Gavin Shoush Gets 6th Place Medal at State Wrestling Meet

Albany & Worth County qualified two wrestlers, Justin Dye (Heavyweight) and Gavin Shoush (106 Pound), to state this year. Both competed in the state tournament last weekend.

In the first round, Gavin Shoush was beaten by Josh Payne (Lexington) by fall at the 1:07 mark of their match. Justin Dye lost a 4-3 decision to Zane Renfro (Richmond) in his first round match.
Both proceeded to the Wrestlebacks. In the first round of Wrestlebacks, Gavin Shoush won by fall over Robert Silvey (Versailles) to survive. Justin Dye was pinned by Jordan Walker-Wright (Steam Academy @ McCluer South-Berkeley) at the 2:46 mark of their match to end his time at state. Dye finished his season at 22-11, having come a long ways in just his second year of wrestling for the Albany/Worth County cooperative. He will return next year.

Shoush continued on his way, defeating Blayze Mccullough (El Dorado Springs) by Major Decision, winning 16-7. He then defeated Clancey Woodward (Mid-Buchanan) in a close match, winning 3-2.

In the fourth round of Wrestlebacks, Shoush finally met his match, losing to Hunter Mcatee (Trenton) by fall 42 seconds into the match. In the fifth place match, Shoush lost to Connor Green (North Callaway) by fall 1:27 into the match. Shoush ended his campaign with a 23-6 record and the 6th Place Medal.

Three Worth County Athletes Competing for Warrior Wrestling Team

Three Worth County athletes are competing on the Albany wrestling team this year – Jeremy Wimer, Nate Adwell, and Justin Dye. The Warrior wrestling contingent has improved numbers this year, with nine out for the sport, much higher than in years past. Worth County and Albany compete together under a cooperative agreement. Last year, two Worth County athletes, Will Engel and Jeremy Wimer, went to state. Engel went on to sign with Graceland.

Thursday’s meet pitted Albany against three other schools – Mount Ayr, North Andrew, and South Harrison.

In Albany’s meets against North Andrew, Dawson Fansher pinned Nate Doolittle at the 36.5 mark of the first period. Nate Adwell only needed 24 seconds to pin Kiya Mortimore. Sam O’Neal pinned Sae Ezzell late in the first quarter.

The first close match came between Harrison Kerchner (Albany) and Ezra Mohn (North Andrew). Harrison Kerchner got an early takedown, only for Mohn to escape. Kerchner got another takedown and led 4-1 going into the second. He held him down for the entire second frame, finally pinning him at the 1:00 mark in the period.

Against South Harrison, Nate Doolittle drove Timmy Williams hard into the ground early and had the better of the match, pitting him at the 6.5 second mark of the first period.

Nate Adwell had an epic battle with Jaren Van Meter. In the early going, Adwell was taken down by Van Meter, only to escape. Van Meter took him down again, only for Adwell to get a reversal and take control of the match. Adwell was up 8-4, only for Van Meter to fight back with an escape and a takedown to make it 8-7. A three point near fall by Van Meter late in the second frame put him in control up 10-8, and he went on to pin Adwell at the 1:12 mark of the third period.

Cole Ellis pinned Sam O’Neil at the six second mark of the second quarter.

Harrison Kerchner and Parker Chamberlin had another good match. Parker Chamberlin body slammed Kerchner to go up early, but Kerchner got a reversal to tie it at 2-2. Another body slam by Chamberlin seemingly put him in control in the second frame, up 7-5, but then Kerchner got a reversal and then pinned Chamberlin at the one minute mark of the second period for the win.

After Trey Cooper (Albany) was pinned by Kaston Van Meter, Justin Dye took the mat for his first-ever wrestling match, against Holden Hager. Dye got an early takedown against Van Meter, only for him to escape. As the match progressed, Dye wore down and Van Meter won on a disqualification.

Gavin Shoush (Albany) had another good match with Mason Hamilton (South Harrison). A body slam by Shoush seemingly put him in control up 6-2 in the second, but Hamilton got a reversal late in the frame and nearly pinned Shoush, but he was saved by the bell still up 6-4. Shoush got an early takedown in the third and held it for a minute, up 8-4. But then Hamilton got a reversal with 33 seconds. Hamilton held down Shoush for the remainder of the match, but Shoush somehow avoided the pin or the near fall and came away with the 8-6 win.

Albany struggled against Mount Ayr, which has a solid wrestling program. Jeremy Wimer was pinned by Payton Fleharty at the 1:22 mark of the first period. Nate Adwell was pinned by Trae Ehlen at the 1:16 mark of the first. Harrison Kerchner was pinned by Keaton White at the 1:10 mark of the second.

One of the more entertaining matches was between Justin Dye and Josh Cox (Mount Ayr). Wrestling in only his second match ever against a skilled opponent, Dye got the takedown, only for Cox to flip him over and pin him at the 1:01 mark of the first period.

Gavin Shoush got the lone win for Albany, pinning Jarrett Webb at the 49.6 second mark of the first period after a body slam. Nate Doolittle was pinned by Bryce Shaha at the 39.8 mark of the first.

Three Albany/Worth County Wrestlers Qualify for State

Three wrestlers from the Albany/Worth County cooperative qualified to state in action last weekend in districts.

Jeremy Wimer was seeded 6th in his bracket, but got a bye in his first round. He then lost to Dylon Pappert (Stanberry) 10-8 in the quarterfinals. He then defeated Brenden Sheppard (Lone Jack), winning by Fall in 1:22. He then beat Braden Andersen (Lawson) in a 9-5 decision. He lost again to Pappert, but still qualified by virtue of his fourth place finish.

Will Engel received a first round bye, as he was seeded fourth in his bracket. He defeated Jake Williams (Mid-Buchanan) by fall in 47 seconds. He lost to Cade Killingsworth (Lawson) to fall to the bubble match. He then defeated Brody Herbert (North Andrew) by fall at the 2:06 mark, then defeated Jake Williams by fall (2:46) to qualify for state and secure third place.

Blade Powers, seeded third, pinned Diego Ortiz in 27 seconds. He then defeated Max Park (Summit Christian) 3-0 in the semifinals and lost to Quinten Wolfe (Lathrop) but still finished second.

Albany/Worth County Wrestlers Gain GRC Honors; Will Engel Sets School Record for Wins, Pins

The Albany/Worth County wrestlers competed last weekend at the Grand River Conference Tournament and won several honors. In the 120 division, Jeremy Wimer survived a first round loss to Ayden Wayne (Gallatin) to take third place. He lost the match 12-4. He was pinned by Dylon Pappert (Stanberry) in the second round, but then pinned Canyon VonBurg (Trenton) 21 seconds into the third round to get third place.

Matthew Goodpasture lost matches in the 126 to Brice Gibler (Trenton) and Dylan Wade (Maysville) and received byes in the next two matches to take seventh.

In the 145 division, Harrison Kerchner received a bye and then lost by pin to Dalton Wade (Maysville) and Briar Frame (South Harrison). He then received forfeits over Brody Herbert (North Andrew) and Mark Donaldson (Stanberry) to take fifth place.

In the 152, Will Engel beat David Harris (Polo), Noah Lewis (Trenton), and Brigham Steele (Gallatin) to get into the championship match. In the championship match, he lost to Rueben Gage (Stanberry) to take second place.

In the 285, Blade Powers received a bye in the first round and pinned Jarvis Collins (Trenton) to get to the championship round. In the most exciting match of the day for the Albany/Worth County wrestlers, he won by a 1-0 decision over Michael Saucedo (Maysville) to take championship honors.

Derek Lykins Completes Wrestling Season for Tigers

Derek Lykins completed a full season of wrestling for Worth County Friday night. He went 1-1 in districts before he had to scratch. He is the first Worth County high school wrestler since 1979; the school discontinued wrestling after that season. Lykins finished the season with a 6-11 record, with 5 of those wins being pins. Brother Montana also participated in the season before he got injured and had to sit out. Neither one had seen a mat until this year. Worth County is cooping with Albany for wrestling this year.
Three junior high athletes from Worth County are competing in wrestling this year for Albany. They are Will Engel, Devan Jackson, and Gage Sherer.