LEXINGTON — As Miller Brown accepted his state championship medal Friday evening, he made sure to show off the message on his T-shirt for the cameras — “CHAMPIONS Find A Way — Maxwell Emerson.”

Inspired by the death of his former coach, Brown capped his junior year at Oldham County High School as a state champion, winning the 150-pound weight class in the KHSAA Boys Wrestling State Championships at the Kentucky Horse Park’s Arena.

Emerson won the state championship at 182 pounds as a senior at Oldham County in 2016 and went on to join the program as an assistant coach. On July 5, 2023 — a date noted on Brown’s wrestling shoes — Emerson was murdered while attending a conference in Washington, D.C.

“He played a big part not just in my wrestling life but in my entire life because I had known him for so long,” Brown said. “Every match today and yesterday, I would just close my eyes and look at the mat and be like, ‘Just do this for Max.’ That’s really what helped me get this.”

Brown helped Oldham County finish in fifth place in the team race with 126.5 points, the highest finish of any Louisville-area school. Trinity was sixth with 120.5 points.

Union County returned to the top of the state, producing three individual champions and winning the team title with 220 points. The Braves have a record 15 team titles and won seven straight from 2016-22 before Paducah Tilghman won the title last year. Union County sophomore Jordyn Raney won the title at 132 pounds and won the Orville Williams Most Outstanding Wrestler Award.

Great Crossing and Johnson Central tied for second in the team standings with 147 points, and Paducah Tilghman was fourth with 146.5.

Brown was one of four wrestlers from the Louisville area to take individual titles, joining Trinity seniors Malachia Harris (157) and Lane Kiser (190) and St. Xavier senior Carter Guillaume (285).

Brown had endured his share of heartache in the state tournament, finishing third as an eighth grader and freshman and second as a sophomore.

He finally got over the hump Friday, beating Trinity senior Ayden Lehman 5-4 in the 150-pound final.

“All gas, no brakes in the wrestling room,” Brown said of his motivation. “When it was time to drill and wrestle live, I just had to put everything toward that. Keep my gas tank high so I could win matches like that final when it came down to the last second.”

Brown was one of five Oldham County wrestlers to reach the semifinals but was the only one to make a final.

Colonels head coach Aaron Riordan said the entire team was motivated and inspired following the death of Emerson.

“He came in and had an immediate impact on so many of our kids, definitely Miller,” Riordan said. “I’m sure that provided some motivation for him. Champions find a way, and Miller found a way in that final, for sure.”

Trinity’s pair of state champions avenged losses in last year’s state finals.

Harris survived a tough final at 157 pounds against Highlands senior Rilen Pinkston, winning 5-4. Harris entered the match ranked No. 1 in the state.

“The nerves really got to me,” Harris said. “I went out there and was kind of spooked a little bit. At the end of the day, I got the job done and did what I needed to do to win. It feels great. Seven years of just hard, brutal work. I’m happy I finally made it.”

Kiser took the title at 190 pounds by knocking off Paducah Tilghman senior Uriah Virzi, 9-8. Virzi had won two straight state titles and had defeated Kiser in last year’s final. Kiser had finished third, second and second in his previous three trips to the state tournament.

“Every year when I lost it was like, ‘Go get ‘em next year,’” said Kiser, a Campbell University signee. “I’m looking at my clock and I’m like, ‘I graduate in a few months and I haven’t won one yet.’ My sophomore year I was going to be a three-time champ. Then I was going to be a two-timer. This year I just had to capitalize on every opportunity. …

“I wanted to look back at this fondly. I wanted to come into this place and conquer it and leave as a senior as a state champion. I finally accomplished that goal.”

Guillaume repeated as the state champion at 285, pinning Madison Southern senior Stephen Whitehead in a rematch of last year’s final.

It was the final wrestling match for Guillaume, who has signed to play football at Southeast Missouri State. Guillaume was ranked No. 1 all season and finished with a 38-0 record.

“You definitely feel the pressure, but there’s nothing better than winning the state championship,” Guillaume said. “That was my target.

“Sad to say goodbye, but I think I left the sponge bone dry.”

Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Follow on X @kyhighs.

KHSAA Boys Wrestling State Championships

At Kentucky Horse Park’s Alltech Arena, Lexington

Team scores (top 10 and Louisville-area schools): 1. Union County 220; 2. (tie) Great Crossing, Johnson Central 147; 4. Paducah Tilghman 146.5; 5. Oldham County 126.5; 6. Trinity 120.5; 7. Ryle 118.5; 8. Boyle County 115; 9. Harrison County 107.5; 10. Taylor County 104.5; 13. St. Xavier 74; 14. South Oldham 63; 18. Moore 52; 20. Pleasure Ridge Park 49; 22. Fairdale 43; 23. North Oldham 40; 35. (tie) Bullitt Central 22; 46. Manual 14; 49. (tie) Male 12; 51. (tie) Southern 11; 55. (tie) DeSales 10; 62. (tie) Central 7; 68. Bullitt East 6.5; 69. (tie) Valley 6; 73. Eastern 5.5; 75. (tie) Jeffersontown 4; 78. (tie) Atherton, Doss, Fern Creek, Western 3; 89. Butler 2

106 pounds: 1^st – Jackson Wells (Harrison County) def. Henry Koller (South Oldham) 8-4; 3^rd – Luke Cornwell (Ryle) def. Roman Valera (Trinity), 3:47

113: 1^st – Christian Delos Santos (John Hardin) def. Zac Scott (Johnson Central) 14-5; 3^rd – Kapela Joseph (Frederick Douglass) def. Clayton Badida (Conner), forfeit

120: 1^st – George Dennis (Harrison County) def. Ethan Davis (Grant County) 5-0; 3^rd – Landon Evans (Ryle) def. Utah Heady (Union County), 4-2

126: 1^st – Jayden Raney (Union County) def. Jonah McCloskey (Simon Kenton) 3:19; 3^rd – Anthony Condi (Frederick Douglass) def. Jayven Williams (Paducah Tilghman) 3-1

132: 1^st – Jordyn Raney (Union County) def. Leland Reeves (Taylor County) 1:19; 3^rd – Kaygen Roberts (Boyle County) def. Dakota Ferguson (Johnson Central) 2:18

138: 1^st – Breyden Whorton (LaRue County) def. T.J. Meyer (Walton-Verona) 4-2; 3^rd – Cofy Walls (Caldwell County) def. Hunter Luttrell (Fairdale) 2-1

144: 1^st – Isaac Johns (Woodford County) def. Hunter Jenkins (Union County) 5-4; 3^rd – Micah Thompson (Boyle County) def. Tyler Lattin (Meade County) 8-5

150: 1^st – Miller Brown (Oldham County) def. Ayden Lehman (Trinity) 3-2; 3^rd – Rider Trumble (Ryle) def. Timothy Nichols (Caldwell County) 6-3

157: 1^st – Malachia Harris (Trinity) def. Rilen Pinkston (Highlands) 5-4; 3^rd – Ethan Sentelle (Great Crossing) def. Reese McGill (Oldham County) 8-3

165: 1^st – Aiden Butler (Great Crossing) def. Max Speaker (St. Xavier) 10-2; 3^rd – Dalton Matney (Johnson Central) def. D.J. Wilson (Paducah Tilghman) 2:35

175: 1^st – Lucas Ricketts (Union County) def. Joshua Strayer (Great Crossing) 6-2; 3^rd – Marcus James (Taylor County) def. Logan Dingus (Harrison County) 2:13

190: 1^st – Lane Kiser (Trinity) def. Uriah Virzi (Paducah Tilghman) 9-8; 3^rd – Josh Soeder (Oldham County) def. Logan Castle (Johnson Central) 7-2

215: 1^st – Jack James (Paducah Tilghman) def. Jahvon Frazier (Bryan Station) 4-0; 3^rd – Luke Hyden (Walton-Verona) def. Tucker Roth (Pleasure Ridge Park) 1:46

285: 1^st – Carter Guillaume (St. Xavier) def. Stephen Whitehead (Madison Southern) 4:36; 3^rd – Jimmy Mooney (Paducah Tilghman) def. Colton Lewis (Pleasure Ridge Park) 4:34

Orville Williams Outstanding Wrestler – Jordyn Raney (Union County)

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: KHSAA boys wrestling championships: 4 from Louisville area win titles