[Stardust]

Oldham County senior Zac Gnadinger is ready for the high school wrestling state tournament.

Back luck hit Gnadinger the past two years, but he won the 182-pound class at the Region Five meet at Fern Creek on Saturday to qualify for the state tourney next Friday and Saturday at the Kentucky Horse Park’s Alltech Arena in Lexington.

After two scoreless periods against Jeffersonton’s Angel Gonzalez, Gnadinger finished strong in the third period for a 5-1 victory, his 43rd in 46 matches this season.

“I think he wore down, which gave me an opening to score some points,” Gnadinger said.

And why is Gnadinger so eager to compete at State?

“I got a concussion two weeks before the regional last year,” he said. “As a sophomore I wrestled with a sprained collarbone through the regionals. I didn’t place at State.”

This time Gnadinger was one of six Oldham County wrestlers who won regionals titles and helped the Colonels repeat as team champion. Oldham County, with eight wrestlers in the finals, piled up 237½ points to 202½ for runner-up North Oldham, which also had six individual champions.

Eastern outpointed Jeffersontown 166½-142 for third place.

“We did what we were expected to do,” Oldham County coach Aaron Riordan said. “When you put eight in the finals it makes it hard for somebody to beat you. Even the two who didn’t win wrestled well.”

Gnadinger’s performce brought a smile to Riordan’s face.

“He’s healthy as a horse now,” Riordan said. “We expect a big (state) tournament from him. He’s coming around at the right time.”

Gnadinger, ranked No. 2 in the state in his weight class, lost to No. 1 Bernard Ray of LaRue County 6-3 earlier this season.

Coaches named Oldham County senior Tyler Kaelin the region’s Most Outstanding Wrestler after pinning Male’s Alex Burke in 3:21 of the 132 final. Other Oldham County winners were eighth-grader Brady Emerson at 106, freshman John Shirkey at 113, senior CJ Weires at 220 and junior Mike Caudill at 285.

Asked about the younger wrestlers doing well in the lower-weight classes, Emerson said, “It’s hard to get high school kids in the lower classes.”

Caudill, ranked No. 3, pinned Fern Creek’s Gabriel Lord in 3:08 for the 280 crown. It was Caudill’s 16th win in 19 matches, 14 of them by pins.

North Oldham eighth-grader Keegan Duncan scored a point with 21.1 seconds left to beat Oldham County’s Connor Wilkerson 1-0 for the 120 title. It was Duncan’s first win over Wilkerson in eight meetings.

“He beat me six times when I was in middle school and once last year,” Duncan said.

Mitch Rusch (145) and brother Chase (160) won for North Oldham, as did Loren Avera (138), Dylan Marksberry (170) and Will Conard (195).

Mitch Rusch, a sophomore, won his third straight regional by beating Eastern’s Jo Rupp 4-2, with Rusch breaking a tie at 2 with points on a “sitting switch”’ with 1:26 remaining.

“I wrestled Rupp in the sixth grade, and he beat me by a lot of points,” Rusch said.

South Oldham’s Roy Bisenius won at 126 and Jeffersontown’s Ty Bennett at 152.