Martin County sends seven to KHSAA State Wrestling Championships

February 12, 2024

Martin County sends seven to KHSAA State Wrestling Championships

**Martin County senior Rafe Price defeats an opponent in recent duals.** *(Citizen photo by Boo Newsome)*

BY BOO NEWSOME
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

PIKEVILLE — Martin County will send seven wrestlers and an alternate to the KHSAA State Wrestling Championships after they made it through the Region 8 tournament Saturday at Pike Central High School in Pikeville.

Rafe Price, Jono Cline, Brock Messer, Parker Maynard, Julian Stafford, Nick Harless, and Jake Stafford will all advance to the state competition Thursday and Friday. Gavin Stepp advances as an alternate.

Four Martin County wrestlers advance as Region 8 champions in their weight classes: Cline at 106 lbs, Messer at 132 lbs, Maynard at 144 lbs, and Price at 150 lbs.

**Martin County’s four Region 8 champions (from left to right): Rafe Price (150 lbs), Brock Messer (132 lbs), Jono Cline (106 lbs) and Parker Maynard (144 lbs).** *(Photo by Nora Ray)*

Julian Stafford won second place at 126 lbs, Harless third at 113, Jake Stafford fourth at 138, and Stepp fifth at 120.

Two champions were named Most Outstanding Wrestlers: Messer in “Lower Weight” and Price in “Upper Weight.”

Coach Josh Muncy’s Cardinals placed third as a team.

“We had a great day advancing seven wrestlers out of 14 weight classes to the finals,” Muncy said. “I can’t remember the last time we had four regional champions. I’m very proud of all of our guys who competed Saturday. Although some of them didn’t qualify for the state tournament, their hard work and dedication do not go unnoticed.”

Price (150 lbs), a senior, pinned Carson Gillum of Ashland Blazer in 51 seconds in the final match. He pinned Camden Slone of Knott County Central in 32 seconds in the quarterfinal and Ethan Justice of Pike County Central in 1:06 in the semifinal.

**Martin County’s Rafe Price wins the Region 8 championship at 150 lbs.** *(Photo by Nora Ray)*

Messer (132), a senior, defeated Dakota Ferguson of Johnson Central 3-1 in the first-place match. He defeated Creston Fuller of Mason County 12-2 in the quarterfinal and Cooper Scott of Pikeville 9-2 in the semifinal.

**Martin County senior Brock Messer pins his opponent earlier in the season.** *(Citizen photo by Boo Newsome)*

Maynard (144) beat Clayton Bradley of Montgomery County 8-3 in the final match. He pinned Luke Lockard of Pike County Central in 1:50 in the quarterfinal and Nathanial Williams of Ashland Blazer in 3:37 in the semifinal.

“It’s been awesome learning from all the guys at the high school over the last couple of years; they’ve really helped me grow a lot as a wrestler,” said Maynard, an eighth-grader who won the middle school state title Feb. 3. “I can’t wait to see how many more championships I can get. Hopefully I will bring home a state title this week.”

**Parker Maynard wins Region 8 at 144 lbs.** *(Photo by Nora Ray)*

Cline (106) went 4-0 on the day, dominating Carson Matney of Johnson Central 15-2 in the first-place match. He pinned Landyn Huff of Belfry in 42 seconds in the quarterfinals and Maverick Moore of Boyd County in 1:20 in the semifinal.

“My job is not done yet,” Cline said of the upcoming state championships.

Julian Stafford (126) lost a 4-2 decision to Bentley Brown of Boyd County in the final match. He pinned Tyler Flannery of West Carter in 50 seconds in the quarterfinal and beat Braxton Sexton of Letcher County 5-2 in the semifinal.

Harless (113), a senior, pinned Jordan Haines of Montgomery County (3:52) in the third-place match. He pinned Hunter Flannery in 29 seconds in the quarterfinal, lost 7-2 to Zander Nottingham of Boyd County in the semifinal, and won by a 9-2 decision over Trevor Cooper in the consolation semifinal.

**Martin County senior Nick Harless wrestles in recent duals.** *(Citizen photo by Boo Newsome)*

Jake Stafford (138) lost the third-place match to Alex Maynard of Paintsville (fall 2:23). He pinned Ethan Richardson of Paintsville in 2:21 in the championship round 1, Nick Wellman of Lawrence County in 16 seconds in the quarterfinal, lost to James Morris of Johnson Central (fall 1:19) in the semifinal, and pinned Hunter Kendrick of Letcher County Central in 54 seconds in the consolation semifinal.

Stepp (120) went 2-2 on the day, pinning Abdulla Imran of Montgomery County in 2:18 in the fifth-place match.

Senior Bryston entered the regional tournament as the two-seed in a 15-man heavyweight bracket at 285 lbs. He went 2-2 on the day and contributed points to his team.

**Martin County senior Bryston Wells wrestles earlier in the season.** *(Citizen photo by Boo Newsome)*

Ryan Smith, wrestling at 190 lbs, went 2-2 on the day; George Lemaster went 1-2 at 165 lbs; and Bailey Crum went 1-2 at 157 lbs. All contributed points to the team’s overall score.

Johnson Central won the tournament and Boyd County finished second.

The KHSAA State Wrestling Championships will take place at Alltech Arena inside the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.