By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Ryle wrestlers won three matches in the Region 6 championship finals on Saturday to provide the points their team needed to claim the first-place trophy at Newport High School.
The Raiders finished with a 196-194 winning margin over runner-up Campbell County in one of the tightest scoring battles in the history of the regional tournament for Northern Kentucky teams.
Ryle wrestlers post for photos with Region 6 championship trophy. (Photo from Ryle Wrestling Facebook page)
The three Ryle wrestlers who won weight class titles were freshman Cole Thomas at 106 pounds, senior Shay Horton at 120 and freshman Noah Duke at 182.
This is the third straight year that Horton has been a regional champion for the Raiders. Thomas was a regional runner-up last season.
Campbell County had four wrestlers in the regional finals, but the only ones who scored points with victories were sophomore Thomas Ketchen-Carter at 152 pounds and junior Ron Shackelford at 160.
Ketchen-Carter will take a 54-0 record into the two-day state tournament that begins Friday at the Kentucky Horse Park’s Alltech Arena. He was state runner-up at 132 pounds as a freshman last year.
Thomas enters the season finale with a 45-1 record. He finished third in the 106 pound weight class as an eighth-grader last season.
Seven of the 14 matches in the regional finals on Saturday were decided by four points or less. Walton-Verona had six regional finalists and four of them lost by margins of 2-1, 9-7, 8-5 and 4-1. Braden Mulcahy was the only team member who went home with a gold medal at 195 pounds.
Scott wrestlers had a 3-2 record in championship matches. The winners were senior Brenden Pye (113), junior Seth Lutes (126) and freshman Nathan Watson (220).
Covington Catholic senior Mannie Murrer became his team’s first-ever regional champion by winning three matches at 138 pounds. After his match in the finals, Holmes senior Diontae Rone won his team’s first regional title since 2007 at 145 pounds.
The top four finishers in each of the 14 weight classes advance to the state wrestling tournament. Ryle, Campbell County and Walton-Verona each have eight state qualifiers. Scott and Simon Kenton have seven.
REGION 6 TEAM SCORES
Ryle 196, Campbell County 194, Walton-Verona 175.5, Simon Kenton 173, Scott 166, Conner 117, Holmes 106, Covington Catholic 79, Cooper 71, Newport 46, Boone County 43.5, Dixie Heights 30.
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES
106 – Cole Thomas (Ryle) dec. Spencer Moore (Walton-Verona), 2-1
113 – Brenden Pye (Scott) dec. Isham Peace (Walton-Verona), 9-7.
120 – Shay Horton (Ryle) dec. Trevor Frietsch (Simon Kenton), 5-2.
126 – Seth Lutes (Scott) dec. Migdoel Ocasio (Simon Kenton), 6-5.
132 – Jacob Grandstaff (Conner) dec. Layne Siebert (Scott), 5-1.
138 – Mannie Murrer (CovCath) pin Dmitrius Butler (Holmes), 3:56.
145 – Diontae Rone (Holmes) dec. Tristen Spalding (Walton-Verona), 8-5.
152 – Thomas Ketchen-Carter (Campbell) pin Kyle Mardis (Newport), 1:00.
160 – Ron Shackelford (Campbell) dec. Brandon Gibson (Walton-Verona), 4-1.
170 – Clayton Boyd (Conner) pin Jared Kelsey (Scott), 3:48
182 – Noah Duke (Ryle) pin Daulton Mayer (Walton-Verona), 4:52.
195 – Braden Mulcahy (Walton-Verona) pin Michael Leicht (Campbell), 1:50.
220 – Nathan Watson (Scott) pin Casey Rauch (Campbell), 4:43.
285 – Ian Hughes (Simon Kenton) pin Dashaun Stevenson (Holmes), 3:59.
