2008-09 Newspaper Coverage: Constantly Updated Thread

[gator_roll 0]

Lance Kelly pin

lance kelly got pinned did not pin romell

[Nathaniel Bryan 6]

http://www.kentuckynewera.com/articles/2008/12/24/sports/paid/doc495266ccd4fa8123970532.prt

Colonels take 3rd at duals

From staff reports

Published: Wednesday, December 24, 2008 10:49 AM CST

NORTHPORT, Ala.

[Nathaniel Bryan 6]

http://www.state-journal.com/news/printer_friendly/4491157

State-Journal.com

WHHS has sights set on breakout season

By Chase Sewell

December 20, 2008

The Western Hills wrestling team rested on the shoulders of two dedicated grapplers last season. By the time the Region 7 tournament came around, those two were the only ones competing.

This season the Wolverines are 14 strong and looking to rebuild a program that looked to be on the brink of collapse.

The two that WERE the team last year are still around and now senior Josh Bell and junior Mark Davis lead the team as captains. And under head coach Derek Nesselrode " who has been co-head coach since 2002 " the Wolverines are looking toward a breakout season.

"We're bigger than we've ever been before," Nesselrode said. "We have almost all the weight classes filled which is a new thing for us. We have a lot of tough kids that we expect to make some noise and get a few to state this year."

Though most of the team is made up of first-year wrestlers, Nesselrode and his coaching staff are excited about the youth they have and the future ahead. His assistants Adam Bowser and Sean Wilkinson have been key in getting the kids out for the team and teaching them the fundamentals.

"We've had a lot of help from coach Wilkinson who is an assistant with the football team," Nesselrode said. "He's been an instrumental part in recruiting and getting a lot of the football players out. That has really gotten our numbers up. The kids that he's bringing out are all freshmen we expect them all to be here for four years and do really good things for us."

Those football players that have joined the team are freshman Christian Wilkins, junior Ryan Richardson, sophomore Kenny Holbrook and freshman Joshua Slone.

"We're happy to have these numbers out here," he added. "We have a new coach in Adam Bowser. He's offering a lot of insight and helping a lot getting the kids ready."

Bell and Davis are the Wolverines' best chance at getting state qualifiers this year. Both finished fifth in the regional tournament last season, just shy of qualifying. Bell went to the state tournament at 160 his sophomore year finishing 0-2.

According to the latest KentuckyWrestling.com rankings, Davis is No. 23 in the 171-pound weight class while Bell sits at No. 19 in 189.

"We don't pay a lot of attention to those rankings," Nesselrode said. "We just come out here and do what we do. The whole team has really gotten off to a really strong start. Josh is undefeated and Mark has lost only one match.

"They've set their own expectations," he added. "Both of them want to go to state and both have set goals to win the region."

Another standout for the Wolverines this season should be freshman heavyweight Christian Wilkins.

"He wrestled (at Elkhorn Middle) with the Franklin County program, so he came in with a lot of experience," Nesselrode said. "We're working with him and trying to build his strength up so he can deal with the bigger guys out there. He's doing very well and I expect good things from him."

The Wolverines, though young, are still competing in a few tough tournaments this season.

"We're in the WCI (Woodford County Invitational) and a couple of the other tougher tournaments this year," Nesselrode said. "That is kind of the benchmark on how the guys will do against statewide competition. We've already been up against LaRue (County) and some of the other tougher programs in the state. The more experienced guys have held their own."

[Nathaniel Bryan 6]

http://www.meadecountymessenger.com/pages/sports/story_1.asp

Greenwave wrestlers take another dual meet at home

By Bill Rosacker | Messenger Staff

Even though the weather was icy enough to close school, the Meade County Greenwave wrestlers were red hot in the dual meet against Central Hardin and Fort Knox Dec. 17.

In the opening match, the Greenwaves simply overpowered the Central Hardin Bruins 51-29. Of 14 different weight classes, the Greenwaves lost only five matches.

Early in the season, Coach Bob Davis has melded together a powerful squad consisting of seasoned warriors and new talent into a force to be reckoned with in Region 3. Ably assisted by Eli Dix and Josh Trotter, the coaching staff has taught the new wrestlers how to win, and more importantly, how to improve week to week.

Wrestlers winning against Central were Astin Curtis, 112 lbs., by pin; James Childress 119 lbs., by pin; Brandon Scott, 125 lbs., by pin; Joey Carter, 135 lbs., by pin; Ethan Medley, 145 lbs., by pin; Zack Uhlig, 152 lbs., 7-6; Junior Mason, 171 lbs., by pin; Brandon Simota, 184 lbs., by pin; and Tyler Crow, 215 lbs., by pin.

In the second half of the dual meet, Meade County squared off against Fort Knox. While the final team score favored the Greenwaves, it should be noted the Eagles did not have a full squad and had to forfeit five of the 14 matches because they had no wrestlers available in the five weight classes. Of the nine weight classes that wrestled, Meade won four and Fort Knox won five.

Meade County wrestlers who won against Fort Knox were Brandon Scott, 125 lbs., 7-0; Garrett Kenealy, 132 lbs., by pin; Joey Carter, 135 lbs., by pin; and Zack Uhlig, 152 lbs.. Ethan Medley, Junior Mason, Brandon Simota, Tyler Crow and Chas Nevitt all won by forfeit because they had no opponents.

The varsity was not the only squad with success. The junior varsity also wrestled during this meet and many of their wrestlers were successful. Every sports program has to have a feeder program and wrestling is no exception. Wrestling is a little different in that 7th- and 8th-grade boys, if their skill level is appropriate, wrestle on the JV squad.

[Nathaniel Bryan 6]

http://www.thenewsstandard.com/sports/sports.pdf

Wrestling team keeps winning matches

Staff Report | The News Standard

The Meade County wrestling team has seen some success early on in the season.

Last Wednesday, they beat two solid teams in Fort Knox and Central Hardin. Over the weekend the team also competed in the Meade County Classic. The team went 4-1 on the day.

Results from Wednesday

[CoachBrown 12]

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2008/dec/30/wildcats-wrestlerskeep-title/

[Nathaniel Bryan 6]

http://www.kentuckynewera.com/articles/2008/12/29/sports/free/doc4959170c296c0080294351.prt

Christian County welcomes talented field to wrestling invite

By Kevin Hoffman, Assistant Sports Editor

Published: Monday, December 29, 2008 12:41 PM CST

The 8th Annual Christian County Wrestling Invitational begins today as the Colonels try and defend their 2007 title against 22 varsity teams from across the region.

Hopkinsville, Fort Campbell, Caldwell County and University Heights Academy are all joining Christian County as schools from Kentucky, Alabama, Indiana and Tennessee make their way into Colonel Gym.

Junior varsity and middle school competitions are held today beginning at 10 a.m., and the varsity teams take the mat Tuesday starting at 9 a.m.

[Nathaniel Bryan 6]

http://www.thenewsenterprise.com/cgi-bin/c2story.cgi?053+20090102024725053011+Sports

PREP WRESTLING: Bruin Duals set for Saturday (01/2)

The Central Hardin Bruin Duals return to Central Hardin High School at 9 a.m. Saturday. A year after having to move the duals to John Hardin because of a scheduling conflict, the event is back home at Bruin Gym.

By JOSH CLAYWELL

jclaywell@thenewsenterprise.com

CECILIA

[Nathaniel Bryan 6]

http://www.timesleader.net/articles/stories/public/200901/03/4bb0_sports.html

6 Tiger matmen place at Christian County Invitational

Times Leader Staff Report staff@timesleader.net

Saturday, January 03, 2009

Six of Caldwell County

[ChaseSewell 0]

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

[powerhalf 0]

By JOSH CLAYWELL

jclaywell@thenewsenterprise.com

RADCLIFF

[Anklepick 1]

PREP WRESTLING: John Hardin, LaRue top dogs in region tourney (02/13)

By JOSH CLAYWELL

jclaywell@thenewsenterprise.com

FORT KNOX

[Anklepick 1]

Our Hardin County newspaper has no doubt the best wrestling coverage in the state.  I give them pick props.  Thanks guys. :-D

[Anklepick 1]

Sorry I meant "Big Props".

[standing granby 20]

Woodford wrestler seeking rare fourth state title

By Mark Maloney

mmaloney@herald-leader.com

After Harrison Courtney wrapped up his sixth consecutive regional wrestling championship Saturday, Woodford County Co-Coach Joe Carr Sr., overheard one of Courtney's victims express consolation in the fact that he was not pinned.

That's how good Courtney is