C4 @ Hershey

Projected Top 5 Teams:
1. #1 Valentine (8)
T2. #6 Broken Bow (7)
T2. #5 Amherst (7)
T4. #2 Ord (5)
T4. #8 Bridgeport (6)

Other Teams Competing:
Ainsworth
Arcadia/Loup City
Chase County
Gordon-Rushville
Hershey
Hi-Line
Kearney Catholic
Loomis/Bertrand
Mitchell
Perkins County
Ravenna

The C4 district in recent years has been the toughest in Class C. This year appears to be no different, with FIVE of the top ten tournament teams in the field. In past years we’ve seen Valentine and Broken Bow go down to the wire. This year Valentine enters as a pretty significant favorite to capture the district title. Broken Bow has had some injury setbacks this season as they’ve lost three formerly ranked wrestlers for the year due to injury. Despite that they’ve competed well and brought home the first place trophy from the Ord Invite over a solid group of teams there. There really isn’t much of a point difference between Broken Bow and Amherst so they’re basically in a dead heat going into districts. Ord is built for the state tournament, but with five wrestlers predicted to finish in the top three in the district, look for them to finish near the top as well. Bridgeport beat Ord in a dual earlier this season and the two teams should be able to push Amherst and Broken Bow. They just don’t have quite the depth and that’s what should separate Broken Bow and Amherst.

Individually there are 37 ranked wrestlers in the district, the most of any in Class C. 113, 132 and 170 have four ranked wrestlers. 182 has the top three in the state. The only weight with less than two ranked wrestlers is 106. Going to be an exciting few days in Hershey next week.

UPDATE: Not a ton of big changes with just one week of action between the original post and now. Currently C4 has 34 wrestlers ranked. Still the highest in Class C.

Updated Class C Rankings

Please send any suggestions, updates or corrections to dru.kastler@gmail.com, KastlerDA on Twitter, or simply comment on this post. We will update these predictions the week of districts to include the next few weeks of competition. Records were pulled from Trackwrestling and may not be 100% accurate, but for the most part should be current as of 2/10. 

106:
Loomis/Bertrand junior Trevin Edwards should be the top seed at 106. Luther from Kearney Catholic has had a nice freshman season up to this point. He has a common opponent over Miller from Valentine based on his head to head win over Henningsen from Boone Central. Luther has also beaten Russell from Broken Bow head to head. Russell and Miller have wins over Hughson from Mitchell. Hughson and Miller have beaten McGrath. Miller and Russell did not meet when the two teams dualed each other earlier this season.

UPDATE: Russell beat Miller head to head. Greenland of Arcadia/Loup City finished ahead of Russell at the Ord Invite.

1. #4 Trevin Edwards (Loomis/Bertrand) 31-4
2. Sam Luther (Kearney Catholic) 35-6
3. Lane Russell (Broken Bow) 23-14
4. Casey Miller (Valentine) 23-15

Ty Greenland (Arcadia/Loup City) 14-16
Thomas Hughson (Mitchell) 22-17
Chase McGrath (Bridgeport) 27-12

113:
We haven’t seen Benavides in the lineup for Bridgeport since January 11th. They were idle over this past weekend and have tournaments on Thursday and Saturday this week. Assuming he’s healthy and in the lineup, he is the guy to beat. This district will be hotly contested with Dickau from Hi-Line still sporting an unbeaten record as well. Dickau has wins over Musser, Hilmer and Wedemeyer so it’s pretty evident that he’ll end up being the second seed. Musser has beaten Hilmer head to head a few times this year. Hilmer had a comeback win over Wedemeyer at the Ord Invite and that could be a 4/5 district quarterfinal match. Don’t want to overlook the tough freshman Lamb of Valentine. Hughes from Amherst is 11-6 since making drop to 113.

UPDATE: Benavides beat Musser 8-5 on Thursday. On Saturday he injury defaulted out of a match and that counts as a loss so he may be the second seed now assuming he is healthy. That would mean a Musser/Benavides semifinal.

1. #1 Casey Benavides (Bridgeport) 30-1
2. #3 Zach Dickau (Hi-Line) 31-0
3. #5 Gage Musser (Hershey) 34-5
4. #7 Jacob Hilmer (Loomis/Bertrand) 24-9

Clayton Wedemeyer (Ravenna) 24-9
Cayden Lamb (Valentine) 22-16
Ian Hughes (Amherst) 17-17

120:
Looking at 120, there’s a pretty clear top three at the weight. Garey from Broken Bow has beaten Hershey’s Bruns head to head. Cooper from Bridgeport appears to be the likely third seed. He beat Lurz from Valentine just a few weekends ago by fall. Lurz is interesting because the majority of his losses have come to our of state wrestlers or to Class B wrestlers, so not really much of a glimpse into common opponents. We could see Bruns and Cooper this week at their conference meet, however Bruns hasn’t wrestled for Hershey the past few tournaments. At the moment the top four look pretty clear. A few potential challengers at this weight include Brendan Boyce of Ord and Robert Reina from Gordon-Rushville. Boyce along with Lurz have beaten Reina head to head. Brown from Loomis/Bertrand has most of his matches up at 126 as does Boyce.

UPDATE: Both Bruns and Garey have battle injury, but should be set for the district tournament. Cooper from Bridgeport has head to head over Boyce, who won his first tournament down at 120. Looks like Cooper/Bruns semifinal.

1. #6 Trey Garey (Broken Bow) 26-7
2. Matt Bruns (Hershey) 21-4
3. Chance Cooper (Bridgeport) 34-5
4. Ashton Lurz (Valentine) 26-13

Brendan Boyce (Ord) 22-14
Kellan Brown (Loomis/Bertrand) 20-10
Robert Reina (Gordon-Rushville) 12-9

126:
Williams is the clear favorite at 126 after beating Faulkenberry by major decision when the met earlier this season. Faulkenberry got a late start to the year, but has been great since returning with just the one loss to Williams. Amherst’s Isaiah Shields recently crossed the 150 win / 100 pin thresholds and will likely see Faulkenberry in the semifinals in what should be a good match. The fourth spot at 126 is pretty open and two names have emerged as contenders for it; Timmy Smith from Hi-Line and Hadley Markowski of Mitchell. The two could have met at the cancelled Gibbon Invite. It’s likely that this will be the 4/5 quarterfinal match on Friday. It will be pivotal to win that match as the loser would likely have to wrestle either Faulkenberry of Shields to qualify.

Update: Faulkenberry avenged earlier season loss to Williams by beating him for the Southwest Conference title. One of the most anticipated district finals matches of the week for Class C.

1. #1 Chris Williams (Valentine) 37-2
2. #2 Casey Faulkenberry (Broken Bow) 25-1
3. #6 Isaiah Shields (Amherst) 36-7
4. Timmy Smith (Hi-Line) 26-12

Hadley Markowski (Mitchell) 30-11

132:
Frank has been at #1 since he unseated then top ranked Bryce from Raymond Central. He’s dropped a few matches recently which may have been part of the reason so many wrestlers moved away from 138. There might not be a wrestler in Class C right now with more momentum than Colton Rowse of Ord. He’s making a strong argument to be ranked at or near the top after a dominating win over a very good Lade from Battle Creek followed up with a win over Feldner from Kearney Catholic the next day. That was Feldner’s first competition at 132 this season. He was 4th in Omaha at this weight a year ago. With the addition of Feldner to an already tough weight there is a long line of quality wrestlers on the outside looking in and they all have matches that connect the dots. Rowse actually has wins over all four of the contenders as well. Olson beat Kenney in a 9-6 match. Kenney has wins over Stieb, Douglas and Campbell. Stieb and Campbell have beaten Douglas. Stieb has beaten Campbell. Looks like Kenney and Stieb have the flexibility in their teams’ lineup to possibly go up to 138. Probably the toughest weight in the district with four former state medalists.

UPDATE: Bell dropped to 132, making a crowded weight even more difficult.

1. #1 Quentyn Frank (Amherst) 36-3
2. #2 Colton Rowse (Ord) 34-1
3. #3 Chris Feldner (Kearney Catholic) 36-7
4. #7 Tobin Olson (Valentine) 23-14

John Kenney (Loomis-Bertrand) 28-10
Chase Stieb (Arcadia-Loup City) 28-16
Hunter Douglas (Ravenna) 33-13
Schuylar Campbell (Broken Bow) 33-16
Damien Bell (Bridgeport) 29-16

138:
Gage Krolikowski has been relatively unchallenged this season with nearly all of his wins coming by fall. He’s a heavy favorite in a weight that has seen nearly all of the top competition flock to 132, not just in the district but statewide. However, the remaining contenders in the district are still solid opponents. Broken Bow’s Austin Cole made his presence known opening weekend when he upset returning medalist Feldner. He’s been out of the lineup for Broken Bow since dropping a match to Krolikowski in a dual. Cole beat Klingelhoefer from Amherst head to head. Klingelhoefer has a common opponent over returning qualifer Perez and has beaten qualifer Ackley head to head as well. That should be enough to get him the third seed. Conroy from Ainsworth has had a good season as well so look for him to be a factor. Fresseman from Gordon-Rushville has head to head over Pouk from Perkins County.

UPDATE: Still haven’t seen Cole from Broken Bow in the last several weeks. Tough weight that looks about eight deep.

1. #1 Gage Krolikowski (Valentine) 41-0
2. #6 Austin Cole (Broken Bow) 17-6
3. Josh Klingelhoefer (Amherst) 29-15
4. Kadin Perez (Mitchell) 21-6

Ty Conroy (Ainsworth) 24-9
Quenton Ackley (Ravenna) 32-13
Jace Freeseman (Gordon-Rushville) 25-16
Colton Pouk (Perkins County) 30-17

145:
Things have become pretty interesting at 145 in recent weeks. After losing to Valentine’s McGinley by major decisions three straight times dating back to last season, Trevor Widner recently pulled off the 3-2 upset against him. McGinley hasn’t wrestled for Valentine since that match so hopefully he’s healthy. Based on their past history we’ll give the edge to McGinley still but look for an exciting finals match if they both make it that far. After the top two guys things pretty interesting. Returning D medalist Pozehl hasn’t been the lineup much. He was losing 4-0 to Cook from Hershey before defaulting the match at Burwell. He wrestled two duals on Friday, but didn’t compete at his home invite the next day. If he’s healthy you have to feel pretty good about him making another run at a medal. If he’s not, he may not qualify. Daake of Kearney Catholic dropped to 145, but dropped a few close matches in Doniphan on Saturday. Daake has a 7-6 win over Reisbeck from Ravenna. Reisbeck has split with Cook and has a head to head win over Shields. The real wildcard at the weight is Chasek from Mitchell who doesn’t really have any tie-ins outside of losing head to head to McGinley and Widener holds common opponents over him. It really appears as if six wrestlers have a legitimate shot at two of the qualifying spots.

UPDATE: Pozehl did not wrestle this past week. Chasek beat Cook head to head. It’s really anyone’s guess how this thing shakes out.

1. #1 Morgan McGinley (Valentine) 33-3
2. #2 Trevor Widener (Bridgeport) 40-3
3. Jaxson Daake (Kearney Catholic) 35-9
4. Jake Chasek (Mitchell) 21-7

Hunter Cook (Hershey) 28-17
Payton Reisbeck (Ravenna) 31-11
Morgan Shields (Amherst) 19-8
Oren Pozehl (Ainsworth) 7-2

152:
Kluthe has just three losses on the year, two at 160 to the top two guys. His loss at 152 is to returning D finalist Gunning. He outlasted Calleroz from Arcadia-Loup City head to head at the Ord Invite by a score of 12-10. Kluthe didn’t wrestler Menke when the teams dualed each other, but did beat his teammate Widener convincingly. He also has a win over returning qualifier Hollander from Amherst. Not really sure just yet how the seeding will play out as Menke doesn’t have much to tie in with the other wrestlers. He did win the Chadron 152 weight which had Janssen of Valentine in it. He avenged two of his losses by beating B#2 Zink in that tournament as well. Challengers Chasek and Janssen could make a run at the fourth spot as well. With Kearney Catholic moving weights it’s possible that returning qualifier Shiers could come back from injury into the lineup at this weight.

UPDATE: Calleroz/Menke semifinal should be a good one. Interested in where Janssen from Valentine ends up seed wise as he has been wrestling well. Hollander did not wrestle at state duals and Chasek has been out for Mitchell as well so Janssen could realistically get Valentine another qualifier here.

1. #3 Garret Kluthe (Ord) 37-3
2. #8 Tryon Calleroz (Arcadia-Loup City) 26-6
3. Steven Menke (Bridgeport) 18-2
4. Sam Hollander (Amherst) 19-9

Justin Chasek (Mitchell) 15-3
Drake Janssen (Valentine) 33-13
Layne Shiers (Kearney Catholic) 6-2

160:
It’s very possible that we could could see a district final match here that could repeat in the state finals the following week (although there’s some wrestlers in a other districts that will have a say in that). Both Olson and Schutz have been nothing short of impressive this season. Since both were state medalists last year and Schutz is unbeaten it’s possible Schutz would get the top district seed. Olson has beaten Halverson head to head. There’s a BIG question mark on Halverson as he hasn’t wrestled since December. Teammate Vincent just dropped to 160 so we’ll see which one is in the lineup for districts. With most of the weights been pretty deep, 160 doesn’t have a lot of extra depth so Halverson’s absence could be someone else’s gain. Wid from Perkins County looks to be the next guy in at this weight. Wid and Gabriel of Ord didn’t meet at Doniphan-Trumbull as Wid did not compete. Things open up big time here if Halverson isn’t in the field.

UPDATE: Halverson wrestled at WTC tournament on Thursday, but didn’t wrestle on Saturday. Olson and Schutz will likely clash in the finals at districts and possibly state. Wid hasn’t wrestled since 1/25.

1. #1 Chase Olson (Valentine) 39-2
2. #2 Conner Schutz (Hi-Line) 35-0
3. #4 Conner Halverson (Gordon-Rushville) 8-3
4. Jace Wid (Perkins County) 18-3

Ryan Gabriel (Ord) 26-21

170:
Battershaw missed a large chunk of the season, but has been solid since his return. He edged Warren 5-4 in their lone meeting of the year. Warren had a pretty convincing win over Meyer in a dual. Meyer is 2-1 against Drahota, with Drahota winning the most recent match. Drahota beat Gallaway from Amherst by fall way back on opening weekend. If Gallaway could make 160 then he’d have a pretty good shot at the fourth spot there. Starr from Gordon-Rushville recently dropped to 170.

1. #4 Gunnar Battershaw (Valentine) 20-3
2. #5 Josh Warren (Bridgeport) 40-5
3. #7 Kelen Meyer (Ord) 33-5
4. #8 Jesse Drahota (Ravenna) 38-4

Riley Gallaway (Amherst) 31-15
Trendon Starr (Gordon-Rushville) 26-18

182:
After watching Duda firsthand at the Ord Invite, the word impressive doesn’t really do him justice. He’s beaten Peterson and Stokebrand head to head. Stokebrand has three losses on the year; one to Duda, one to D#1 Dawe and one to A#1 Brauer. That should be an exciting semifinal match at the district tournament between him and Peterson. This is another weight where it’s possible we see the district final repeat in the state final. It looks like Abramson should slot into the fourth spot. Peterson won over Abramson head to head by pin. Abramson has a head to head win over returning qualifier Bennett. Warner from Ord looks like the six seed and will likely wrestle Abramson to qualify. Neither wrestled at the Ord Invite last weekend so we didn’t get to see a head to head matchup.

UPDATE: Stokebrand has been fantastic for Amherst lately. Big semifinal match with Peterson.

1. #1 Lathan Duda (Broken Bow) 47-0
2. #2 Cole Stokebrand (Amherst) 39-3
3. #3 Trevor Peterson (Chase County) 36-2
4. Joel Abramson (Loomis/Bertrand) 20-7

Cauy Bennett (Hi-Line) 20-15
Trey Warner (Ord) 22-17

195:
Ord’s Ethan Gabriel has beaten Bogard and Wetzel head to head by fall. Bogard has a head to head wins over Wetzel and returning qualifier Jackman. Wetzel has beaten Jackman. Coley is a returning qualifier as well. He had a few hiccups a few weeks ago, but rebounded with a tournament title this past weekend. Looks like four wrestlers going for the three spots behind Gabriel.

UPDATE: Bennett wrestled up at 195 last week so we’ll see which one he decides on for districts. Haven’t seen Jackman in the lineup for Ainsworth recently.

1. #1 Ethan Gabriel (Ord) 35-1
2. Nicholas Coley (Mitchell) 28-9
3. Drew Bogard (Amherst) 30-11
4. Tyler Wetzel (Ravenna) 32-9

Conner Jackman (Ainsworth) 14-6

220:
Potts from Amherst held the top ranking at 220 for a bit this season and is still certainly in the hunt for a state title. He lost in OT to Gale of Plainview where #1 Beaver won in OT against Gale so obviously the margin is pretty thin at the top of 220. Broken Bow’s Anderson looks like a good bet on the second seed. Potts won a 7-0 decision over Anderson when they met earlier this season. After the top two, things open up a little bit. Brandon Knoles from Perkins County has two wins over Coley from Mitchell. Jayce Anderson is much improved for Valentine this year and has a good shot to qualify here. Ord has two solid 220’s (Flessner and Rice) who have traded off wins against each other throughout the season so we’ll see which one is competing. Flessner is 2-1 against Knoles so that could throw a big wrench into this weight’s seeding. Fisher from Ravenna beat Flessner. Rice has beaten Snyder and split with Heil. Heil has beaten Fisher. A lot of wrestlers floating around that .500 range that are quality guys with a legitimate chance to qualify.

1. #3 Jarin Potts (Amherst) 36-2
2. #8 Keifer Anderson (Broken Bow) 28-14
3. Brandon Knoles (Perkins County) 39-11
4. Nathan Coley (Mitchell) 24-10

Jayce Anderson (Valentine) 16-16
Devin Fisher (Ravenna) 21-19
Bridger Rice 20-17 / Alex Flessner 26-9 (Ord)
Riley Snyder (Gordon-Rushville) 10-8
Liam Heil (Arcadia/Loup City) 17-11

285:
Top ranked Jerabek has two wins by fall over Hoevet in back to back weeks. Hoevet has beaten both Rodgers of Bridgeport and Thomas from Broken Bow. Rodgers and Thomas both have wins over Fullerton from Valentine. It’s noteworthy that Nathan Coley from Mitchell has a win over Thomas on opening weekend, so maybe there’s a chance he goes back up to 285 where he started the season. It’s also possible that maybe we’ll see returning qualifier Weiss from Mitchell at this weight, although he hasn’t competed this season. Taubenheim from Amherst is a returning qualifier. Snow and Meyer are also having good seasons.

1. #1 Jakob Jerabek (Arcadia-Loup City) 37-1
2. #2 CJ Hoevet (Ord) 37-3
3. Colt Rodgers (Bridgeport) 34-7
4. Tyler Thomas (Broken Bow) 33-15

Steven Fullerton (Valentine) 21-14
Ashton Meyer (Perkins County) 28-17
Jaxon Taubenheim (Amherst) 21-15
Syrus Snow (Hi-Line) 21-15