Sunday, February 06, 2000
Simon Kenton wins district wrestling
BY MARK SCHMETZER
Enquirer contributor
TAYLOR MILL — The Simon Kenton wrestling team competed in the District 6 tournament Saturday with a weight on their shoulders far greater than that of the simple black bands that encircled their singlet straps.
The Pioneers learned Friday afternoon that volunteer assistant coach Matthew “Brian” Baker, who wrestled for Simon Kenton last year, had died that day in work-related accident.
“It's been hard,” said senior Chad Daulton, Simon Kenton's 140-pound wrestler. “He was a good friend. He would have wanted us to win, and we wanted to win for him.”
But the Pioneers couldn't overcome the depth of Campbell County, which won the event and qualified the maximum 14 wrestlers for the regional tournament.
“The kids reacted differently,” Simon Kenton coach Paul Kaiser said of Baker's death. “Some of them took it real hard. Some didn't seem too affected by it. I think, if anything, it made them realize that there are more important things than this tournament, in the grand scheme of things.”
Campbell County won its second straight district championship.
“The last two weeks of practice have probably been the best we've had all year,” Campbell County coach Mike Bankemper said. “We just had a good day today.”
The top four wrestlers in each class qualify for the regional tournament, which will be held Saturday at Conner High School. Campbell County had nine wrestlers in the district finals.
Leading the way for the Camels was Scotty Fryman, who followed up his championship at 135 pounds last year by upsetting Simon Kenton's Daulton, the state's top-ranked wrestler at 140 pounds. Daulton beat Fryman in the Northern Kentucky Athletic Conference tournament in December.
“I was more conservative this time,” said Fryman, now 29-5. “Rankings don't mean much on the high school level. I just went out and wrestled my match.”
Scott senior Jason Daviaux lost in the district finals last year, but he said this year's win at 112 pounds was motivated more by his second-place finish in the state tournament.
“That's all that's been on my mind all year,” said Daviaux, who's ranked No.1 in the state with a 37-4 record. “I try not to think about my ranking.”
Simon Kenton had six wrestlers in Saturday's district finals. The Pioneers learned of Baker's death Friday afternoon.
Besides the black bands, several Pioneer wrestlers had Baker's initials printed on their headgear.
“Going into teaching and coaching, you work with so many kids that you know something like this is going to happen, but you figure it's going to be 15 years down the road,” Kaiser said. “This is my first year as a head coach. It's hard to deal with.”
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