This story originally appeared in the Dec. 29 edition of the weekly LINK Reader. To get these stories first, subscribe here.
Jarrod Peebles has been involved with aspects of the Simon Kenton High School wrestling program since he was 12 years old. He has seen how the program works from the ground up as a wrestler and assistant coach. As head coach, he’s making sure the Pioneers are running smoothly from the top down.
With more than a quarter of a century of Simon Kenton wrestling in his background, Peebles has the Pioneers working hard to uphold the team’s tradition of excellence.
“We’re a blue-collar team,” Peebles said. “And we’ve had great history.”
Simon Kenton won a KHSAA state championship in 1987 with a runner-up finish in 1984 and has had two most outstanding wrestlers at the state meet. The Pioneers have produced 27 individual state champs and 112 state placers.
Peebles wrestled for the Pioneers in the upper weight classes. He was a two-time state qualifier and graduated in 2003. While attending Northern Kentucky University, Peebles started helping the Simon Kenton wrestling program on a part-time basis. He was eventually asked to be an assistant. Peebles was promoted to head coach in 2019.
Peebles is receiving a big helping hand from the Blevins family, and the Woosleys and the Ocasios, for a great family atmosphere at Simon Kenton.
Sophomore Braydan Blevins won last season’s state championship at 106 pounds and finished with a record of 55-10. He is ranked first in Kentucky at 120 pounds this season at Kentuckywrestling.com.
“He’s a very tenacious wrestler,” Peebles said. “The best part about him is his brain. He almost has a 4.0 grade-point average. He’s a second-generation guy. His dad also wrestled.”
Blevins’ father, Dan Blevins, is head coach of the Simon Kenton Middle School wrestling team, Simon Kenton Elite, which sends its best wrestlers to coach Peebles at the varsity level. Dan Blevins wrestled at Holmes.
“It’s been pretty sweet to have my dad coach me,” the younger Blevins said. “I definitely feel like I can be a step ahead in a match.”
Coach Peebles and coach Blevins are not only on the same page, they’ve also been on the same mat. Their prep careers overlapped while Peebles was a Pioneer and Blevins was a Bulldog. They battled in 215-pound and heavyweight matches, once for the conference title.
“He and I were competitors and now we’re on the same side,” said Peebles, who has another assistant, Jon Woosley, whose son also wrestles for the Pioneers. Other helpers include longtime assistant Nathan Gilbert, Rick Daunbaugh and Joey Parrott.
With so many eyes on his wrestlers, Peebles is counting on a lot of people to help the Pioneers get what they want. They were eyeing a spot in the state rankings and got it. Simon Kenton was ranked 19th in Kentucky just days before Christmas. The Pioneers were ranked third in Region 5 behind Ryle and Walton-Verona. The Pioneers finished 15th at last season’s state meet. They placed fourth at the regional meet.
The Pioneers boasted six state-ranked wrestlers in late December. In addition to Blevins, there was junior Jonah McCloskey, ranked No. 4 at 126. McCloskey was last season’s regional runner-up at 120 pounds. He finished sixth at state.
“Another tenacious wrestler who’s wrestled most of his life,” Peebles said. “Jonah was in one of the deepest weight classes in the state last season but he’s at 126 now.”
That puts McCloskey in another tough weight class as a pair of state champions, Union County’s Jayden Raney and Ryle’s Landon Evans, plus Paducah Tilghman’s Jayven Williams, ranked 1-2-3 at the top of 126. Raney won last season’s state title at 120 pounds. Evans won state at 113. Williams was last season’s 126-pound state runner-up. McCloskey has experience against all of them. He beat Williams in middle school.
“I’m ready,” said McCloskey, 43-11 last season. “I feel like I’ve put in the work.”
Other state-ranked Pioneers were No. 20 Haydn Walters at 190 pounds, No. 25 Frank Armstrong at 157 pounds, No. 27 Ian Lawrence at 132 and No. 30 Ben Woosley at 160.
“They’re all working to place at state for the first time,” Peebles said. “I expect Lawrence to stay at 132. Armstrong is working his way down to 150. Woosley has wrestled at 144 in two meets already. Walters hasn’t wrestled yet. He’s recovering from an ACL injury in his knee. I expect him to eventually be at 175. He was one win away from qualifying for state last season.”
The Pioneers have seven wrestlers for girls head coach Scott Smith and assistant Migdoel Ocasio, including Ocasio’s daughter, senior Gabriella Ocasio. She won an unsanctioned girls state crown as a 138-pound sophomore. This is the first season for KHSAA-sanctioned girls wrestling.
“She’s really good,” Peebles said. “In our first four meets, she was most outstanding girls wrestler three times.”