By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Ryle wrestlers won five matches in the Region 5 championship round and the Raiders finished on top in the team standings for the fourth consecutive year on Saturday at Boone County High School.
The Raiders’ weight class champions were freshman Luke Cornwell (106 pounds), junior Landon Evans (120), junior Rider Trumble (150) senior Caleb Duke (175) and junior Travis Steiber (190).
Their victories gave Ryle a team total of 246.5 points. Walton-Verona took the second place trophy with 198.5 points and Conner was third with 193.
In the 120-pound final, Evans posted a 5-0 victory over Simon Kenton sophomore Braydan Blevins. Both of those wrestlers won state titles in different weight classes last year and entered the region tournament ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the state at 120 pounds.
Conner had three weight class champions and Walton-Verona had two. The other four titles were won by wrestlers from Highlands, Simon Kenton, Cooper and Campbell County.
Highlands senior Rilen Pinkston extended his perfect record to 39-0 with a victory in the 157 final. Walton-Verona junior TJ Meyer, who was state runner-up at 120 pounds the last two years, won his first region title at 138 and pushed his season record to 38-3.
The top four finishers in each of the region’s 14 weight classes advance to the state tournament on Friday and Saturday at Kentucky Horse Park. The team with the most state qualifiers was Ryle with nine, followed by Walton-Verona with eight and Conner with seven.
REGION 5 TEAM SCORES
Ryle 246.5, Walton-Verona 197.5, Conner 193, Simon Kenton 165, Covington Catholic 114, Highlands 108, Campbell County 99, Cooper 96, Holmes 83, Boone County 60, Scott 56, Dixie Heights 38, Newport 16.
WEIGHT CLASS CHAMPIONSHIPS
106 — Luke Cornwell (Ryle) over Nathan Reusch (Simon Kenton), 13-4.
113 — Clayton Badida (Conner) over Brennen East (Walton Verona), 4-2.
120 — Landon Evans (Ryle) over Braydan Blevins (Simon Kenton), 5-0.
126 — Jonah McCloskey (Simon Kenton) over Seth Page (Ryle), 12-7.
132 — Cordion Abernathy (Conner) over Jagger Irvin (Ryle), forfeit.
138 — TJ Meyer (Walton Verona) over Christopher Ferraro (Campbell County), 12-4.
144 — Deacon Heisler (Campbell County) over Ben Woosley (Simon Kenton), 3-1.
150 — Rider Trumble (Ryle) over Bryce Dennemann (Campbell County), 10-0.
157 — Rilen Pinkston (Highlands) over Callen Schmidt (Ryle), 1:20.
165 — Ben Turner (Cooper) over Tyler Kennedy (Walton Verona), 2:50.
175 — Caleb Duke (Ryle) over Lucas Hughes (Cooper), 7-1.
190 — Travis Steiber (Ryle) over Zach Russ (Highlands), 0:41.
215 — Luke Hyden (Walton Verona) over Brayden Allender (Campbell County), 1:50.
285 — Bryce Sizemore (Conner) over Noah Richardson (Holmes), 3:37