![Five Ohio County wrestlers qualified for the KHSAA State Wrestling Championships this weekend in Lexington. Pictured L-to-R: Zack Farris, Kaleb Sapp, B.J. Miller, Luke Shaffer and Bradley Easterling.]()
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![Five Ohio County wrestlers qualified for the KHSAA State Wrestling Championships this weekend in Lexington. Pictured L-to-R: Zack Farris, Kaleb Sapp, B.J. Miller, Luke Shaffer and Bradley Easterling.]()
Five Ohio County wrestlers qualified for the KHSAA State Wrestling Championships this weekend in Lexington. Pictured L-to-R: Zack Farris, Kaleb Sapp, B.J. Miller, Luke Shaffer and Bradley Easterling.[/caption]
Five members of Ohio County High's wrestling team will be making a trip Lexington Friday to take part in the 2014 KHSAA Wrestling State Championships. The quintet earned the trip via finishing in the top four in their respective weight classes in last week's Region 1 Wrestling Tournament at Paducah Tilghman High School.
OCHS' Kaleb Sapp and Zach Farris had the highest finishes in Saturday's regional finals, each taking runner-up in their class. B.J. Miller and Luke Shaffer earned thirds while Bradley Easterling took fourth to earn their state trips.
OCHS coach David Miller said of Saturday's results, "We finished about how we expected to...We had six wrestlers that we felt were very likely to qualify for the state...(but) unfortunately, team captain Ryan Bunch...one of our toughest and most-experienced wrestlers, injured his shoulder...(and) was unable to practice all week. Ryan gave a great effort...but after wrestling several matches he had to drop out of the competition...he went 2-2, managing to win two matches with only one good arm...(but) his shoulder injury was just to debilitating to continue. We are proud of Ryan for the effort that he gave."
Results of all OCHS wrestlers in the regional were:
106 — Kaleb Sapp (OC) won a 17-2 technical fall over Bellah (Calloway Co.); pinned Knight (Christian Co.) in 5:03; decisioned Regalado (Ft. Campbell) 4-2; lost a 6-0 decision to S.Ervin (Union Co.) in finals; Sapp will carry an overall 31-4 record to the state meet.
113 — Dakota Himes (OC) was pinned by Whitaker (Calloway Co.) in :21; in consolation bracket — was pinned by Curl (FtC) in 2:41.
132 — B.J. Miller (OC) won a 16-1 technical fall over Putty (University Heights Academy); lost a 22-7 technical fall to B.Ervin (UC); in consolation bracket finals--won a 9-6 decision over Martin (McCracken Co.); season record=22-10.
138 — Ryan Bunch (OC) lost a 15-3 majority decision to Ingram (Trigg Co.); in consolation bracket — pinned Fiscella (UHA) in :52; pinned Martin (Paducah Tilghman) in 2:30; lost 9-1 majority decision to Hedrick (FtC) in semifinals; forfeited fifth-place match to Ingram (TC).
145 — Blake Brown (OC) was pinned by Gahafer (UC) in :57; in consolation bracket — lost 12-6 decision to Ivan Lawson (Hopkinsville); faced Ryder (FtC) in seventh-place match (result UA).
152 — Jacob Allen (OC) was pinned by Bussell (H) in :59; in consolation bracket — was pinned by Pike (UC) in 1:36; seventh-place match vs. Perez (Calloway) — double default.
170 — Gage Parker (OC) lost 17-2 technical fall to Isaac Lawson (H); in consolation bracket — won seventh place by default.
195 — Bradley Easterling (OC) pinned Gross (McCracken) in :24; was pinned by Major (Christian) in 4:40; in consolation bracket — won a 13-4 decision over Martinez (FtC); lost a 13-2 majority decision to Sherman (UC) in third-place match; season record=16-5.
220 — Zach Farris (OC) pinned Elliott (McCracken); pinned McGraw (Caldwell) in :19; decisioned Ogburn (FtC) 9-4; lost a 9-4 decision to Carter (UC) in finals; season record=33-1.
285 — Luke Shaffer (OC) pinned Ray (Christian) in :53; lost a 7-4 decision to Kennady (Caldwell); in consolation bracket — won over Hephner (PT) by disqualification; won a 5-2 decision over Brown (UC) in consolation bracket finals; season record 21-8.
Ohio County placed sixth among a dozen teams competing in the regional. Team scores were: 1. Union Co. 297.5, 2. Christian Co. 193, 3. Hopkinsville 156.5, 4. Fort Campbell 155.5, 5. Caldwell Co. 113, 6. Ohio Co. 106, 7. Calloway Co. 87, 8. Trigg Co. 84, 9. University Heights Academy(Hopkinsville) 48, 10. McCracken Co. 44, 11. Tilghman 43, 12. Graves Co. 18.
"Although we have usually placed higher as a team than that in the past, it was a pretty reasonable finish for our team this year," Coach Miller said. "This has been a rebuilding year for us. In order to fill most of the weight classes, we have started five wrestlers that are both very young and new to the sport, and one high school junior that is a first-year wrestler."
Again this year, the state wrestling tournament is being staged at the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park. Preliminary matches begin Friday with all championships set for Saturday.
Five Ohio County wrestlers qualified for the KHSAA State Wrestling Championships this weekend in Lexington. Pictured L-to-R: Zack Farris, Kaleb Sapp, B.J. Miller, Luke Shaffer and Bradley Easterling.[/caption]
Five members of Ohio County High's wrestling team will be making a trip Lexington Friday to take part in the 2014 KHSAA Wrestling State Championships. The quintet earned the trip via finishing in the top four in their respective weight classes in last week's Region 1 Wrestling Tournament at Paducah Tilghman High School.
OCHS' Kaleb Sapp and Zach Farris had the highest finishes in Saturday's regional finals, each taking runner-up in their class. B.J. Miller and Luke Shaffer earned thirds while Bradley Easterling took fourth to earn their state trips.
OCHS coach David Miller said of Saturday's results, "We finished about how we expected to...We had six wrestlers that we felt were very likely to qualify for the state...(but) unfortunately, team captain Ryan Bunch...one of our toughest and most-experienced wrestlers, injured his shoulder...(and) was unable to practice all week. Ryan gave a great effort...but after wrestling several matches he had to drop out of the competition...he went 2-2, managing to win two matches with only one good arm...(but) his shoulder injury was just to debilitating to continue. We are proud of Ryan for the effort that he gave."
Results of all OCHS wrestlers in the regional were:
106 — Kaleb Sapp (OC) won a 17-2 technical fall over Bellah (Calloway Co.); pinned Knight (Christian Co.) in 5:03; decisioned Regalado (Ft. Campbell) 4-2; lost a 6-0 decision to S.Ervin (Union Co.) in finals; Sapp will carry an overall 31-4 record to the state meet.
113 — Dakota Himes (OC) was pinned by Whitaker (Calloway Co.) in :21; in consolation bracket — was pinned by Curl (FtC) in 2:41.
132 — B.J. Miller (OC) won a 16-1 technical fall over Putty (University Heights Academy); lost a 22-7 technical fall to B.Ervin (UC); in consolation bracket finals--won a 9-6 decision over Martin (McCracken Co.); season record=22-10.
138 — Ryan Bunch (OC) lost a 15-3 majority decision to Ingram (Trigg Co.); in consolation bracket — pinned Fiscella (UHA) in :52; pinned Martin (Paducah Tilghman) in 2:30; lost 9-1 majority decision to Hedrick (FtC) in semifinals; forfeited fifth-place match to Ingram (TC).
145 — Blake Brown (OC) was pinned by Gahafer (UC) in :57; in consolation bracket — lost 12-6 decision to Ivan Lawson (Hopkinsville); faced Ryder (FtC) in seventh-place match (result UA).
152 — Jacob Allen (OC) was pinned by Bussell (H) in :59; in consolation bracket — was pinned by Pike (UC) in 1:36; seventh-place match vs. Perez (Calloway) — double default.
170 — Gage Parker (OC) lost 17-2 technical fall to Isaac Lawson (H); in consolation bracket — won seventh place by default.
195 — Bradley Easterling (OC) pinned Gross (McCracken) in :24; was pinned by Major (Christian) in 4:40; in consolation bracket — won a 13-4 decision over Martinez (FtC); lost a 13-2 majority decision to Sherman (UC) in third-place match; season record=16-5.
220 — Zach Farris (OC) pinned Elliott (McCracken); pinned McGraw (Caldwell) in :19; decisioned Ogburn (FtC) 9-4; lost a 9-4 decision to Carter (UC) in finals; season record=33-1.
285 — Luke Shaffer (OC) pinned Ray (Christian) in :53; lost a 7-4 decision to Kennady (Caldwell); in consolation bracket — won over Hephner (PT) by disqualification; won a 5-2 decision over Brown (UC) in consolation bracket finals; season record 21-8.
Ohio County placed sixth among a dozen teams competing in the regional. Team scores were: 1. Union Co. 297.5, 2. Christian Co. 193, 3. Hopkinsville 156.5, 4. Fort Campbell 155.5, 5. Caldwell Co. 113, 6. Ohio Co. 106, 7. Calloway Co. 87, 8. Trigg Co. 84, 9. University Heights Academy(Hopkinsville) 48, 10. McCracken Co. 44, 11. Tilghman 43, 12. Graves Co. 18.
"Although we have usually placed higher as a team than that in the past, it was a pretty reasonable finish for our team this year," Coach Miller said. "This has been a rebuilding year for us. In order to fill most of the weight classes, we have started five wrestlers that are both very young and new to the sport, and one high school junior that is a first-year wrestler."
Again this year, the state wrestling tournament is being staged at the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park. Preliminary matches begin Friday with all championships set for Saturday.