[Stardust]

LEXINGTON — The semi-finals at the KHSAA state wrestling tournament wiped out any chance North Oldham, Oldham County or South Oldham had of a state championship.


But despite a semi-final loss, OCHS freshman John Shirkey said he quickly regained his focus. After all, his day and his season were not done yet.

Following his only loss of the state tournament, Shirkey pulled together two wins to take third place at 113 pounds.

Shirkey’s finish topped five OCHS and five NOHS placers. SOHS’ four wrestlers who qualified for the tournament failed to advance past the quarterfinals.

In his third place match, Shirkey turned a close match into a blowout. Tied at three with Meade County’s Chris Abernathy, Shirkey scored the next five points, before taking a decisive 17-7 win.

“I thought I had a real chance of taking (the championship) and I still think I do,” Shirkey said. “It kinda set me back. I knew I had to get my head in the right place, get prepared because I knew there was still a chance at third and I wasn’t gonna settle for less.”

OCHS senior Tyler Kaelin took fourth place at 132 pounds after falling to Ryle’s Corey Ahern, while Brady Emerson (106 pounds) and Mikey Caudill (285) took fifth place. Senior Zac Gnadinger (182) took seventh place for the Colonels.

Senior Loren Avera took NOHS’ highest finish, at fourth place, but senior Chase Rusch provided the most drama, at 160 pounds.

In his fifth place match against John Hardin’s Wade Holtzclaw, Rusch claimed a takedown with four seconds remaining to break a 7-7 tie and win 9-7.

“I just thought, I had to get a takedown to win,” Rusch said. “My second thought was not to get taken down. There was a lot of positive and negative, but I just didn’t want to go into overtime.”

Junior Will Conard (195 pounds) and eighth grader Keegan Duncan (120) each took fifth place for the Mustangs, while senior Dylan Marksberry (170 pounds) took seventh place.