Lafayette wrestler captures 2nd state title; Johnson Central pays tribute; Union County rolls
Lafayette’s Brayden Giannone never doubted his ability to earn the second individual high school wrestling championship of his career.
“No, no. I knew from the beginning of the season this would be mine,” the senior said confidently after he won his 165-pound finals in a 7-3 decision at the KHSAA Wrestling State Championships at George Rogers Clark High School on Saturday.
Giannone was among 14 individual state champions and 98 other medalists celebrated Saturday after two days of wrestling among 224 wrestlers from 68 teams.
Johnson Central’s wrestlers placed second in the team standings in a season dedicated to their beloved coach, the late Jim Matney, who died of a stroke after COVID-19 complications last fall. Reece Goss followed in his father Chris Goss’s footsteps as a state champion produced by the football and wrestling coaching legend.
Meanwhile, Union County’s wrestling machine won its seventh straight team championship in a day that included four individual champions and a third-place finish from the last wrestling Ervin of his generation to put on a Braves singlet for his uncle, Coach Robert Ervin.
Lafayette wrestler ranks among coach’s best
Moments before his championship match, Brayden Giannone paced back-and-forth in the wings of Clark County’s gym with a look of determination and focus. Once on the mat in front of the capacity crowd, the pacing continued through the introductions and other fanfare until he squared up with his opponent, Jude Powell of Fairdale.
“It’s just my way to get focused,” Giannone explained. “It’s not like a mean thing or anything. It’s just how I center my head on wrestling.”
Giannone devoured his side of the bracket on the way to the finals with two pins and a 12-0 major decision before the main event. He ceded two points to Powell in the first round but quickly took over the lead.
“The key was my mentality. I think my strongest point is my mental game,” Giannone said. “My thought process today was to just go out and dominate every match as well as I could.”
Lafayette Coach William Green, who was among three inductees named to the Kentucky Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Saturday, calls Giannone one of the best wrestlers he has had in a decades-long career.
“There’s no question about who’s No. 1 (in his class),” Green said. “He left it all out there. He knew what he had to do. … In his position, people want to see if he’s legit. There are a lot of people that wanted to knock him off that pedestal.”
Among Green’s other state champions are Tates Creek’s Mike Migliaccio, who was named the 1990 state meet’s most outstanding wrestler in winning a title to cap a 43-0 season. Fellow Creeker Tom Cibull won back-to-back state titles in 1992 and 1993. Current New Orleans Saints offensive tackle Landon Young won the 285-pound weight class as a Lafayette senior for Green. Angel Vasquez won a state crown for Lafayette in 2015 and is now associate head coach for the Generals.
Green unreservedly puts Giannone in that top tier. The four-time region champion and future Washington and Lee University wrestler went 26-0 this season. He was the 152-pound champion as a sophomore, a state runner-up as a freshman and would have been in contention at state as a junior if not for missing the meet because of COVID-19 protocols.
“He’s up there,” Green said. “And he’s a good person. This year, we had a really young team and we had to do a lot of things starting at the bottom. He didn’t question it. He just got in line and did it. … He’s a leader and he’s willing to help his fellow wrestlers out.”
Lafayette’s Jasitin Kubwimana finished third in the 144-pound class.
Johnson Central dedicates season to Matney
When his hold on childhood friend and former teammate Gavin Andreoni of Woodford County earned him the two points that ended their overtime match, emotion swept over Reece Goss’s face.
He pointed both index fingers at the sky before placing one hand on his heart as his father, assistant coach Chris Goss, held a photo of Jim Matney up to the cheering crowd.
“Losing Coach, especially, because he was my godfather, it’s been very tough. We all wanted to win this for Coach. I felt like I needed to step up,” said Goss, who won the 144-pound class in a 5-3 sudden victory.
Reece explained that his dad was Matney’s first state champion at Sheldon Clark High School. He was one of 30 individual champions Matney coached between the now renamed Martin County school and Johnson Central. Matney guided Sheldon Clark to state team state titles in 1994 and 1995.
Goss and his opponent grew up together and had both wrestled for Woodford County, so it was hard for either to gain an advantage in their match as the three regulation rounds ended in a 3-3 tie.
“In overtime, I just knew Coach (Matney) would be in the corner saying, ‘Go, Reecey, go,’” Goss said. “I knew I had to get back up and find some way.”
Matney’s family accepted a posthumous coaches’ association coach of the year award as part of Saturday’s honors. Matney’s son, Dalton, an eighth-grader, finished fourth at 175 pounds, also helping the Golden Eagles to their second-place team finish.
Assistant principal Darren Gamble has taken up the coaching mantle in partnership with son Blake and others like Goss since Matney’s death.
“Never one time have I even pretended to have built this team to where we are today,” Gamble said. “My son and I, we’ve just done everything we can to keep this ball rolling.”
Matney was a wrestling coach just as long as he was a football coach, and his loss hit Johnson Central’s wrestlers hard.
“From day one, we’ve dedicated this season to Coach Matney. And these kids have been through a lot, an emotional roller coaster,” Gamble said. “I couldn’t be more proud of our kids. We finished seven in the top four and three (more) in the top eight. So, 10 all-staters. … It’s just been a great tournament by our kids.”
Union County train keeps rolling
Union County brought its usual massive contingent of fans and families to see its seventh straight team state championship and 14th overall.
Four wrestlers won individual titles, twin brothers Jayden (106) and Jordyn Raney (113), Trayce Eckman (126) and Stephen Little (190).
But also notable among Union’s medalists was 175-pound third-place finisher Paxton Ervin, the last of 14 second-generation wrestling Ervins to complete his career for the Braves.
“We’re really proud of him,” Union head coach Robert Ervin said of his nephew. “That was our last hurrah there. He was the caboose. It will be a while before you see another one.”
Paxton’s father, Brad, is an assistant coach and one of the four brothers who helped build this Morganfield wrestling powerhouse.
Coach Ervin said the next generation’s oldest — his and his siblings’ grandchildren — are just toddling now. But don’t expect the Union County wrestling train to slow anytime soon.
“When you’ve got a community like we’ve got, it’s just amazing,” Coach Ervin said. “You’ve got all these kiddos that are so excited about it. We’ve got unbelievable peer groups for kids that want to be like (the varsity wrestlers) … the support we get is unbelievable.”
2022 KHSAA State Wrestling Championships
At George Rogers Clark High School, Winchester.
Top three finishers and Central Kentucky medalists listed.
106 — 1. Jayden Raney, Union County; 2. Sebastian Vega, Conner; 3. Jonah McCloskey, Simon Kenton; 5. Trent Cano, Great Crossing; 6. Micah Thompson, Boyle County.
113 — 1. Jordyn Raney, Union County; 2. JaRi Campbell, Christian County; 3. James Morris, Johnson Central; 5. Aydn Funkhouser, Harrison County; 6. Anthony Condi, Frederick Douglass.
120 — 1. Breyden Whorton, LaRue County; 2. TJ Meyer, Walton-Verona; 3. Hunter Jenkins, Union County.
126 — 1. Trayce Eckman, Union County; 2. Joseph Sander, Ryle; 3. Miller Brown, Oldham County; 4. Isaac Johns, Woodford County.
132 — 1. Cole Thomas, Ryle; 2. Isaac Thornton, Walton-Verona; 3. Jayden Frazier, Paducah Tilghman; 7. Gus Roberts, Great Crossing.
138 — 1. Eli Peyton, Paducah Tilghman; 2. Jonah Bowers, Campbell County; 3. Jake Cain, Johnson Central; 6. Jonathan Gilbert, Madison Central; 7. Nicholas Armentano, Great Crossing.
144 — 1. Reece Goss, Johnson Central; 2. Gavin Andreoni, Woodford County; 3. Jasitin Kubwimana, Lafayette; 8. Ethan Sentelle, Great Crossing
150 — 1. Malachi Rider, Paducah Tilghman; 2. Charlie McKune, Moore; 3. Nolan Banfield, Woodford County.
157 — 1. George Ferree, Louisville Trinity; 2. Devon Herron, North Hardin; 3. Carter Messerly, Ryle.
165 — 1. Brayden Giannone, Lafayette; 2. Jude Powell, Fairdale; 3. Gavin Ricketts, Union County; 6. Jeffrey Kinley, Madison Central; 7. Joshua Strayer, Great Crossing.
175 — 1. Noah Duke, Ryle; 2. Lane Kiser, Louisville Trinity; 3. Paxton Ervin, Union County; 7. John Bronson, Frederick Douglass; 8. Jacobie White, Harrison County.
190 — 1. Stephen Little, Union County; 2. Chase Price, Johnson Central; 3. Wade Mettling, Oldham County.
215 — 1. Uriah Virzi, Paducah Tilghman; 2. Jackson Geilear, Woodford County; 3. Joel Hatchett, Fern Creek; 4. Rocky Whitehead, Madison Southern.
285 — 1. Anthony (A.J.) Harvey, Christian County; 2. Carter Guillaume, St. Xavier; 3. Kaleb Kiely, Covington Catholic; 5. Stephen Whitehead, Madison Southern.
Orville Williams Outstanding Wrestler Award — Cole Thomas, Ryle.
This story was originally published February 27, 2022 at 1:23 PM.
