By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Ryle wrestlers won five of the 14 matches in the Region 5 championship finals on Saturday and finished on top in the team standings for the second consecutive year.
The Raiders, who also had four second-place finishers in the weight class finals, scored a total of 297.5 points to take the first-place trophy in the 13-team tournament at Simon Kenton. Campbell County placed second with 204 points, followed by Simon Kenton (194) and Walton-Verona (172).
One of Ryle’s weight class winners was senior Cole Thomas, a three-time state champion who has won more than 200 matches during his varsity career. In the 132-pound region final, he defeated Walton-Verona senior Isaac Thornton, last year’s state champion in that weight class.
The other region champions for Ryle were Joseph Sander (126), Carter Messerly (157), Noah Duke (175) and Trey Fleek (190). Duke won the 170-pound state title last year and holds the Ryle team record for most career victories with 231.
Campbell County wrestlers had a 3-1 record in Saturday’s region finals with Mason Orth (113), Jonah Bowers (138) and Micah Bowers (150) winning titles. Conner and Walton-Verona each had two weight class champions. Holmes and Simon Kenton had one.
In the next round of post-season competition, the top four finishers in each weight class from Region 5 will be seeded in brackets with wrestlers from other regions other for a semi-state tournament on Feb. 19 at Great Crossing High School in Georgetown. The two finalists in each weight class at the semi-state tournament will advance to the state finals Feb. 25-26 at George Rogers Clark High School in Winchester.
REGION 5 WEIGHT CLASS FINALS
106 — Sebastian Vega (Conner) over Jonah McCloskey (Simon Kenton), 2-0
113 — Mason Orth (Campbell County) over Jonny Nance (Ryle), 16-6
120 — TJ Meyer (WV) over Rider Trumble (Ryle), 6-3
126 — Joseph Sander (Ryle) over Andrew Lewis (Simon Kenton), 3:38
132 — Cole Thomas (Ryle) over Isaac Thornton (Walton-Verona), 1:34
138 — Jonah Bowers (Campbell County) over Jameson Smith (Ryle), 8-2
144 — Mason Schweitzer (Walton-Verona) over Hunter Creech (Simon Kenton), 8-4
150 — Micah Bowers (Campbell County) over Aiden Zinser (Scott), 8-1
157 — Carter Messerly (Ryle) over Bryce Dennemann (Campbell County), 9-1
165 — Joseph Bikakis (Simon Kenton) over Caleb Duke (Ryle), 5-2
175 — Noah Duke (Ryle) over Jonah Vittitow (Boone County), 0:42
190 — Trey Fleek (Ryle) over Luke Hyden (Walton-Verona), 4-0
215 — Cooper Elliston (Conner) over Geoffrey Johnson (Holmes), 1:50
285 — Dashaun Stevenson (Holmes) over Kaleb Kiely (CovCath), 4:56