02-23-2012, 03:51 AM
Dave Barnes has taught his Walton-Verona High School wrestlers to appreciate a good challenge.
The head coach saw his Bearcats nearly rise above all challengers, but even though they fell short of the ultimate goal, three of them made school history at the state meet.
Brothers Logan and Lane Jones were state runner-up Feb. 18 at Alltech Arena. Clay Brown was a third-place finisher.
âWe made accomplishments that we havenât seen before,â Barnes said. âEach year we improve on the number of qualifiers and the number of placers. Today was outstanding. We put two guys in the finals who werenât expected to be there. Clay was in one of the toughest weight classes in the tournament.â
Logan, a sophomore, finished second at 145 pounds after placing third in Region 6. The seventh-ranked wrestler in the class by KentuckyWrestling.com, he beat the No. 2-ranked wrestler along the way. Two of his wins were in overtime, and another by three points. Then he fell to Kevin Cooper of Simon Kenton, who won his second state title and was undefeated for the year.
Lane, a junior, was ranked fourth going in. He rolled to four wins before losing 24-5 to Campbell County junior Stephen Myers. Lane had also finished third in the regional before outdoing that at state.
Logan was 52-9 for the season and Lane 51-5.
âHats off to Kevin Cooper and Stephen Myers,â Barnes said. âTheyâre great wrestlers, theyâre a level above everyone here right now. A lot of kids ran from those weight classes. I taught my guys not to run from anybody. They were mentally tough and prepared every time they got on the mat.â
Brown finished third at 120, going 6-1 for the tourney and 49-8 for the year. He lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual state runner-up, then won four straight matches in the consolation bracket.
Colin Roth went 1-2 at 106 and finished 42-16. Senior Quincy Page, W-Vâs lone regional champ last week, went 1-2 at 195 and finished 34-13. Patrick Higgins was 0-2 at 132 and 27-20 overall.
A week after being Connerâs first regional champion in six years, senior Zack Fisher became the first Cougar state medalist since 2007. Fisher finished in fifth place at 182. He went 5-2 in the tourney and 41-9 for the season. He enjoyed winning his final match 15-3 to clinch fifth place.
âI set my goals, my coaches pushed me, all the other wrestlers pushed me, and it paid off. Iâm really happy about it,â Fisher said. â(Assistant coach) Clint Bell, every single match, we had a gameplan and stuck to it and I just outpaced everyone with my cardio. Itâs amazing: My last match, to completely dominate, was just the way I wanted to go out.â
Trevor Thompson went 2-2 at 220 and 38-8 for the season. Jacob Warwick was 0-2 at 160 and 30-17 for the year.
Fisher beat Boone County junior Sam Steele in the consolation rounds in the tourney. Steele still became the first Rebel to win a state medal since the school revived the wrestling program four years ago. Steele finished eighth at 182 pounds. He went 4-3 in the tourney and finished 41-11 overall.
âItâs a huge honor,â Steele said. âOur squad has a lot of history, and to be that guy to reopen the floodgates is a big honor for me. I appreciated everything the school has given me, and Iâm glad I could give a little something back.â
Steele said the key match was a 4-2 win over John Garrett of Henry Clay to clinch a medal, the second time he has beaten Garrett this season.
Braden Jones was 1-2 at 170 and 39-16 overall. Brent Taylor went 0-2 at 113 and 27-24 overall.
Cooper junior Trent Presnell went 2-2 at 145 and 30-16 for the year. Senior Taylor Eschan was 1-2 at 152 and 26-10 for the year.
The head coach saw his Bearcats nearly rise above all challengers, but even though they fell short of the ultimate goal, three of them made school history at the state meet.
Brothers Logan and Lane Jones were state runner-up Feb. 18 at Alltech Arena. Clay Brown was a third-place finisher.
âWe made accomplishments that we havenât seen before,â Barnes said. âEach year we improve on the number of qualifiers and the number of placers. Today was outstanding. We put two guys in the finals who werenât expected to be there. Clay was in one of the toughest weight classes in the tournament.â
Logan, a sophomore, finished second at 145 pounds after placing third in Region 6. The seventh-ranked wrestler in the class by KentuckyWrestling.com, he beat the No. 2-ranked wrestler along the way. Two of his wins were in overtime, and another by three points. Then he fell to Kevin Cooper of Simon Kenton, who won his second state title and was undefeated for the year.
Lane, a junior, was ranked fourth going in. He rolled to four wins before losing 24-5 to Campbell County junior Stephen Myers. Lane had also finished third in the regional before outdoing that at state.
Logan was 52-9 for the season and Lane 51-5.
âHats off to Kevin Cooper and Stephen Myers,â Barnes said. âTheyâre great wrestlers, theyâre a level above everyone here right now. A lot of kids ran from those weight classes. I taught my guys not to run from anybody. They were mentally tough and prepared every time they got on the mat.â
Brown finished third at 120, going 6-1 for the tourney and 49-8 for the year. He lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual state runner-up, then won four straight matches in the consolation bracket.
Colin Roth went 1-2 at 106 and finished 42-16. Senior Quincy Page, W-Vâs lone regional champ last week, went 1-2 at 195 and finished 34-13. Patrick Higgins was 0-2 at 132 and 27-20 overall.
A week after being Connerâs first regional champion in six years, senior Zack Fisher became the first Cougar state medalist since 2007. Fisher finished in fifth place at 182. He went 5-2 in the tourney and 41-9 for the season. He enjoyed winning his final match 15-3 to clinch fifth place.
âI set my goals, my coaches pushed me, all the other wrestlers pushed me, and it paid off. Iâm really happy about it,â Fisher said. â(Assistant coach) Clint Bell, every single match, we had a gameplan and stuck to it and I just outpaced everyone with my cardio. Itâs amazing: My last match, to completely dominate, was just the way I wanted to go out.â
Trevor Thompson went 2-2 at 220 and 38-8 for the season. Jacob Warwick was 0-2 at 160 and 30-17 for the year.
Fisher beat Boone County junior Sam Steele in the consolation rounds in the tourney. Steele still became the first Rebel to win a state medal since the school revived the wrestling program four years ago. Steele finished eighth at 182 pounds. He went 4-3 in the tourney and finished 41-11 overall.
âItâs a huge honor,â Steele said. âOur squad has a lot of history, and to be that guy to reopen the floodgates is a big honor for me. I appreciated everything the school has given me, and Iâm glad I could give a little something back.â
Steele said the key match was a 4-2 win over John Garrett of Henry Clay to clinch a medal, the second time he has beaten Garrett this season.
Braden Jones was 1-2 at 170 and 39-16 overall. Brent Taylor went 0-2 at 113 and 27-24 overall.
Cooper junior Trent Presnell went 2-2 at 145 and 30-16 for the year. Senior Taylor Eschan was 1-2 at 152 and 26-10 for the year.