BY BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

LEXINGTON — Martin County Youth Wrestling made a strong showing at the 2025 Bluegrass State Games. Three Cardinals struck gold and two captured runner-up in the event July 26 at Layfayette High School.

In the 16U boys 111-114 division, Jeremy Mollett dominated his bracket and claimed first place. Mollett opened the day by pinning Richard Perez of Bryan Station in 19 seconds. He followed with a pin over Levi Mitchell in Round 2.

Mollett secured the title with another fall in just 33 seconds against Garrett Johnson of Warren County.

Jeremy Begley brought home another title for Martin County in the 16U 144-151 weight class. He started his run with an 8-1 decision over Gabe Schlagel of West Jessamine and sealed the bracket with a pin in 3:59 over Lex Holmes of McCracken County.

Cole Jewell also took first in the 16U boys 167-174 division with an impressive four-match streak. He began with a technical fall (16-0) over Eli Jackson of Franklin County, then pinned Brytan Ashley of Russellville in just 27 seconds.

After a hard-fought 9-6 decision over Thomas Brauer of Aces, Jewell closed out his tournament with a 1:10 pin over William Moss of Warren County.

In the girls 12U 105-115 division, Kiana Chaffin earned a second-place finish. She dropped both of her matches to Aaliyah Carbajal of Tri-County Wrestling.

Brody Jewell placed second in the 14U boys 101-109 weight class. After falling in a tightly contested sudden-victory bout 9-6 to Braylen Boarman of Aces Wrestling Club in the opening round, Jewell bounced back with a win over Kaiden Crittenden of North Hardin. He capped off the tournament with a lightning-quick pin of Bryson Martin from MC Wrestling in just 12 seconds.