Christian County had three wrestlers finish in first place and eight wrestlers reach the podium in winning the South Oldham Dragon Invitational Saturday.
The Colonels totaled 248 points to finish ahead of second place Meade County (210.5) and third place Oldham County (170). There were 23 teams in the event.
Jakerion Merritt won the 145-pound class. He won his first three matches by pin. After winning the semifinal by a 4-1 decision, he knocked off Oldham County’s Carson Deckard 5-2 in the title match. Merritt has been the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the 145-pound class all season. Deckard is ranked No. 6 at 152.
A.J. Harvey took first place in the 195-pound class. He defeated Scott’s Nathan Zinser 5-2 in the title match.
Niko Bussell, ranked No. 1 statewide in his class, pinned his final three opponents to win the 220-pound class. He defeated Meade County’s Che Smith by fall 1:06 into the match to win the championship.
JaRi Campbell finished second in the 106-pound class, winning four matches before falling to Scott’s Aiden Zinser in the championship match.
Ethan Wells placed second at 120 after winning three matches to advance to the title match. He fell in a 9-3 decision to Grant County’s Isaac Thornton, the state’s No. 3 wrestler in the class.
Austin Grant-Hall finished second in the 138-pound class. He won four matches before falling to South Oldham’s Anthony Pierce in the sudden death round of the championship match.
J.T. Adams finished second in the 170-pound class. He lost a 9-6 decision in the title match to North Oldham’s Bryce Moberly, the No. 3 wrestler statewide in the class.
TyDarius Kelly finished second in the 285-pound class. He won three matches before falling to Lafayette’s Zac Stray 3-1 in the title match. Stray is ranked No. 11 statewide.
Mason Kellett took third in the 132-pound class. He lost to Scott’s Seth Lutes 5-0 in the semifinals. He defeated North Oldham’s Gabe Bobay in the sudden death round to take third.
Neal Aldridge finished third in the 160-pound class. He lost a 2-0 decision in the semifinals but bounced back to beat Trevon Warren of Fern Creek 12-0 in the third place match.
