12-20: Northern KY Athletic Conf. Duals

[Nathaniel Bryan 6]

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December 21, 2008

Campbell Co. tops familiar foe | Well-acquainted Camels, Pioneers both go to state

By Marc Hardin | Enquirer contributor

Familiar foes faced off in the final wrestling match to decide the championship of Saturday's marathon, nine-hour Northern Kentucky Athletic Conference duals.

In the end, Campbell County wound up on top at the 11-team, round-robin meet, topping Simon Kenton 51-20 at Holmes.

The Camels, coached by Mike Bankemper, won 10 of 14 matches to subdue the Pioneers, coached by former Campbell County wrestler and Camels assistant coach Jim Wilbers, who wrestled and coached at Campbell under Bankemper.

Wilbers and Bankemper have remained friends and their teams wrestle each other often.

"These teams know each other very well. The kids know each other. So, no, there are no secrets, just good wrestling," said Bankemper.

His Camels finished 4-0 Saturday and improved to 13-1 in dual meets while earning an automatic berth in January's state dual-meet championships.

Simon Kenton, 4-1 on Saturday, also won a state dual-meet berth with its NKAC runner-up finish. The Pioneers improved to 8-5 in dual meets.

"Second place is good. It's a morale booster," said Wilbers, who earned his 98th career dual-meet victory Saturday in this his fifth season as Simon Kenton head coach. "This is good inspiration heading into the Christmas break."

Among the winners in the final match were Campbell County 145-pound junior Korey Shotwell, a state meet finalist last season, and 152-pound senior Dusty Brown, a third-place finisher at last season's state meet.

Brown, who transferred from Simon Kenton to Campbell County after his sophomore year, won all three of his matches Saturday and remained unbeaten on the season after defeating an old friend in the final match.

Brown, 4-0 after missing three weeks with an injured shoulder, defeated Simon Kenton junior Michael Beers.

"We've been friends since the sixth grade. I played youth football with him, so I know he's a pretty good athlete," said Brown, who needs to regularly ice his shoulder and take anti-inflammatory medicine. "I thought I did pretty good. My shoulder was sore after each match. But I'm going to wrestle through it, and it's going to be a good recovery."

Also winning for the Camels on Saturday were freshman Garth Yenter (103 pounds), senior Caleb Schneider (125), junior John Hale (130), junior Daniel Zink, sophomore Nick Meirose (171), junior Colin Friedly (189) and senior Jacob Ilig (215).

Schneider improved his record to 11-3.

"We like beating Simon Kenton. A lot of guys know each other and their coach used to help coach us," Schneider said. "Plus, this gives us a good chance to look at the competition from the region and get to know how they wrestle."

Among Simon Kenton winners in Saturday's final match were heavyweight Colin Patrick, 112-pounder Jared Yocum and Steven Norbury, who improved to 14-1 at 135 pounds.

Campbell County, Simon Kenton and Ryle, which did not travel with a full team, were Saturday's pool winners.

The Raiders, missing wrestlers competing at the Southwest Ohio Wrestling Coaches' Association Holiday Classic at Oak Hills, lost to the Camels and Pioneers in Saturday's second round, and finished the day 3-2.

First-year Cooper, drawing strength from wrestlers with previous experience at Conner and Ryle, was the top second-place team coming out of pool play and finished fourth at the duals with a record of 4-1.

Dixie Heights finished fifth, followed by Conner, Scott, Boone County, Newport, first-year Brossart and host Holmes.

Holmes wrestler Mark Jones, a returning state qualifier, improved to 11-0 at 189 pounds.