UK football recruit among state wrestling champions as Great Crossing gets its first

Great Crossing’s rapid rise as one of Kentucky’s top high school wrestling programs took a significant step forward Friday with the school’s first individual state champion.

Aiden Butler, a senior who is one of many who has wrestled for Warhawks coach Sam Murdock since grade school in Georgetown, won his 165-pound class with a convincing 10-2 major decision over St. Xavier’s Max Speaker.

“He’s a hard-working kid and well deserving,” Murdock said. “If there’s anyone (deserving), he’s the one. He’s homegrown through our youth program. I’ve got to see him wrestle since he was in second or third grade.”

Even though Butler has been wrestling for years, he claimed to have only recently discovered the key to victory.

“It was my mindset. I just finally figured it out this weekend,” Butler acknowledged.

The Kentucky High School Athletic Association crowned champions in 14 weight classes Friday after two days of its boys/coed competition at the Kentucky Horse Park’s Alltech Arena.

After finishing second last year, Union County returned to the top of the team standings for its 15th team title, the most in KHSAA history. The Warhawks tied Johnson Central for second place in the team standings and had seven top-eight medalists reach the awards podium.

Not just a quarterback

Paducah Tilghman’s Jack James has had quite a year.

Last fall, he threw for 4,019 yards and 56 TDs in helping the Blue Tornado to district and region championships before losing a close game at Covington Catholic in the Class 4A semifinals.

Last month, he received a scholarship offer from Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops to go with the seven others he’s garnered, so far.

On Friday, James won the 215-pound state wrestling championship with a 4-0 decision against Bryan Station’s Jahvon Frazier.

“I’ve been saying this all year. Jack James is built for big moments,” Tilghman coach Seth Livingston said. “He’s been training that way his whole life. He’s prepared that way and it showed out here today. We’re proud of him.”

James finished third in the 175-pound class last season, but it’s not often a standout high school quarterback chooses wrestling as one of his other competitive sports.

“I’ve never met one, honestly,” James said, smiling. “I can do a lot of things and they all help towards football and all the sports I’ve played. They all help one another.”

Frazier, a three-time region champion for Bryan Station who has signed with Akron to continue his football career, improved on his fifth-place finish at 215 a year ago in his fourth straight trip to the state meet.

Woodford County ends drought

Woodford County’s Isaac Johns withstood a late rally from his opponent to earn the Yellow Jackets’ first individual title since 2018.

“I was real worried at the end I was going to get tired and gas out, but I made it,” said Johns, who edged Union County’s Hunger Jenkins with a 5-4 decision in the 144-pound division. “It means a lot to bring home the gold again.”

Johns had a 5-2 edge in the final round and scrambled to regain his momentum as Jenkins clawed back into the match.

“The kid has put in so much work on the mat and it was incredible seeing it all come out,” Woodford County coach Coty Lewis said. “It was payday today, and he got his paycheck”

Woodford County’s tradition-rich wrestling program is second only to Union County in the number of team championships with 13 overall.

Union County back on top

Last fall, Union County’s Jordyn Raney won a junior world championship in Istanbul, Turkey, while his twin brother Jayden Raney won national titles in two different forms of wrestling.

“All that other stuff is just practice. This is what matters,” Jordyn Raney said after claiming his fourth straight individual state title and helping the Braves return to the top of the team standings after being knocked off by Tilghman last year.

“This is the best feeling. Winning and winning for the team,” he said. “I still get more nervous here than anywhere.”

Union County wrapped up first place well before the finals round Friday afternoon and got individual titles from Jordyn Raney at 132, Jayden Raney at 126 and Lucas Ricketts at 175.

“Last year was crushing, it was heartbreaking,” Jordyn Raney said. “This year, we knew we had to bring that state title back home. It was a lot of practice, a lot of hard work, and finally, we came up here and we kicked some butt, and it was awesome.”

Co-head coaches Jarvis Elam and Brooks Black took over the storied Braves program this year from longtime coach Robert Ervin, who has stayed on as an assistant.

“It’s probably the best thing Coach Ervin could have set up for us,” Elam said of their new roles. “We both have that good energy and we both get along just great. In my opinion, it’s one of the best moves I could ever ask for.”

Two for Harrison County

Harrison County’s George Dennis improved on his runner-up finish at 106 a year ago by taking first at 120 with a 5-0 win over his Region 6 rival Ethan Davis of Grant County.

“It’s awesome, dude. I had the hardest bracket out of the day,” Dennis said.

Dennis battled through some highly ranked opponents before getting a rematch the chief rival from his own region.

“It shows that there’s talent in all the regions and it’s not just Region 1 that has all the state champions,” he said.

Harrison’s Jackson Wells defeated South Oldham’s Henry Koller in an 8-4 decision for the 106-pound title.

“I knew going into the tournament that it would be a tough road,” said Wells, who moved to Harrison last year from Fort Drum, New York. “Everybody has that nit and grit and they all work hard.”

How Lexington wrestlers fared

Bryan Station’s Frazier had the top finish among Lexington wrestlers, but Frederick Douglass also had three medalists Friday with Kapella Joseph and Anthony Condi taking third in their respective classes and Peyton Mayo earning a fifth-place finish at 285.

“I just started wrestling mid-sophomore year,” said Joseph, a senior in the 113-pound class. “The growth and seeing how far I’ve come — from not knowing what wrestling was to being a state placer within two years — has been good.”

Lexington Christian’s Mac Darland placed fifth in the 215 division.

2024 state wrestling championships

At the Kentucky Horse Park’s Alltech Arena.

Orville Williams Outstanding Wrestler Award: Jordyn Raney, Union County.

TEAM STANDINGS (top 10 plus Lexington teams’ finishes): 1. Union County 220; 2. Great Crossing, 147; 2. (tie) Johnson Central 147; 4. Paducah Tilghman 146.5; 5. Oldham County 126.5; 6. Trinity 120.5; 7. Ryle 118.5; 8. Boyle County 115; 9. Harrison County 107.5; 10. Taylor County 104.5; 11. Frederick Douglass, 29. Bryan Station, 30; 47. Lafayette, 13; 51. Lexington Christian, 11; 55. Tates Creek, 10; 59. Paul Laurence Dunbar, 8; 75. Henry Clay, 4.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top three finishers and Central Kentucky medalists listed; complete results online at KHSAA.org):

106 — 1. Jackson Wells, Harrison County; 2. Henry Koller, South Oldham; 3. Luke Cornwell, Ryle; 7. Aluma Enwa, Great Crossing.

113 — 1. Christian Delos Santos, John Hardin; 2. Zac Scott, Johnson Central; 3. Kapela Joseph, Frederick Douglass; 7. Dakota Phillips, Boyle County; 8. Osvaldo Menchacha, Harrison County.

120 — 1. George Dennis, Harrison County; 2. Ethan Davis, Grant County; 3. Landon Evans, Ryle; 7. Corbin Nance, Anderson County.

126 — 1. Jayden Raney, Union County; 2. Jonah McCloskey, Simon Kenton; 3. Anthony Condi, Frederick Douglass; 6. Rowdy Benner, Great Crossing;

132 — 1. Jordyn Raney, Union County; 2. Leland Reeves, Taylor County; 3. Kaygen Roberts, Boyle County; 7. Jack Finley, Great Crossing.

138 — 1. Breyden Whorton, LaRue County; 2. TJ Meyer, Walton Verona; 3. Cofy Walls, Caldwell County; 6. Logan Cantrell, Madison Central; 7. Jonah Baysinger, Scott County.

144 — 1. Isaac Johns, Woodford County; 2. Hunter Jenkins, Union County; 3. Micah Thompson, Boyle County.

150 — 1. Miller Brown, Oldham County; 2. Ayden Lehman, Trinity (Louisville); 3. Rider Trumble, Ryle.

157 — 1. Malachia Harris, Trinity (Louisville); 2. Rilen Pinkston, Highlands; 3. Ethan Sentelle, Great Crossing; 8. Jaimen Carey, Boyle County.

165 — 1. Aiden Butler, Great Crossing; 2. Max Speaker, St. Xavier; 3. Dalton Matney, Johnson Central; 6. Carson Herbst, Madison Central.

175 — 1. Lucas Ricketts, Union County; 2. Joshua Strayer, Great Crossing; 3. Marcus James, Taylor County; 4. Logan Dingus, Harrison County; 7. Jax Crowe, Boyle County.

190 — 1. Lane Kiser, Trinity (Louisville); 2. Uriah Virzi, Paducah Tilghman; 3. Josh Soeder, Oldham County; 6. Jackson Burger, Boyle County; 8. Brock Sexton, Harrison County.

215 — 1. Jack James, Paducah Tilghman; 2. Jahvon Frazier, Bryan Station; 3. Luke Hyden, Walton Verona; 5. Mac Darland, Lexington Christian.

285 — 1. Carter Guillaume, St. Xavier; 2. Stephen Whitehead, Madison Southern; 3. Jimmy Mooney, Paducah Tilghman; 5. Peyton Mayo, Frederick Douglass; 8. Jacob Wilson, Great Crossing.