Henry Clay wrestler’s surprise win, Harrison County’s return to top highlight Region 6 meet

There’s a place you can go, where you can make real your dreams.

Jean Louis Mokweke did just that to position himself for a stunning finish at the KHSAA Region 6 boys/coed wrestling meet Saturday at East Jessamine High School.

Mokweke, a senior at Henry Clay, pinned rival Miles Hayward to claim the 285-pound division championship and close the meet with its biggest upset. Hayward, a junior at Tates Creek, was 35-0 this season. He’d beaten Mokweke twice this season, including just a couple weeks ago in the city meet, and was 6-0 against him before Saturday.

“I was losing to him consistently,” Mokweke said. “That’s why I went to the YMCA multiple days to work out and get ready for him.”

After recent practices, Mokweke took a couple more hours in the evening to hone his strength and cardio. He could tell right away how helpful it was to have spent extra time in the gym.

“I was able to lift him up off me, like bench press him,” Mokweke said. “That made a difference.”

Having faced off against Hayward so recently also helped in terms of match prep. Blue Devils head coach Andy Critchfield said Mokweke’s plan was to stay on his feet as much as possible, attack Hayward’s legs and get into some scramble situations.

“That’s kind of what we saw there,” Critchfield said. “One move right after the next and we got on top, luckily. He earned it.”

Mokweke (32-6) and his brother, Jeannoe Mangwele, joined the program together as sophomores and will leave it as region titlists. Mangwele defeated Harrison County senior Jack Howard in the 175-pound division’s championship bout.

Mangwele (35-7) had never heard of wrestling before a friend encouraged him and Mokweke to give it a shot.

“When I was a freshman, sophomore, I was scared to try to new things and talk to people,” Mangwele said. “But the more and more I wrestled, the more confident I got. It helped with my motivation. … I think that just helped with everything else.”

The brothers are among the most dedicated wrestlers Critchfield has coached in two decades guiding his alma mater.

“They’re at every single practice, they never complain, they’re hardworking,” Critchfield said. “They deserve it for what they’ve put in, and they’ve got one more week to go. And after seeing what they’ve done today, it’d be something special if they could take home a state medal. That’s the goal.”

The top four finishers in each weight class at the regional level advance to the state tournament, with their region placement determining their seed level. A random draw ahead of the event determines the placement of those seeds within the final bracket.

Mokweke hopes to see Hayward again this week at Kentucky Horse Park’s Alltech Arena.

“So I can redo it,” Mokweke said with a grin. “To make sure it wasn’t a fluke, y’know?”

Hayward, who finished runner-up last year in the region before a second-round exit at state, will look to bounce back quickly from his first loss of the season. He’s aiming to become Tates Creek’s first champion in the heavyweight class since Jason Gray (2002, then contested at 275 pounds).

“Sometimes when you wrestle the same person over and over, it gets tougher every time,” Tates Creek head coach Scotty Teater said. “And sometimes you get to where you feel like you’re in a safe spot. It’s why you always wrestle — you never know.”

Cynthiana’s strongest

Harrison County left Nicholasville with the Region 6 team title, its first since 2022, and a pair of region champions looking to stay undefeated on the year.

George Dennis (34-0) defeated Frederick Douglass senior Liam Gutierrez by technical fall in the 144-pound final, while Jackson Wells (29-0) pinned Great Crossing sophomore Deacon Cano in the crowning 113-pound bout. Both are looking to repeat as state champions, albeit in higher weight classes than a year ago.

While their wins mattered for personal and team pride, they were equaled by Great Crossing’s Ren Birk (150-pound division, 40-3) and Clayton Shaddix (157-pound, 27-5) in the finals. That meant the narrow lead built by the Thorobreds through the consolation finals proved most consequential in their dethroning of the Warhawks, who’d won two straight team titles.

“I pulled ’em all before the consolation semifinals and told the guys, ‘This is where the tournament’s gonna be won or it’s gonna be lost, because the back side matters,” Harrison County head coach Josh Ashbrook said. “Today, the guys showed up on the back side, and I’m very proud.”

Harrison County will field 10 wrestlers in the state tournament along with two alternate qualifiers. Among them, Howard is the only senior.

“We’re trending in the right direction,” Ashbrook said. “Our goal is a top-five finish at the state tournament, and this team’s very capable of doing it.”

‘Wrestling’s life’

Injuries and mental exhaustion kept Frederick Douglass’ Landon Worley off the mat in 2024. The senior returned with enthusiasm this season, but also something to prove.

In his last regional bout in 2023, Worley lost a 3-2 decision to rival Malakhi Young, a Great Crossing senior, in the 165-pound finals. Jeremy Marks, a Warhawks junior, bore the brunt of the anguish Young caused Worley, who pinned him in this year’s 165-pound finals and then, through a chorus of hoops and hollers, released two years of pent-up emotion.

“I stopped wrestling for a little bit of time, I had to reset myself,” said Worley (32-9). “I love it. I love competition. I’m competitive in everything else I do. I never got away from grabbing people or getting into scuffles. So it just made sense to come back here and do what I can do.

“Wrestling’s life. Everybody does it, no matter where you go. (My time away) taught me that it’s just a sport. We go out there and put everything that we have on the mat, but the mat shouldn’t be everything that we have. It should just be part of living — a way to express yourself, a way to find yourself, be disciplined. I need it, and I think some other people might, too.”

Marks did get a good lick in: After the match, Worley’s right eye had a bloody bruise above it.

“He’s got a big dome, man,” Worley said with a laugh. “He went to shoot on me and just clocked me.”

Broncos teammate Anthony Condi, also a senior, joined Worley as a region champ. He took the 138-pound title to improve his overall record to 47-2. He’s looking to study finance at the University of Alabama beginning this fall, so this year’s state tournament will be the end of his wrestling career.

“I don’t believe there’s anything harder on this Earth than wrestling,” Condi said. “Once you can do that, you can do anything.”

LCA trailblazer

Mac Darland brought home the 215-pound title for Lexington Christian Academy, becoming the program’s first region champion and positioning himself well for the state tournament.

LCA didn’t have a wrestling program before last season. Darland, a junior who also plays for the Eagles’ football team, grew up wrestling along with some other footballers. A series of phone calls led to a pair of Woodford Countians, Robert and Ty Tucker, donning blue-and-white to guide a fledgling team.

Darland (29-3) is excited to be on the ground floor. While he probably won’t be around long enough to enjoy the spoils of major team success, he’s a strong anchor around which to build: He finished fifth in the state tournament last season following a third-place region medal.

“That surprised a lot of people, I feel like,” Darland said. “This year I’m going for as much as I can. Hopefully I get it all, but I’ll go out there and perform my best.”

Other Lexington champs

▪ Aiden Ruiz kicked off the championship finals with a mild upset for Tates Creek. Ruiz, a senior seeded No. 2 in the bracket, held off top-seeded Logan Plummer, a junior out of East Jessamine, in a 10-7 decision. The foes had split four previous contests against one another.

“I was trying to keep it neutral, keep him down, make sure he didn’t get any extra points that might have affected my match,” Ruiz said. “I was just trying to play smart there instead of attacking him for nothing. … When someone really knows my style, it’s hard to get past them, but it’s not impossible.”

▪ Lafayette left with two champs in Jeffrey Temprano (190-pound, 26-4) and Jacob Brown (132-pound, 18-3). Temprano, a junior, won his first region title after a fourth-place finish last year in the 165-pound division. This is Brown’s first year wrestling for the Generals; he’s an eighth-grader who earlier this month won the 129-pound division at the Kentucky Folkstyle Wrestling Committee Middle School State Championships.

Region 6 Boys/Coed Wrestling Championships

At East Jessamine High School, Feb. 22

Individual state qualifiers (top four) and fifth-place alternate listed. Complete results online at trackwrestling.com.

Most Outstanding Wrestler: Jacob Brown, Lafayette.

Coach of the Year: Josh Ashbrook, Harrison County.

106: 1. Aiden Ruiz, Tates Creek; 2. Logan Plummer, East Jessamine; 3. Noe Rodriguez, Harrison County; 4. Gavin Clem, George Rogers Clark; 5. Nathan Dillingham, Great Crossing.

113: 1. Jackson Wells, Harrison County; 2. Deacon Cano, Great Crossing; 3. Joshua Klose, Frederick Douglass; 4. Myles Mitchell, West Jessamine; 5. Jaxon Long, Paul Laurence Dunbar.

120: 1. Ethan Davis, Grant County; 2. Mat Wasson, Harrison County; 3. Kadham Alghanemi, Lafayette; 4. Blake Murdock, Great Crossing; 5. Drake Wimsatt, Paul Laurence Dunbar.

126: 1. Carson Webster, Grant County; 2. Sergio Vasquez Gomez, Lafayette; 3. Miguel Francisco, Great Crossing; 4. Logan Rowe, Scott County; 5. Nathanial Herrington, Bourbon County.

132: 1. Jacob Brown, Lafayette; 2. Austin Brinegar, Harrison County; 3. Kevin Vargas, Scott County; 4. Camren Walls, Tates Creek; 5. Nathan Douglas, Great Crossing.

138: 1. Anthony Condi, Frederick Douglass; 2. Bracken King, Harrison County; 3. Elliot Ortinski, Henry Clay; 4. Tavion Lauk, Paul Laurence Dunbar; 5. Brayden Willingham, Scott County.

144: 1. George Dennis, Harrison County; 2. Liam Gutierrez, Frederick Douglass; 3. Miles Smith, East Jessamine; 4. Trae White, Henry Clay; 5. Brayden Tugers, Scott County.

150: 1. Ren Birk, Great Crossing; 2. Triton Moncrief, Frederick Douglass; 3. Karsyn Sumpter, Harrison County; 4. Kayne Garrett, Scott County; 5. Brock Heidle, George Rogers Clark.

157: 1. Clayton Shaddix, Great Crossing; 2. Chaz Rich, Paul Laurence Dunbar; 3. Branson Fain, Harrison County; 4. Tyler Pittman, East Jessamine; 5. Jaxon Franks, Grant County.

165: 1. Landon Worley, Frederick Douglass; 2. Jeremy Marks, Great Crossing; 3. Msabaha Sumaili, Henry Clay; 4. Karson Shott, Paul Laurence Dunbar; 5. Dray Roberts, Harrison County.

175: 1. Jeannoe Mangwele, Henry Clay; 2. Jack Howard, Harrison County; 3. Cameron Green, Great Crossing; 4. Jean Luca Ponciano, Paul Laurence Dunbar; 5. Jacob Banner, Scott County.

190: 1. Jeffrey Temprano, Lafayette; 2. Carson Kidwell, Great Crossing; 3. Gustavo Camarena, Scott County; 4. Emmanuel Mpungu, Frederick Douglass; 5. Frank Niyonyishu, Henry Clay.

215: 1. Mac Darland, Lexington Christian, 2. Brock Sexton, Harrison County; 3. Bryan Falls, George Rogers Clark; 4. Zack Baker, Great Crossing; 5. Colton Cox, East Jessamine.

285: 1. Jean Louis Mokweke, Henry Clay; 2. Miles Hayward, Tates Creek; 3. Michael Braunm, Great Crossing; 4. Jake Darby, Lexington Christian; 5. CJ White, Harrison County.

This story was originally published February 23, 2025 at 4:47 PM.