BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
LEXINGTON — Martin County’s wrestling squad walked away with a state placer and a top 3 finish among 1A schools Saturday at the KHSAA State Tournament in Lexington’s Alltech Arena.
The event marked the close of a fantastic 2024-2025 season for Coach Josh Muncy’s Cardinals.
At the heart of the action was 106-pounder Jeremy Mollett, who fought his way to a sixth-place finish. Mollett opened his tournament with a statement, pinning Jacob Fitterer (Bullitt Central) in a swift 36 seconds. He followed it up with a hard-fought 5-3 decision over Ryker Kramer (Fort Campbell) before running into Ryle’s Bryant Brinkman, who overpowered him with a technical fall.
Mollett battled back in the consolation rounds, securing another pin over Parker Wilkins (Highlands) in 47 seconds and a 6-3 decision over Aiden Ruiz (Tates Creek). His run ended in the semifinals with a fall to Talon Sanderlyn (Boyle County) and a major decision loss in the fifth-place match to Keaton Dicken (Conner).
Blake Lemaster (113 lbs) opened with a 13-8 decision over Daniel Stark (Nelson County) but fell to Deacon Cano (Great Crossing) in the second round. Lemaster fought back in the consolations with a fall over Jason Maggard (Harlan County) in 4:18 before being stopped by Mason Gipson (South Oldham) via technical fall.
John Cline (120 lbs) started strong with a pin over Logan Gardner (North Hardin) in 1:27 before dropping a decision to Mat Wasson (Harrison County). His tournament ended with a narrow 1-0 decision loss to Blake Murdock (Great Crossing).
Julian Stafford (126 lbs) opened with a dominant 16-5 major decision over Alberto Lancho (Fairdale). He then faced a tough loss by tech fall against Braydan Blevins (Simon Kenton) but rebounded with an 8-4 decision over Isaiah Rodriguez (Meade County). His run ended in the third round of consolations with a 6-4 decision loss to Caleb Rogers (Woodford County).
Jeremy Begley (132 lbs) also contributed four points. He made a statement in his opener, pinning Sam Ryan (Bethlehem) in 1:39. However, he suffered a tech fall loss to Jonah McCloskey (Simon Kenton) and then fell by major decision to Jagger Irvin (Ryle).
Parker Maynard (138 lbs) gave a solid performance. After an opening-round loss to Kayson White (Highlands), he dominated in the consolation bracket, winning by technical fall over Brayden Willingham (Scott County) in 2:35, securing a 9-1 major decision over Aiden Zuniga (Taylor County), and edging out Jaylin Bellamy (Paducah Tilghman) in a 5-4 decision. His tournament ended with a close 4-2 loss to Andrew Pomeroy (Male).
Chase Stacy (144 lbs) rebounded from a tough opening loss to Cameran Constant (Fort Knox) with a first-round consolation pin over Brayden Norrick (Bullitt East) in 1:31. He fought hard but was eliminated in a close decision by Landon Windeler (Covington Catholic).
Weston Jude (150 lbs) bounced back from an opening-round fall against Parker Smith (Simon Kenton) with a clutch 4-2 decision over Joseph Lampe (Male). His tournament ended in a technical fall loss to TJ Hicks (Highlands).
Cole Jewell (165 lbs) and Ryan Smith (215 lbs) both faced tough brackets and ended their run.
Meanwhile, George Lemaster (175 lbs) opened with a dominant 13-2 major decision over Jack Howard (Harrison County), followed by a pin over Aiden Granito (Moore) in 3:39. He continued his run with a 12-0 major decision over Abram Ross (Ohio County) before ultimately being stopped by Keigan Reisenbeck (Ryle) in the fourth round of consolations.