BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
BELFRY — Martin County arrived at Clipson Jones Classic Saturday morning at Belfry High School and left that night with the championship. The Cardinals scored 258.5 points to win the 22-team tournament and finish well ahead of Braxton County’s 207.
Coach Josh Muncy’s Cardinals built the margin one match at a time across nearly every weight class. Fourteen wrestlers placed. Five climbed to the top of the podium. Enough followed close behind to turn a crowded field into a one-team story.
At 106 pounds, Brody Jewell did not allow his tournament to linger. After receiving a first-round bye, he pinned Leland Markwell of Woodford County in the semifinals, then finished Couper Woods of Ashland Blazer in just over a minute in the title bout. Three matches, three falls and a bracket that emptied almost as soon as it filled.
Jeremy Mollett followed at 113 with a similar rhythm. He opened with a bye, pinned Andrew Pelayo of Woodford County in the quarterfinals, flattened Brantley Scott of Belfry in the semifinals, and ended the championship match by pinning Chris Richie of Perry County Central. His tournament unfolded in short bursts, each ending with the same raised hand.
Blake Lemaster made it three titles for Martin County at 120. He pinned Damien Falter of Letcher County Central in the quarterfinals, stopped Hunter Crabtree of Greenup County in the semifinals, then switched gears in the final, controlling Brycen Gray of Woodford County for an 8–3 decision to secure the championship.
Cole Jewell added another gold medal at 165. After a first-round bye, he pinned Eli Whitt of Tug Valley, then Seth Boseman of Mingo Central, then Deegan Tavernier of Union in the final. Each match ended the same way, his opponent staring at the ceiling, the referee already counting.
Brayden Fannin closed the championship run at 215. He received a bye, pinned Jaxon Borders of Paintsville in the quarterfinals, ended Ethan Collins of Knott County Central in the semifinals, and finished William Shepherd of John I. Burton in the title match by fall, delivering the final punctuation to Martin County’s day at the top.
Just beneath the champions came the runner-up finishes.
At 126, Chase Messer tore through his side of the bracket, pinning Landon Whitt of Tug Valley in the opening round, outpointing Eli Watts of Woodford County in the quarterfinals, and stopping Elijah Anderson of Union by fall in the semifinals. His run ended in the championship match against Colton Putnam of Braxton County, where he finished second after a long day of work.
Parker Maynard followed the same path at 157, opening with a forfeit win, then pinning Jon Falter of Letcher County Central and Ean Baker of Union in consecutive rounds. He reached the final unbeaten and left with second place after a high-scoring decision against Paxton Smith of Braxton County.
Third place belonged to Noah Bowens at 138. He pinned David Craig of Greenup County in the quarterfinals before dropping a narrow decision to Isaac Richards of Woodford County in the semifinals. From there, Bowens turned backward momentum into something sharp, pinning Landon Baker of Perry County Central and then overwhelming Jaxon Scott of Pikeville in the third-place match by major decision.
Fourth place became its own pattern.
Jeremy Begley reached the semifinals at 144 after pinning Nico Niece of John I. Burton, then lost a sudden-victory bout to Bradyn Morris of Braxton County. He recovered by pinning Trenton Williamson of Belfry before falling by decision to Jaxon Anderson of Union in the third-place match.
James Begley followed a similar arc at 175, pinning Evan Ratliff of East Ridge and Landon Fields of Union to reach the semifinals, where Caden Ratliff of Prestonsburg stopped his run. Begley rebounded with a fall over Braxton Jones of Tug Valley before losing the third-place match to Fields.
Easton Slone joined them at 190. After a bye, he pinned Hunter White of Tug Valley and Kasey Conley of Perry County Central to reach the semifinals, where Braylen Livingston of Woodford County ended his title hopes. Slone came back with a technical fall over Jacob Hammonds of Ashland Blazer, then finished fourth after falling to James E. Jones of Belfry in the placement match.
The rest of the lineup filled in the margins that decided the team race.
Ayden Warren placed fifth at 126 after losing to Putnam in the quarterfinals, then pinning Landon Whitt of Tug Valley, Braxton Jarrell of Belfry and Anthony Green of John I. Burton, with his only setback in consolation coming against Elijah Anderson of Union.
Liam May finished seventh at 215, opening with a loss to Jaxon Borders of Paintsville, then working through the back side of the bracket with a tie-breaker win over Diesel Roberts of Union before falling to Brandon Wiley of Woodford County. He closed his tournament by pinning Borders in the seventh-place match.
Heavyweight Blake Stacy rounded out the scoring at 285. He opened with a fall over Jessee Hamilton of John I. Burton, then battled through the consolation rounds with another pin over Travis Collins of Knott County Central before finishing eighth after losses to Steven Vipperman of Belfry and Kaleb Stacy of Union.