Sunday, February 21, 1999
N.Ky. wrestlers earn two state titles
Holbrook stays perfect, Bell repeats
BY RAY SCHAEFER
Enquirer contributor
FRANKFORT, Ky. — After Saturday's state wrestling finals, Campbell County senior Jacob Holbrook earned a new nickname: “Mr. Perfect.”
And for Scott senior Dylan Bell, the words on the back of his newest T-shirt nicely summarized his tournament: Dylan Bell. State champion. Again. 130 lbs.
Holbrook capped a 39-0 season with a 10-5 win over Union County's Derek Trowbridge in the 160-pound finals at Farnham Dudgeon Civic Center. Bell defended his title by pinning Louisville Eastern's J.D Tatman.
“I finally did it,” Holbrook said. “It was my goal since I knew about state and wrestling.”
Said Bell: “Winning by a pin was something I didn't imagine.”
Scott sophomore Jason Daviaux was not so fortunate. Isaac Knable of Louisville St. Xavier defeated Daviaux, 11-2, for the 112-pound title.
Holbrook became the first Campbell County wrestler to win a state title since Justin Saner won at 215 pounds in 1997, and for most of the season opponents couldn't touch him.
A one-point escape in an 8-1 semifinal win over Jon Pelligrino of Central Hardin and a two-point reversal by Trowbridge were the only points a Holbrook opponent earned since a tournament last month in Fairfield.
“That first reversal (by Trowbridge) surprised me because I didn't think he'd go for it that fast,” Holbrook said.
But not too much: By the end of the first period, Holbrook had a 5-2 lead, and Trowbridge never got closer than 7-4 the rest of the way.
To Bell, this year's title was sweeter than 1998's because it was his last. He said wanting to defend at 130 and being too light to continue at 135 moti vated him to drop down one weight class midway through the season.
But Bell (38-2) said he was lonely at times. He didn't have older brother Clint (the 145-pound champion last year) and he was the lone captain and the veteran to whom others looked.
Bell's solution was to work harder, and it paid off against Tatman. With Clint watching, he took Tatman down 12 seconds into the match and led 4-2 going to the third period.
“Toward the end, he started getting tired,” Bell said.
Daviaux (35-8) was happy to simply make the finals. He and Knable shared the same style — be as aggressive as possible. Daviaux stayed with Knable, trailing by just 2-0 after two minutes.
Knable clinched the win in the second period, scoring a takedown and getting two more points when Daviaux was twice called for stalling.
“He beat me with my own style,” Daviaux said. “He caught me with things I wasn't expecting. He outmuscled me, (and) I didn't have muscle when I needed it. Not that many people finish second as a sophomore.”
Except for Holbrook's title, Saturday was largely a lost day for Campbell County. The Camels, who were ranked first or second all season, finished seventh with 82.5 points after starting the day in fourth place.
Versailles Woodford County dethroned defending state champion Louisville St. Xavier, 157.5-111. Sheldon Clark was third with 108.5, and LaRue County took fourth with 102.
“We just didn't wrestle well,” Campbell County coach Mike Bankemper said. “We had lot of close matches, we just didn't win them.”
Senior James Bartlett finished third at 140 pounds, and junior Nathan Schmidt took fifth at 145.
Conner junior Jeremiah Giron finished third at 145, Holy Cross junior Joe Perkins took fifth at 275 and Ryle sophomore Jordan Blackmore was sixth at 119.
Perkins has wrestled two years with a problem caused by a broken nose he suffered when he was a kid. The break healed improperly, which means Perkins can hardly breathe out of his left nostril and suffers frequent nosebleeds in his right.
Perkins' problem won't be fixed until after track season, and he can't wait.
“My doctor said I'll be in the best shape of my life,” Perkins said. “I'll have tons of stamina.”
Scott coach Ken Simmons received an award from the Kentucky Wrestling Coaches Association for his 35 years of service.
A wrong turn in Georgetown on Friday cost Holmes seniors Josh Addington and Billy Beach a chance to compete.
Addington, Beach and coach Dan Hinshaw were late for Friday's weigh-in and were scratched from the meet.
TEAM SCORES:
1. Woodford County 157.5; 2. Louisville St. Xavier 111; 3. Sheldon Clark 108.5; 4. LaRue County 102; 5. Wayne County 101; 6. Hopkinsville 95.5; 7. Campbell County 82.5; 8. Union County 81; 9. Louisville Fern Creek 76; 10. Louisville Eastern 67; 11. Lexington Henry Clay 66; 12. Scott 60; 13. Christian County 54; 14. Louisville Trinity 45; 15. Louisville Seneca 41.5; 16. Louisville Valley 35; 17. Central Hardin 34; 18. Paducah Tilghman 33; 19. Caldwell County 30; 20. (tie) Lexington Paul Dunbar and Louisville Fairdale 27.
Other local teams: 22. Ryle 26; 24. Conner 21.5; 29. Holy Cross 17; 31. Dixie Heights 5; 36. Simon Kenton 3.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
103 pounds: Tim Whitfill, Louisville Fern Creek, def. Tony Perry, Lou. Valley, 14-5. Third place: Billy Clark, Sheldon Clark, def. Chris Shaw, LaRue County, 6-4. Fifth place: Matt Luckett, Woodford County def. Johnnie Williams, Caldwell County, default.
112: Isaac Knable, Lou. St. Xavier, def. Jason Daviaux, Scott, 11-2. Third place: Andrew Logsdon, Woodford County, def. Anthony Smith, Christian County, forfeit. Fifth place: Neal Crawford, Lou. Seneca, def. Chad Haydon, Franklin County, 6-4 (OT).
119: Demarco Shelley, Hopkinsville, def. Chris Melvin, Ashland Paul Blazer, 8-3. Third place: Marshall Kendrick, Lou. Seneca, def. Billy Asher, Caldwell County, 18-4. Fifth place: Chris Perry, Lex. Paul Dunbar, pinned Jordan Blackmore, Ryle, 4:41.
125: Charles Smith, Lou. Fern Creek, def. Josh Coulter, Lou. Eastern, 15-6. Third place: Drew Carman, Lex. Henry Clay, def. Todd Allen, LaRue County, 19-11. Fifth place: Cary Bruce, Hopkinsville, def. Chris Guillaume, Woodford County, 12-11.
130: Dylan Bell, Scott, pinned J.D. Tatman, Lou. Eastern, 5:50. Third place: Michael Jackson, Woodford County def. Sean Ketron, Lex. Tates Creek, 3-2. Fifth place: Ben Johnston, Lou. St. Xavier, def. Kyle Davis, Central Hardin, default.
135: Chris Dunn, Woodford County, def. Ryan Luna, Paducah Tilghman, 7-1. Third place: Derrick Mollette, Sheldon Clark, def. William Farrington, Wayne County, 11-0. Fifth place: Jeff White, Hopkinsville, pinned Andrew Pearsall, LaRue County, 1:40.
140: Jim Shaw, LaRue County, def. Josh Wilkinson, Lex. Henry Clay, 6-5. Third place: James Bartlett, Campbell County, def. Sean McCarthy, Lou. Fern Creek, 8-1. Fifth place: Mike Bell, Scott, def. Josh Mitchell, Lou. Fairdale, 5-4.
145: Damien Leavell, Christian County def. Phillip Rose, Wayne County, 9-7. Third place: Jeremiah Giron, Conner, pinned Ralph Lay, Woodford County, 1:04. Fifth place: Nathan Schmidt, Campbell County, def. Brad Bisig, Lou. St. Xavier, 6-4.
152: Josh Stepp, Sheldon Clark, def. Will Fischer, Lou. Trinity, 11-1. Third place: Josh Walls, Union County, def. Joshua Pittard, Christian County, 12-6. Fifth place: John Gentry, Woodford County, def. Billy Redmon, Lou. St. Xavier, 13-6.
160: Jacob Holbrook, Campbell County, def. Derek Trowbridge, Union County, 10-5. Third place: Jon Pelligrino, Central Hardin, def. Bryan Paris, Lou. St. Xavier, 17-9. Fifth place: Josh Kyle, Franklin County, def. Howie Sammons, Sheldon Clark, 12-10.
171: William Randle, Lou. Eastern, def. Luke Pniewski, Hopkinsville, 11-6. Third place: George King, Union County, def. Drew Newman, North Hardin, 11-10. Fifth place: Josh Carter, Wayne County, def. Justin Bischoff, Lou. Trinity, 6-5.
189: Jason Detre, LaRue County, def. John Wilkinson, Lex. Henry Clay, 9-6. Third place: Jeff Schetler, South Oldham, def. Travis Brown, Lou. Seneca, 9-0. Fifth place: John Dials, Sheldon Clark, pinned L.T. Utz, Lou. St. Xavier, 1:05.
215: Josh Whittaker, Woodford County, pinned Lloyd Sparks, Wayne County, 3:50. Third place: Clint Hayes, Union County, pinned Demontay Orr, Paducah Tilghman, 2:31. Fifth place: Calvin Napier, Perry County Central, def. Jaime Montalvo, Lou. Trinity, 7-2.
275: Chris Floyd, Wayne County, def. Joey Stepp, Sheldon Clark, 5-4. Third place: Travis McGee, Hopkinsville, pinned Brandon Dumas, Lou. St. Xavier, 2:53. Fifth place: Joe Perkins, Holy Cross, pinned Kelby Cassidy, Woodford County, 1:39.
Most valuable wrestler: Josh Stepp, Sheldon Clark.
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