By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Seven teams had one or more weight class champions in the Region 5 wrestling tournament on Saturday at Walton-Verona High School.
Ryle topped the team standings with 233 points. The Raiders had six wrestlers reach the championship finals and four of them claimed weight class titles, including Landen Evans (113), Rider Trumble (132), Caleb Duke (175) and Travis Steiber (190).
Walton-Verona took the region runner-up trophy with 215 points. The Bearcats also had a 4-2 record in weight class finals with TJ Meyer (120), Hunter Isaacs (138), Mason Schweitzer (144) and Luke Hyden (215) taking titles.
Meyer was state runner-up in the 120-pound weight class last year. In the region final, he won by a 7-2 decision over Jonah McCloskey of Simon Kenton, who placed third in the state at 106 last year.
Campbell County, Holmes, Highlands, Scott and Simon Kenton were the other teams that had region weight class champions. Rilen Pinkston became the first Highlands wrestler to win a region title with a pin victory in the 150-pound final.
Holmes senior Emauryon Arnold received the region tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler Award. After winning three matches to reach the 285-pound final, he upset top-seeded Willie Rodriguez of Covington Catholic, 8-7, in the closest match of the championship round.
The top four finishers in each Region 5 weight class advance to a semi-state tournament next Saturday at Ryle High School. The teams with the most semi-state qualifiers are Ryle with 10, Campbell County with nine and Walton-Verona with eight.
The two finalists in each weight class at the semi-state tournament will compete in the state championship tournament Feb. 24-25 at George Rogers Clark High School in Winchester.
REGION 5 WRESTLING TEAM SCORES
Ryle 233, Walton-Verona 215, Campbell County 210, Simon Kenton 162, Conner 139, Covington Catholic 97, Highlands 96, Holmes 88, Scott 78.5, Cooper 72, Dixie Heights 62, Boone County 46, Newport 22.
CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND RESULTS
285 — Emauryon Arnold (Holmes) over Willie Rodriguez (CovCath), 8-7.
215 — Luke Hyden (Walton-Verona) over Emmanuel Mills (Scott), 0:57.
190 — Travis Steiber (Ryle) over Cody Mershon (Campbell County), 1:51.
175 — Caleb Duke (Ryle) over Charlie Alford (Campbell County), 7-1
165 — Aiden Zinser (Scott) over Kaden Lameier (Dixie Heights), 7-4
157 — Kyle Richmond (Campbell County) over Colin Ross (Ryle), 5-3.
150 — Rilen Pinkston (Highlands) over Gaven Pugh (Simon Kenton), 1:21.
144 — Mason Schweitzer (Walton-Verona) over James Haas (Ryle), 7-1.
138 — Hunter Isaacs (Walton-Verona) over Keegan Bishop (CovCath), 9-1.
132 — Rider Trumble (Ryle) over Timothy Sulfsted (Walton-Verona), 3:55.
126 — Christopher Ferraro (Campbell County) over Maalik Washington (Conner), 8-2.
120 — TJ Meyer (Walton-Verona) over Jonah McCloskey (Simon Kenton), 7-2.
113 — Landen Evans (Ryle) over Mason Orth (Campbell County), 4:54.
106 — Braden Blevins (Simon Kenton) over Brennen East (Walton-Verona), 1:34.
THIRD-PLACE ROUND RESULTS
285 — Ben Teipe (Walton-Verona) over Ethan Waid (Simon Kenton), 1:57.
215 — Brayton Haaser (Conner) over Joshua Brophy (Simon Kenton), 2-1.
190 — Hayden Walters (Simon Kenton) over Noah Kenton (Conner), 0:27.
175 — Benjamin Walton (Walton-Verona) over Harrison Smith (CovCath), 3-2.
165 — Bryce Dennemann (Campbell County) over Lucas Hughes (Cooper), 14-5.
157 — Ben Turner (Cooper) over Aiden Dierker (CovCath), 9-1.
150 — Drew Johnson (Cooper) over Hunter Schimming (Ryle), 11-5.
144 — Robert Cameron (Holmes) over William Gallagher (Highlands), 5-2.
138 — Cordion Abernathy (Conner) over Eli Depperschmidt (Campbell County), 17-4.
132 — Deacon Heisler (Campbell County) over Reese Hill (Holmes), 9-0.
126 — Seth Page (Ryle) over Xavier Montanez (Dixie Heights), 4:07.
120 — Jeremiah Wilbers (Campbell County) over Jagger Irvin (Ryle), 8-5.
113 — Aiden Marquis (Conner) over Michael Smith (Scott), 4-3.
106 — Clayton Badida (Conner) over Luke Cornwell (Ryle), 11-6.