Campbell County High School had a twin killing Saturday
Senior twin brothers Jonah and Micah Bowers punched their tickets to the Kentucky High School Athletic Association state tournament Saturday with individual weight-class titles during the Region Five championships at Simon Kenton High School.
They won two of Campbell County’s three titles on the day and will lead 11 wrestlers into next weekend’s semi-state round. Campbell finished second in the team standings to Ryle.
“It feels pretty good going into next week,” Jonah said. “It lets me know I’m prepared for the competition at state."
Both have more than 40 wins heading into the semi-state round next week.
Jonah, 48-5 overall, won the championship at 138 pounds. He is ranked second in the state by KentuckyWrestling.com at 138 and beat third-ranked Jameson Smith of Ryle in the finals, 8-2.
Micah, 41-6 overall and fifth-ranked in the state, won the title at 150 over ninth-ranked Aiden Zinser of Scott, 8-1.
“Just staying tough, sticking to what we know,” Jonah said of his strategy. “We both wrestled the kids before, and learning from that match and focusing on what we had to do.”
The twins enjoy being part of a tradition with the Camels. Their father and a cousin both wrestled for the Camels. They would enjoy being state champions in two weeks.
“It feels great to carry on the tradition of our family and friends,” Micah said. “Having something to compete for and win. It’s the goal to win state. It would be pretty awesome if we both won at the same time.”
A total of 56 wrestlers, four in each weight class, advanced to next weekend’s semi-state meet at Great Crossing High School in Georgetown. They will compete against qualifiers from Regions Six through Eight.
All but one of the 14 weight-class champions were the top seed in the bracket going in.
The one exception was Simon Kenton senior Joseph Bikakis, who won the championship at 165 on his home mat. The four seed at 165, he beat top-seed Kyle Richmond of Campbell County in the semis, 7-5, and second-seed Caleb Duke of Ryle in the finals, 5-2.
Bikakis, however, was the highest-ranked wrestler in the bracket at 10th in the state, and he had the best record in the group at 32-7.
The seeding was partially due to the fact he hadn’t wrestled the top contenders during the season.
“It’s very exciting,” Bikakis said. “I’ve been dreaming about this moment since I was little. I’m very excited to see what I can do at state.
“(Against Richmond), I had to wrestle tough from the bottom position, get out, and get a takedown. It was very intense. (Duke), I knew a little bit about what he could do. I wrestled smart against him.”
Bikakis is hoping for a strong finish to his career in the sport he loves.
“The hard work that you got to do,” he said. “It’s a humbling sport. Not everything in life is given to you. You got to work for it. That’s one of the things I love about wrestling. It makes you a better person.”
Ryle won the team championship by 93.5 points over Campbell County.
The Raiders won five individual championships, had four runner-up finishers and sent 13 of their 14 starters to the semi-state meet.
Senior Cole Thomas won the championship at 132, pinning Walton-Verona’s Isaac Thornton in a battle of the top-two ranked wrestlers in the state. Thomas, 44-1 overall, is looking for his fourth state championship in two weeks.
Senior Noah Duke, Ryle’s other returning state champ, won the title at 175 pounds and is 47-2 overall. He is ranked second in the state.
Senior Joseph Sander won the title at 126 and is 43-15 overall. He is ranked second in the state.
Senior Carter Messerly won the title at 157. He is 47-5 and ranked second in the state.
Senior Trey Fleek won the title at 190 and is 42-12, ranked fourth in the state.
Campbell County had three champions and 11 qualifiers.
Campbell County junior Mason Orth won the 113-pound final and is 43-2 for the season. He beat Ryle’s Jonny Nance 3-2 in one of the most dramatic finals of the day. He scored all three points on a move with 30 seconds left in the match. Orth is ranked second in the state going into next week.
Bikakis was Simon Kenton’s one champion among its four finalists, and the Pioneers had eight qualifiers.
Walton-Verona had two champions and seven qualifiers.
Freshman T.J. Meyer defeated Ryle freshman Rider Trumble in the final at 120. Meyer is top-ranked in the state and Trumble fifth. Meyer is 30-3 overall.
Junior Mason Schweitzer won the championship at 144 and is 30-7 overall. He is eighth in the state.
Conner had two champions and six qualifiers.
Sophomore Sebastian Vega won the 106-pound championship over Simon Kenton freshman Jonah McCloskey by a 2-0 count. Vega, 38-1, is ranked second in the state and McCloskey is fourth.
Senior Cooper Elliston won at 215 and is ranked seventh in the state.
Holmes had one champion in senior Dashaun Stevenson, who won the 285-pound division. He is ranked second in the state and is a perfect 21-0 for the season. Holmes sends two wrestlers to the semi-state round.
Highlands enjoys its first state qualifier in its short varsity history after sophomore Rilen Pinkston finished third at 144. He is 31-6 overall for the season.
Cooper and Covington Catholic had three qualifiers apiece. Scott and Boone County had one each.
Region 5 results
Team scores: 1. Ryle 297.5, 2. Campbell County 204, 3. Simon Kenton 194, 4. Walton-Verona 172, 5. Conner 138.5, 6. Cooper 87.5, 7. Holmes 74, 8. Covington Catholic 69.5, 9. Highlands 53.5, 10. Dixie Heights 33, 11. Scott 31.5 12. Boone County 31.
Individuals
Overall records listed after school
106: Championship match – Sebastian Vega (Conner) 38-1 d. Jonah McCloskey (Simon Kenton) 24-9, 2-0; Third place – Logan Nance (Ryle) 13-14 d. Deacon Heisler (Campbell County) 25-9, 2-0.
113: Championship match – Mason Orth (Campbell County) 43-2, d. Jonny Nance (Ryle) 16-6, 3-2; Third place – Brayden Blevins (SK) 15-4 d. Aiden Marquis (Conner) 26-15, 1-0.
120: Championship match – T.J. Meyer (Walton-Verona) 30-3 d. Rider Trumble 39-10, 6-3; Third place – Maalik Washington (Conner) 22-18 d. Jeremiah Wilbers (Campbell County) 19-15, 12-3.
126: Championship match – Joseph Sander (Ryle) 43-15 d. Andrew Lewis (SK) 24-7, fall 3:38; Third place – Jason Holden (Campbell) 36-12 d. Timothy Sulfsted (WV) 19-10, 6-2.
132: Championship match – Cole Thomas (Ryle) 44-1 d. Isaac Thornton (WV) fall 1:34; Third place – Jeremiah Thomas (Conner) d. Brayden Wells (Campbell).
138: Championship match – Jonah Bowers (Campbell) 48-5 d. Jameson Smith (Ryle) 39-14, 8-2; Third place – Hunter Isaacs (WV) 24-8 d. Hunter Sproles (Cooper) 21-5, forfeit.
144: Championship match – Mason Schweitzer (WV) 30-7 d. Hunter Creech (SK) 34-9, 8-4; Third place – Rilen Pinkston (Highlands) 31-6 d. Orien Stacey (Campbell) 42-13, 17-2.
150: Championship match – Micah Bowers (Campbell) 41-6 d. Aiden Zinser (Scott) 32-8, 8-1; Third place – Colin Ross (Ryle) 32-12 d. Joey Hunt (CovCath) 30-14, fall 2:43.
157: Championship match – Carter Messerly (Ryle) 47-5 d. Bryce Dennemann (Campbell) 35-15, 9-1; Third place – Donovan Taylor (Conner) 33-3 d. Gaven Pugh (SK) 17-11, fall 2:18.
165: Championship match – Joseph Bikakis (SK) 30-7 d. Caleb Duke (Ryle) 27-18, 5-2; Third place – Kyle Richmond (Campbell) 35-10 d. Lucas Hughes (Cooper) 22-10, fall 2:12.
175: Championship match – Noah Duke (Ryle) 47-2 d. Jonah Vittitow (Boone) 14-7, fall 0:42; Third place – Trent Fowler (SK) 20-12 d. Charlie Alford (Campbell) 23-21, fall 2:32.
190: Championship match – Trey Fleek (Ryle) 42-12 d. Luke Hyden (WV) 15-5, 4-0; Third place – Willie Rodriguez (CovCath) 47-10 d. Aiden Gill (SK) 28-11, 5-1.
215: Championship match – Cooper Elliston (Conner) 37-3 d. Geoffrey Johnson (Holmes) 27-6, fall 1:50; Third place – Zach Watson (WV) 18-10 d. Jaden Hunt (Ryle) 2-8, fall 2:12.
285: Championship match – Dashaun Stevenson (Holmes) 21-0 d. Kaleb Kiely (CovCath) 41-9, fall 4:56; Third place – Tayshaun Marshall (Ryle) 29-13 d. Joseph Robinson (Cooper) 19-15, fall 2:02.
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