BY BOO NEWSOME
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
LOUISVILLE — Martin County Middle School wrestler Parker Maynard won his second consecutive KFWC state title Saturday in the KFWC Middle School State Championship at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville. At the same time, his team finished as runner-up out of 74 middle school and club teams competing in the event.
Martin County amassed 174 points to Tornado Wrestling’s 205. Johnson Central was third on the list with 149.
Head coach Andrew Chaffin earned the right to brag on his team.
“We had more kids place this year than we have ever even had to quality in the past,” Chaffin said. “These kids are making a name for themselves whether they know it or not.”
Maynard clinched first place in the 150 lbs class, amassing a perfect 20-0 record and contributing 30 team points. The eighth-grader defeated Maximus Baxter of Colt Wrestling 8-3 in the final match. He pinned Grayson Wade of Legends in 33 seconds, Peyton Zinser of Woodland in 28 seconds and Darius Ridener of McCreary County in 1:02 leading up to the final.
In addition to two middle school state championship titles, Maynard is a four-time elementary school state champ and a four-time national champ.
Maynard’s teammate Jeremy Begley, another standout, secured the runner-up spot at 120 lbs. Begley went 4-1 on the day, losing a tough 13-6 decision to Jaylin Bellamy of Tornado Wrestling in the final match. He pinned James Brison of Christian County, defeated Leland Barcia of Trojan 13-1 and pinned Aiden Zuniga in 5:01 on the way to the final.
Brody Jewell, competing at 77 lbs, made headlines by winning runner-up. Jewell went 4-1 on the day, losing the first-place match to Mason Brooks of Somerset 7-2. He pinned Uriah Rainey of Boyle County in 22 seconds, Hunter Edlin of Olympus in 35 seconds and Quentin Finch of Oldham County in 2:59 on the way to the final.
Blake Lemaster finished third at 89 lbs. He went 5-1 on the day, overcoming a semifinal setback to secure a 5-2 decision over Jax Reynolds of Boyle County in the third-place match.
Cole Jewell earned fourth place in the 165-lbs division, going 4-2 on the day.
Jeremy Mollett finished fifth at 101 lbs and was 5-2 on the day.
The championship also saw commendable efforts from wrestlers like Kenleigh Estep, Aydan Warren, Noah Bowen, Easton Slone, James Begley, Dylan Dye, Braxton Maynard, Keegan Moore and Spencer Workman.
