Henry Clay wrestler dominates and Lafayette takes team title at girls state championships
Henry Clay’s Sianni Appolon shied away from the pyrotechnics display during her finals match introduction Thursday at the KHSAA Girls State Wrestling Championships at Alltech Arena.
But the cold spark machine bursts were nothing compared to the fireworks Appolon delivered in winning the 165 class with four straight pins in the shortest amount of time of any wrestler at the event.
The last match, a 36-second state championship win over Shawnee’s Talayjah Brents, capped an undefeated 33-0 season for the junior who finished fifth here a year ago.
“Honestly, I don’t even know how this happened,” Appolon said. “I woke up. I wrestled over the summer and I put in the work. Then when the season came, I just kept investing in myself and now I’m here.”
In its second year as a sanctioned sport, the KHSAA crowned individual champions in 12 weight classes and Lafayette as team champion during the all-day event at the Kentucky Horse Park venue.
It takes four consecutive wins to earn a girls wrestling state championship and Appolon finished hers with takedowns and pins in 1:38, 27 seconds, 1:33 and 36 seconds for a total of four minutes and 14 seconds on the mat. She got a plaque for that stat, too, and tried to explain her success.
“It’s instinct. You see their openings and their body language and stuff, but it’s mostly instinct,” Appolon said.
With another year of high school wrestling ahead of her, maybe she’ll be more accustomed to the cold spark columns next time.
“I’ve never seen those things before in person,” Appolon explained. “They were just like gigantic, and it was really scary.”
Lafayette takes team title
Lafayette brought nine wrestlers to Thursday’s state championships and eight earned medals for at least a top-eight finish, including an individual champion, two runners-up and two third-place finishes.
That helped the Generals claim the team state championship with 131 match points to defending champion Taylor County’s 118.
Sophomore Amy Velasco delivered Lafayette’s individual win in the 145 class in one of the most closely fought battles of the day.
During the closing seconds of the final round, the official called Daviess County’s Kali Nichols for stalling and awarded Velasco a point to tie the match at 3-3 and send it to a “sudden victory” overtime.
Velasco made her move quickly in the extra one-minute period, taking Nichols down to the mat and onto her back in a huge attack that yielded seven points and an immediate 10-3 victory.
“The whole match is a blur,” Velasco said. “I don’t even remember what I did. I don’t know how I got her on her back. I was really surprised.”
Velasco’s rise to state champion mirrored her team’s. Lafayette finished eighth as a team last season.
“I’ve wrestled for like two or three years and I’ve never placed until this year,” she said. “That’s crazy to me.”
Lafayette coach William Green has been coaching a bit longer than that. The wrestling coaches association Hall of Famer got his first team state championship after many years at Tates Creek and now Lafayette. It’s also the first wrestling state championship for any Lexington school in the sport’s 60-year history.
Green credited his wrestlers, their parents, the boosters and the school administration for his team’s success. Green received girls coach of the year honors from both the coaches and officials associations on Thursday.
Pulling out podium finishes after many of his wrestlers fell out of the championship bracket in the double elimination format is the key, Green said. He had to regroup the six who lost out on their dream of first place.
“You’ve got to let them know, ‘Hey you’ve got to come up strong. You’ve still got to do your part,’” Green said. “‘That one loss is not going to define you. We’re depending on you.’ … They know they’re doing it for their team and for each other.”
Move up pays off for Madison Central
When Madison Central’s Eryah Reese couldn’t beat out a senior teammate for a spot in the 185 class, the sophomore opted to wrestle up to 235 after having outgrown her old division.
Reese improved on her fourth place as a freshman at 165 with a 235 state championship.
“I just go out there and do my thing,” she said. “That’s all I can really do.”
Reese fell behind Lafayette’s Elene Niyogoshima in the final match’s opening moments, but she quickly turned her opponent’s aggression against her. Reese got Niyogoshima on her back at the edge of the ring and got the pin 1:54 into the first round.
“I was like, ‘I can’t stay in this position for much longer because she’s bigger than me. She’s heavier than me,’” Reese said. “I got back up and I got that reversal.”
Scott County freshman rallies
Scott County’s Ava Castleman trailed much of her 107 finals match against Lafayette’s Jeanette Asukulu but refused to give in and battled back for an 8-6 victory.
“I just listened to my coaches and trusted them,” Castleman said. “It’s no matter if you’re down or winning, you’ve got to push through and pull out a win.”
Repeat winners
Boyle County freshman Lyla Smith defended her 114 class championship with a narrow 5-4 win over Ballard’s Juliette Ruiz. The match was briefly stopped as Smith developed a nose bleed, but she hung on.
“I’m shaking. I’m super tired,” Smith said after accepting her medal. “It was super hard, but I did it.”
Woodford County senior Lacey Gilbert won the 126 class last year and dropped down to 120 this season and won it all again with a 14-1 major decision over Union County’s Brailey Jackson in the finals.
The Yellow Jackets have a proud wrestling history that includes 13 boys team titles and dozens of individual crowns. And Gilbert had a boisterous cheering section to support her.
“They helped a lot. They got everything going and kept it exciting,” Gilbert said. “I just kept pushing and all of them helped too, being in the background.”
Walton-Verona’s Sophie Anderson moved down after winning at 138 last year. The senior’s 130 class title this season also came with the event’s most outstanding wrestler honor.
“I’ve been wrestling since third grade,” Anderson said. “It’s amazing. These girls are just insanely tough. I’m just glad I got one more year to finally get sanctioned and get what we deserve.”
Walton-Verona junior Emma Moore defended her title in the 100 class and matched her two older brothers, now-college wrestlers Brian and Spencer Moore, in the number of state titles they’ve won.
Oldham County’s Tatum Millet also switched classes for a title. She won at 120 last year and 126 this time.
2025 Girls State Wrestling Championships
At the Kentucky Horse Park’s Alltech Arena.
Orville Williams Outstanding Wrestler Award: Sophie Anderson, Walton-Verona.
Kentucky Wrestling Coaches Association Girls Coach of the Year: William Green, Lafayette.
Team standings (top 10 plus Lexington teams’ finishes): 1. Lafayette, 131; 2. Taylor County, 118; 3. Boyle County, 81; 4. Madison Central, 78; 5. North Hardin, 60.5; 6. McCreary Central, 59; 7. Harrison County, 57; 8. Union County, 56.5; 9. Walton-Verona, 56; 10. Woodford County, 47.5; 18. Henry Clay, 31; 38. Frederick Douglass, 13.5.
Individual results (top three and Central Kentucky medalists listed; complete results online at trackwrestling.com):
100 — 1. Emma Moore, Walton-Verona; 2. Naiya Delos Santos, Taylor County; 3. Madyson Votaw, Nelson County; 8. Noel Karezo, Lafayette.
107 — 1. Ava Castleman, Scott County; 2. Jeanette Asukulu, Lafayette; 3. Ana Tierney, Woodford County.
114 — 1. Lyla Smith, Boyle County; 2. Juliette Ruiz, Ballard; 3. Tanya Bacon, Union County; 6. Samantha Oliver, Scott County.
120 — 1. Lacey Gilbert, Woodford County; 2. Brailey Jackson, Union County; 3. Aaliyah Davis, Lafayette; 4. Aubrey White, Boyle County; 5. Bailey Fletcher, George Rogers Clark; 6. Asmin Saidi, Frederick Douglass.
126 — 1. Tatum Millet, Oldham County; 2. Chloe Gallahue, South Oldham; 3. Eelynn Hayden, McCracken County; 8. Sadie Parker, Great Crossing.
132 — 1. Sophie Anderson, Walton-Verona; 2. Talynn Clark, Ohio County; 3. Makyla Folwer, Boyle County.
138 — 1. Jeila Ramos, Southern; 2. Amirah Macklin, Moore; 3. Trinity Matthews, Lafayette; 4. Narae Compton, Madison Central.
145 — 1. Amy Velasco, Lafayette; 2. Kali Nichols, Daviess County; 3. Noxie Melton, Bullitt East; 4. Jenny White, Harrison County; 8. Nayeli Solis, Great Crossing.
152 — 1. Bralyn Maynard, Pike County Central; 2. Emma Hood, Highlands; 3. Gabriela Palomo, North Hardin; 7. Cathlynn Smith, Franklin County.
165 — 1. Sianni Appolon, Henry Clay; 2. Talayjah Brents, Shawnee; 3. Ella Sadler, Danville; 6. Clarytza Castillejos Santos, Lafayette; 7. Sophie Butts, Madison Central.
185 — 1. Kayden Thompson, McCreary Central; 2. A`Niyah Sullivan, Western; 3. Kaylyn Lawson, Taylor County; 4. Hailey Jo Butts, Madison Central; 5. Jasmin Beckham, Henderson County; 6. Mackenzie McGeorge, Great Crossing; 7. Camila Velasco Pillacios, Lafayette; 8. Ryleigh Maybrier, Harrison County.
235 — 1. Eryah Reese, Madison Central; 2. Elene Niyogoshima, Lafayette; 3. Faith Allen, Central; 4. Layla Davis, Harrison County; 5. Porter Tagarook, Boyle County.
