 160-pound finals. Both grapplers were even in the first period, ending tied at 0-0. In the second period, Bruning started in the bottom position and got an escape to take a 1-0 lead into the final period. Bruning padded his lead in the third with a pair of near-fall points.
"He wrestled phenomenally," FCHS coach Zac Donnelly said. "He has been more offensive-minded and he has been drilling more offensive moves. It's showing out on the mat. He has impressed me a lot with his work ethic. Getting beat a couple of weeks ago kind of inspired him to start working hard in the mat room."
Bruning went 4-0 on the day.
"My biggest match was probably the semifinal match because it would have gone into overtime," Bruning said about his match against Harrison County's Seth Coy, "but in those last two seconds I swept his leg and tripped him back."
Four Flyers made the finals in their weight class and all except Bruning fell in their championship matches. Bryan Thompson (130), Tyler Wright (189) and Aaron Mayes (heavyweight) all earned second place. Daniel Mauser was a third-place finisher at 125.
"Overall, we wrestled pretty well, putting four guys into the finals and one champ," Donnelly said. "We would have placed as a team had we had our full lineup with Wood (Smith, 135) and (Kyle) Marston (103). They both are recovering from injuries.
WHHS' lone finalist, Josh Bell at 171, was pinned by Brandon Barnett of Harrison County to place second.
"I guess the guys did OK," WHHS coach Derek Nesselrode said. "The lower weight classes had some trouble and made some pretty early exits. As a whole, I am pretty pleased with them.
"We have a lot of work to do and a long way to go before regionals."
It was a short day for most of Western Hills' wrestlers with all but Bell, Mark Davis, Ken Holbrook, Christian Wilkins and Hawk Mangan going winless on the day.
Wilkins (HWT) and Mangan (125) both went 1-2 on the day.
Bell was the standout for the Wolverines with a 3-1 record that included wins over FCHS' Jeremy Gardner " ranked No. 9 in the state " and seventh-ranked Nick Leddy from Dunbar.
One of the biggest matches of the day was against Gardner. The two had not met this season. Bell jumped ahead in the first period, 2-0, with a takedown. In the second, Gardner got a reversal for two points to tie it up. The third period began with Bell getting an escape point. Then he was called for stalling to send the match to overtime. In overtime, Bell got a takedown to win in sudden death and leaped to his feet in celebration.
"It was good," Nesselrode said. "It was one of those matches that gives coaches heart attacks. Those two guys match up very well.
"It was mentally more important than anything," he added. "Heading into region with the win over Gardner and a win over Leddy, that was very important. It kind of removed any of those doubts that he had in his mind. It gives him a lot of momentum going into the region."
Both coaches agreed that 171 was by far the toughest weight class in the tournament and in Region 7.
"That was the toughest weight class here at the tournament," Donnelly said. "When the returning region champ (Gardner) is a six seed, it's just a stacked weight class."
Davis was 2-2 at 189 and made it all the way to the semifinals where he lost to Franklin County's Tyler Wright by decision, 9-7.
First-year wrestler Holbrook went 3-2 at 215 for the Wolverines.
"He's coming around," Nesselrode said. "He's still making some mistakes. We have to work the bumps out but I think he'll be ready for regionals. It's his first year out and we still have three more years with him. He's going to have a great career here."
For Franklin County, Thompson cruised through his first two matches but hit a wall in Steven Norbury from Simon Kenton who is ranked third in the state. Norbury shot out to a 5-2 lead in the first period and it proved too much to overcome for Thompson as Norbury was cruising, ahead 13-2, before pinning Thompson with seven seconds left in the third.
"We knew Norbury was going to be tough," Donnelly said. "He is ranked in the top three or four. That's the level Bryan wants to be at. He's got some work to do in the next couple of weeks."
Mayes (3-1) also eased into the finals at heavyweight to take on a familiar foe in Nathan Grey from Tates Creek. Most of the match was posturing until Mayes got an escape point in the second period. Mayes was trying to hold onto his slim lead when the referee called him for unnecessary roughness, tying the match. Grey then got an escape for the 2-1 win.
"Mayes did really well. He beat the Henry Clay kid (Jake Cooper)," Donnelly said. "He's always in close matches with him. And then the one-point match in the finals that comes down to a pair of questionable calls(the referee) calls him for stalling and then the cross-face for being unnecessarily rough. That could have gone either way. I think you should warn them first before you pop them for a point."
Wright was a surprise finalist for the Flyers. He was 3-1 with a close win over Davis and a pair of pins.
"One-eighty-nine was an awfully tough weight class," Donnelly said. "I think it was the first time he had been in the finals this year. If he keeps turning it up I expect him to go to the state tournament, place in the top four in the region. I would like to see him push himself a little harder in practice."
TEAM RESULTS
Oldham Co. 194.5
Henry Clay 150
Harrison Co. 140
Tates Creek 137
Franklin Co. 131.5
Dunbar 107
Nelson Co. 92
Simon Kenton 81.5
Anderson Co. 78.5
North HArdin 70
Boone Co. 59.5
Bryan Station 46
Western Hills 42.5
St. Xavier 40
Bourbon Co. 39
Danville 36
Montgomery Co. 33
Dixie Heights 17
St. Xavier B 13
Franklin Co. Gold 0
MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER
Matt Zarth (Henry Clay
RESULTS BY WEIGHT CLASS
(in order of finish)
103: Pat Milford (Dunbar), T.J. Schuyler (Oldham), Jon Anderson (Montgomery)
112: Tyler Kaelin (Oldham), Zack Plwman (Nelson), Jared Yocum (Simon Kenton)
119: Matt Zarth (Henry Clay), Andy Lenz (Harrison), Joe Davis (Tates Creek)
125: Terrence Demery (North Hardin), Kasey Hedges (Tates Creek), Daniel Mauser (Franklin)
130: Steven Norbury (Simon Kenton), Bryan Thompson (Franklin), Joe Whalen (Henry Clay)
135: Jack Podgorski (Henry Clay), Jordan Bernard (Boone), Alex Pearson (Nelson)
140: Cody Guiler (Henry Clay), Josh Taylor (Nelson), Caleb Berry (Harrison)
145: Jeremy Bollman (Oldham), Louis Beto (Danville)
152: Andrew Wright (Tates Creek), Zach Talton (Oldham), Logan Murrell (Dunbar)
160: Josh Bruning (Franklin), Najee Calderon (Bryan Station), Seth Coy (Harrison)
171: Brandon Barnett (Harrison), Josh Bell (Western Hills), Nick Leddy (Dunbar)
189: Dnaiel Griggs (Tates Creek), Tyler Wright (Franklin), Jeff Smith (Oldham)
215: Ichiro Chiba (Oldham), Brian Robertson (Boone), Keaton Hub (Dunbar)
Heavyweight: Nathan Grey (Tates Creek), Aaron Mayes (Franklin), Jake Cooper (Henry Clay)
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (LOCAL)
112
KRIS JONES, FC (2-2)
Jones def. David Bishop (StXB), pin
Jones def. McIlrath (Mont), pin
Tyler Kaelin (Old) def. Jones, pin
Antonio Lopez (Bour) def. Jones, pin
CORY JOHNSON, WH (0-2)
Brad Milford (Dun) def. Johnson, pin
Dylan Vish (StX) def. Johnson, pin
119
JOSH SLONE, WH (0-2)
Alex Deats (StX) Def. Slone, pin
Dennis Swift (Nels) def. Slone, pin
JORDAN MARSHALL, FC (2-2)
Marshall def. Joseph Cappel (SK), pin
Ben Joseph (AC) def. Slone, pin
Marshall def. Jogn Polytress (StXB), pin
Marshall def. Swift (Nels), pin
Joe Davis (TC) def. Marshall, pin
125
HAWK MANGAN, WH (1-2)
John Stout (Boone) def. Mangan, pin
Mangan def. Chris Miller (Dan), pin
Brendan Tuggle (HC) def. Mangan, pin
DANIEL MAUSER, FC (4-1) 3RD PLACE
Mauser def. Jackson Sherman (Boone), pin
Mauser def. Tuggle (HC), dec. 10-4
Terrence Demery def. Mauser, MajDec. 12-0
Mauser def. Hank Krauss (Nels), Dec. 5-0
THIRD PLACE: Mauser def. Hunter Lily (AC), forfeit
130
NICK CUTTER, WH (0-2)
Chris Kerr (TC) def. Cutter, pin
Kyle Kochs (StX) def. Cutter, pin
BRYAN THOMPSON, FC (2-1), 2ND PLACE
Thompson def. Jonathan Greenwell (Nels), Tech-fall
Thompson def. Russell Rowlett (NH), Dec. 3-2
FINALS: Steven Norbury (SK) def. Thompson, pin
135
MATT COLE, WH (0-2)
Gavbin Mahan (Dan) def. Cole, pin
T.W. Stockton (AC) def. Cole, pin
Jonathan Hockensmith, FC (0-2)
Trey Gumm (Dun) def. Hockensmith, Dec. 10-9
Hannah Sout (Bour) def. Hockensmith, Dec. 7-4
140
TRAVIS PETRY, FC (1-2)
Stephen Stringer (Dun) def. Petry, pin
Petry def. Domic Elphers (StXB), Dec. 8-1
Mike Toth (Old) def. Petry, pin
145
RONNIE SEWELL, FC (2-2)
Sewell def. Erik Lewis (Har), Dec. 14-12
Grant Stringer (Dun) def. Sewell, pin
Sewell def. Matt Higgins (DH), Dec. 3-2
Patrick Miller (StX) def. Sewell, Dec. 13-11, OT
152
TYLER SHAW, FC (0-2)
Gary Herman (StX) def. Shaw, pin
Patrick Cornett (BS) def. Shaw, pin
160
JOSH BRUNING, FC (4-0), 1ST PLACE
Bruning def. Daniel Powell (Boone), pin
Bruning def. Will Thomplins (StX), pin
Bruning def. Seth Coy (Har), Dec. 5-3
FINAL: Bruning def. Najee Calderon (BS), 3-1
171
JEREMY GARDNER, FC (3-2)
Gardner def. Nick Gould (TC), pin
Josh Bell (WH) def, Gardner, Dec. 5-3, OT
Gardner def. Paul Whittenberger (SK), pin
Gardner def. Coty Kitchen (Dan), pin
Marcell Haynes (NH), def. Gardner, Dec. 6-5, 3OT
JOSH BELL, WH (3-1), 2ND PLACE
Bell def. Miles Cecil (Nels), Tech-Fall, 16-0
Bell def. Gardner (FC), Dec. 5-3, OT
Bell def. Nick Leddy (Dun), Dec. 7-3
FINALS: Brandon Barnett (Har) def. Bell, pin
189
MARK DAVIS, WH (2-2)
Davis def. Jacob Taulbee (Mont), pin
Davis def. John Fleming (NH), default
Tyler Wright (FC) def. Davis, Dec. 9-7, OT
John Haddix (AC) def. Davis, Dec. 10-2
TYLER WRIGHT, FC
Wright def. Morgan Bryant (HC), pin
Wright def. Shaun Lenz (Har), pin
Wright def. Davis (WH), Dec 9-7, OT
Daniel Griggs (TC) def. Wright, pin
215
JAY BROUGH, FC (0-2)
Feddy Shadeh (TC) def. Brough, pin
Ken Holbrook (WH) def. Brough, pin
KEN HOLBROOK, WH (2-2)
Holbrook def. Brent Williams (Har), pin
Brian Robertson (Boone) def. Holbrook, Dec. 11-6
Holbrook def. Brough (FC), pin
Keaton Hub (Dun) def. Holbrook, pin
HWT
CHRISTIAN WILKINS, WH (1-2)
Jesse Childry (BS) def. Wilkins, Dec. 7-0
Wilkins def. Andrew Avery (Old), pin
Justin Browder (NH), def. Wilkins, pin
AARON MAYES, FC
Mayes def. Dylan Hughes (AC), pin
Mayes def. Andrew Avery (Old), pin
Mayes def. Jake Cooper (HC), pin
Nathan Grey (TC) def. Mayes, Dec. 2-1
