LEXINGTON, Ky. – The man they call “Baby Beast” took down the “First Family of Kentucky Wrestling” on Saturday night.
North Oldham High School senior Dallas Ochsenbein beat Union County sophomore Saul Ervin 7-3 to capture the 120-pound weight class during the State Championships in front of 3,167 fans at the Kentucky Horse Park’s Alltech Arena.
Ervin was the state champion at 106 pounds last year, making it nine straight years a member of his renowned wrestling family had won an individual state title. Ervin entered the match with a 53-1 record and No. 1 state ranking.
“Ervin’s a well-known name, and they never lose,” said the No. 4-ranked Ochsenbein, who finished his season with a 50-3 record and received the Orville Williams Award as the event’s Most Outstanding Wrestler. “His brothers were in nationals and just played around at state. I didn’t let that get to me. …
“It’s the biggest upset I’ve ever heard of.”
Ochsenbein was one of seven Louisville-area wrestlers to win championships Saturday.
Trinity produced three champions in seniors Keegan Duncan (132 pounds), Ben Barton (152) and Hudson Heidorf (160). Fern Creek’s A.J. Bindner won the title at 138, Oldham County’s Max Emerson completed a perfect season at 182 and Garrett Chandler gave Male its first-ever state titlist by taking the crown at 220.
Union County captured its eighth team title, winning two weight classes and finishing with 187.5 points. Woodford County (140.5 points) was second, followed by Oldham County (130.5), Trinity (118.5), St. Xavier (117) and North Oldham (109.5). Fern Creek, last year’s state champion, finished eighth with 96 points.
Oldham County’s Aaron Riordan was named Coach of the Year by the Kentucky Wrestling Coaches Association.
Ochsenbein’s victory was a reversal of last month’s State Duals, when Ervin had pinned him in the second round.
“That was my motivation, to come back and do something like I just did,” said Ochsenbein, who plans to attend Eastern Kentucky University and go into the military. “There were a lot of things I had to work on. I wasn’t going to let him get anything that might potentially lead to me getting pinned. Every time I came close, I just worked my hardest to get away from that.”
North Oldham coach Tony Zeppa said Ochsenbein earned his “Baby Beast” nickname because of his tenacity.
“If you look at his physique and his endurance and his energy, he’s a great wrestler,” Zeppa said. “For a 120-pounder, he can just push everybody. If you go deep (into the match), he wins.”
Duncan started Trinity’s run of titles by defeating Male freshman Zane Brown 5-3 for his second straight title at 132.
“I just knew coming in here that nothing’s going to help you if you’re nervous,” said Duncan, who plans to wrestle in college but hasn’t decided on a school. “I just tried to have as much fun as I could out there … and realize this ain’t my first rodeo. I had confidence out there.”
Barton won his second straight title at 152 by defeating Oldham County’s Brady Emerson 3-2. Barton, who has signed with Campbell University, said repeating was tougher than winning his first title.
“You have more of a determination to win that first time,” said Barton, who was ranked No. 2 in the state and defeated No. 1 Geordan Blanton of Johnson Central 5-2 in Saturday’s semifinals. “It’s harder to come back and win that second one, and it showed in that last match right there. Last year I won by five, and this year I won by one.”
Heidorf captured his first state title by defeating Woodford County’s Max Andreoni 2-1.
Fern Creek’s Bindner won what may have been the most-anticipated match of the night, beating Lafayette’s Angel Vasquez 9-7 in overtime to take a deep class at 138.
Vasquez was the defending state champion and ranked No. 1, but Bindner used what he called a “short drag” to record the decisive points in overtime.
“I just held on to that triceps and just sucker-dragged out of it,” Bindner said.
Bindner was hardly the crowd favorite, getting booed as he accepted his place on the medal stand. Fern Creek coach Mark Hitchings said Bindner has turned fans against him throughout his career because of his emotional demeanor on the mat.
“I’ll be honest: I have an ego,” Bindner said. “I like to think of myself as Muhammad Ali. I’m very disliked. I sometimes have a bad attitude after I win. I just tried to remain calm out there and not let the crowd get to me because at the end of the day I won.”
Oldham County’s Max Emerson, Brady’s twin, beat St. Xavier’s Elijah Allgeier 6-4 for the title at 182. Emerson finished the season with a 33-0 record.
Chandler became the first state champion at Male, which started its program in 2011. Chandler defeated Paducah Tilghman’s Chance Orr 5-3.
“It feels so special,” said Chandler, who also was a member of Male’s Class 6-A championship football team. “All the coaching I’ve had has been excellent.”
Three others from the Louisville area finished as state runners-up. St. Xavier’s Konner Kraeszig fell 7-4 to Campbell County’s Tanner Yenter in the 113 final. Fern Creek’s Connor Cambron was pinned by Union County’s Bryce Sheffer in the 126 final. North Oldham’s Landin Jones was pinned by Lafayette’s Landon Young in the final match of the night, the 285-pound final. Young is a University of Kentucky football signee.
Jason Frakes can be reached at (502) 582-4046 and jfrakes@courier-journal.com.