Sunday, February 18, 2001
Kentucky state wrestling
Four champs from Northern Ky.
By Ray Schaefer
Enquirer contributor
FRANKFORT — Jordan Blackmore won more than a state wrestling title Saturday.
The Ryle senior finished his high school career Saturday at Farnham Dudgeon Civic Center by pinning Simon Kenton senior Josh Sharon with 46 seconds left in the 135-pound championship.
“It's my turn,” Blackmore said. “That's all I've been saying all year.”
Blackmore was one of four Northern Kentucky state champions.
Simon Kenton sophomore Brad Cooper took the 119-pound title with a 9-5 win over South Oldham's Mark Shaver; Scott senior Jason Daviaux won his second straight title, 14-6 over Jake Buchenberger of Louisville Trinity, at 125; and Camp bell County senior Mike Ramsey became the heavyweight champion by beating North Hardin senior Marlon Dill 18-13.
Blackmore finished with a 50-1 record and didn't lose to a Kentucky wrestler all year, and his parting gifts included much more than the gold medal and cardboard copy of the tournament bracket.
First, a visit from Doug Blubaugh, who won the 160.5-pound title in the 1960 Olympics and was Blackmore's first coach. Then, the finale: a $5,000 trip to Montego Bay, Jamaica, from older brother Brett, who won the 135-pound title at Boone County in 1993.
Jordan Blackmore all but clinched the title with two takedowns in the opening 25 seconds and a third in the second minute.
Blackmore dedicated his career to two friends - former Covington Catholic football star Artie Steinmetz (1998) and Ryle senior Travis Alig — who died in traffic accidents in 1998 and last Thanksgiving, respectively. He painted the letters “AS” and Alig's No.9 football on his shoes in their memory, and Saturday he thought their spirits were in Frankfort.
“Maybe they'll know when I leave the shoes at the cemetery,” Blackmore said.
Like Blackmore, Ramsey was thinking about a friend who died - Campbell County junior Jimmy Geiman, who was killed in a wreck a day after Alig.
“I learned not to take anything for granted,” Ramsey said. “That's what he tried to pass on to me.”
Ramsey (46-3) said he had doubts about winning the tournament - which Dill multiplied by taking an 8-4 lead after two minutes. But by the second period, Ramsey was ahead 15-12 after a takedown and near fall.
As a result, Ramsey could flex and grimace, which teammates called “the face.”
“I waited all my life for this,” Ramsey said.
Daviaux said winning the second title was sweetest because it was his senior year, and he finally revealed the meaning of the tattoo on his right arm - a Japanese character surrounded by the sun.
“It stands for heart,” Daviaux said. “It's something you've got to give in everything you do.”
Daviaux (44-1) did just that against Buchenberger. By the end of the second period, he had a 10-3 lead with a near fall.
Cooper (39-3) added his win to brother Craig's third-
place finish at 152 pounds, and it was the third victory over Shaver.
“It feels great, it's indescribable; it's the greatest moment in my life” said Cooper, who commemorated the night with a T-shirt that said “ Brad Cooper 1X State Champion - and Counting.”
Dalton takes second
For Simon Kenton senior Chad Dalton (39-3), Saturday was a nightmare. He lost his bid for a second title when Inez Sheldon Clark's Derrick Mollette beat him 9-3 in the 145 final.
Mollette ended the suspense early - he took a 5-0 lead after one period.
“He's a good wrestler,” Dalton said. “I let him wrestle his match. It should never have happened.”
Simon Kenton fourth
Simon Kenton finished fourth with 103 points, behind Louisville St. Xavier's 158.5, LaRue County's 124 and Woodford County's 120. It was the Pioneers' first top-five finish since taking third in 1995.
“I've been working with the program four years; it's been building up,” coach Paul Kaiser said. “I'm blessed with really good, hard-working kids.”
District and regional champion Campbell County finished seventh.
Final Team Standings: 1. St. Xavier 158.50; 2. Larue County 124.00; 3. Woodford County 120.00; 4. Simon Kenton 103.00; 5. Wayne County 102.50; 6. Sheldon Clark 90.50; 7. Campbell County 87.00; 8. Trinity (Louisville) 77.50; 9. South Oldham 63.00;
10. Henry Clay 61.50; 11. North Hardin 56.00; 12. Ryle 52.50; 13. Eastern 50.00; 14. Seneca 48.00; 15. Dixie Heights 33.00; 15. (tie) Oldham County 33.00; 17. Christian County 31.00; 18. Caldwell County 28.00; 19. Western 27.00;
20. Scott 26.00; 20. (tie) Union County 26.00; 22. Waggener 25.00; 23. Ballard 24.00; 23. (tie) Tates Creek 24.00; 25. Kentucky Country Day 23.00; 26. Central Hardin 22.00; 27. Fairdale 21.00; 28. Prestonsburg 19.50; 29. Fort
Campbell 19.00; 30. Lafayette 17.00; 31. Fern Creek 16.00; 32. Fort Knox 13.00; 33. Paul Dunbar 11.00; 34. Conner 10.00; 34. (tie) DeSales 10.00; 34. (tie) East Carter 10.00; 37. Pleasure Ridge Park 9.00; 38. Danville 8.50; 39.
Bryan Station 7.00; 40. Whitley County 5.50; 41. Harrison County 5.00; 42. Paducah Tilghman 4.00; 43. Moore 3.00; 43. (tie) Southern 3.00; 45. Hopkinsville 1.00.
103 — 5. Balin Kruse-Williams, Lafayette, Dec Vnong Nguyen, Waggener, 8-4; 3. Stephen Ludwig, Ballard, Fall Chris Class, St. Xavier, 3:24; 1. Doug Upchurch, Wayne County, Fall Michael Ford, Trinity (Louisville), 1:15
112 — 5. Brandon Wuerth, St. Xavier, M-Dec Bill Whitehouse, South Oldham, 11-2; 3. Josh Mathews, Fern Creek, Dec Nathan Thomas, Union County, 4-1; 1. Tyler Baldwin, Woodford County, Dec Nick Chaffin, Prestonsburg, 3-1
119 — 5. Chris Shaw, Larue County, M-Dec Chris Sanders, Wayne County, 16-6; 3. Luke Metzker, Henry Clay, M-Dec David George, St. Xavier, 20-9; 1. Brad Cooper, Simon Kenton, Dec Mark Shaver, South Oldham, 9-5
125 — 5. Eric Faulkner, Fairdale, Dec A.J. Brumfield, Tates Creek, 9-4; 3. Nathan Moore, Henry Clay, Fall Brandon Cole, Union County, 4:35; 1. Jason Daviaux, Scott, M-Dec Jake Buchenberger, Trinity (Louisville), 14-6
130 — 5. Kent Kirby, Caldwell County, Dec John Thompson, Sheldon Clark, 9-4; 3. Kyle Leugers, Woodford County, Dec Josh Boggs, Campbell County, 8-5; 1. Neal Crawford, Seneca, Dec Scott Cooper, Larue County, 5-3
135 — 5. Matt Goode, Woodford County, Fall Steven Murray, Waggener, 3:28; 3. Jamarquis Handley, Larue County, M-Dec Brandon Campbell, Fort Campbell, 17-5; 1. Jordan Blackmore, Ryle, Fall Josh Sharom, Simon Kenton, 5:14
140 — 5. Steve Lovewell, South Oldham, Dec Joey Patterson, Woodford County, 5-2; 3. Ty Mitchell, Eastern, Dec Matt Reis, Campbell County, 9-7; 1. Isaac Knable, St. Xavier, Fall James Lett, Christian County, 5:28
145 — 5. Rodney Perkins, East Carter, Dec Paul Miller, St. Xavier, 13-6; 3. Kevin Rodriguez, Wayne County, M-Dec Brandon Payne, Larue County, 18-4; 1. Derrick Mollette, Sheldon Clark, Dec Chad Daulton, Simon Kenton, 9-3
152 — 5. Michael Murray, Waggener, Dec Jacob Unger, Campbell County, 6-4; 3. Craig Cooper, Simon Kenton, Fall Buddy Dodd, Wayne County, 4:51; 1. Zack Steinbock, St. Xavier, Fall James Allen, North Hardin, 3:47
160 — 5. Josh Riodan, Oldham County, M-Dec Jake McMahan, Simon Kenton, 16-6; 3. Josh Wilkinson, Henry Clay, Dec Kyle Johanneman, Campbell County, 7-1; 1. Todd Allen, Larue County, Fall Matt Evans, St. Xavier, 5:04
171 — 5. Josh Hunt, Ryle, Fall Scott Emge, South Oldham, 1:46; 3. T.J. Elmore, Larue County, Dec Michael Jenkins, Caldwell County, 10-5; 1. Eric Slugantz, Woodford County, Dec Ben Vessels, Seneca, 4-2
189 — 5. Eric Krupicyewicz, St. Xavier, Dec Mac Sawyer, Fairdale, 8-2; 3. Bo Hoffman, Trinity (Louisville), Fall John Knight, Central Hardin, 1:09; 1. Josh Muncy, Sheldon Clark, Dec Charlie Scruggs, Eastern, 12-5
215 — 5. Chris Sullivan, Pleasure Ridge Park, Dec John Taylor, DeSales, 9-3; 3. T.J. Guffey, Wayne County, Def Jarvis Livingston, Woodford County; 1. John Dials, Sheldon Clark, Fall Will Hurley, Kentucky Country Day, 2:27
275 — 5. Justin Medlin, Western, Forf Mike Hines, Fort Knox; 3. Dan Olberding, Dixie Heights, Fall Jon Scarbrough, Oldham County, 1:42; 1. Mike Ramsey, Campbell County, Dec Marlon Dill, North Hardin, 18-13
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