B4 District at McCook High School

This western district is a meat grinder. Most of the schools battle each other all year, but far west schools like Scottsbluff and Chadron spend more time competing out of state. The rest of class B knows they are in for a scrap when they face someone from the B4 district at the Centurylink. Every team in this district has firepower, and getting some of their depth guys to qualify will help their cause to make a splash in the team race next weekend.

Marquee Weight Classes

126:
Even though this one of the deepest and toughest weights in class B this season, all 4 of these wrestlers could be on the podium in Omaha. Returning state finalist Gutierrez owns a win over Larson, Larson owns 5-3 and 3-0 wins over Vowers and has won two of his three matches with Barry this season.

Projected Qualifiers:
1. #4 Devon’Tae Gutierrez (Scottsbluff) 29­-6
2. #5 Bryce Larson (Gothenburg) 36­-5
3. Nolan Barry (Adams Central) 33-­9
4. Kaden Vowers (Sidney) 37­-8

132:
Expect a rematch of last year’s B4 district 126 finals where Ritzen won 4-3. Ybarra won 3-2 the next weekend in the state finals Ybarra has taken a few losses this season, but has had a tougher schedule, especially with his trip to the Ironman tournament. There are 4 wrestlers who have all beaten each other vying for the other two qualifying spots.

Projected Qualifiers:
1. #2 Joe Ritzen (Chadron)34­-0
2. #3 Mario Ybarra (Scottsbluff) 26­-8
3. KC Higer (Sidney) 34­-11
4. Noah Larson (Gothenburg) 35­-20

Other Contenders:
Tyler Peterson (Holdrege) 22­-16
Trystan Berry (Lexington) 16­-11

138:
Former state finalist Price and returning state medalist Johnson haven’t met this year. Although Price is the favorite on paper, Johnson’s style could give him fits. Price pinned Probasco in 3:32 this year and Probasco beat Brodrick 3-1 in sudden victory. Brodrick has pinned Raines, but Raines is battle tested as has 50 matches compared to Brodrick’s 10 matches.

Projected Qualifiers:
1. #2 Rob Price (Scottsbluff) 25­-7
2. #5 Jorgen Johnson (Alliance) 28­-4
3. Austin Probasco (Lexington) 24­-9
4. Peyton Brodrick (Adams Central) 8­-2

Other Contender:
Brody Raines (Sidney) 35­-15

152:
Returning state champion Robb and returning state medalist Margritz are the clear cut top 2 at this weight. Anderson has many wins over others at this weight and gets the nod for the third spot. Applegarth started the season at 138 and has ended up here as Rey Valdez is back at 145 for Alliance.
Projected Qualifiers:
1. #1 Derek Robb (Sidney) 48­-0
2. #4 Tomas Margritz (Lexington) 43­-3
3. Wyatt Anderson (Gothenburg) 35­-19
4. Lane Applegarth (Alliance) 24­-8

160:
Vallejo probably has the edge here as he is a senior looking for his first state medal, but Garcia has been on a tear as of late. Vallejo has beaten Rogers and Feddersen, while Garcia has beaten Rogers and Harsh. Harsh has done well as a freshman, especially up at 160 where the wild things are. Although Garcia pinned Harsh in their last meeting, Harsh is dangerous and dynamic enough to win a district title. Feddersen, Griffis and Rogers will be in a battle for the final qualifying spot. Although results don’t tell the whole story of matches, Feddersen lost 5-2 to Vallejo last week, and Vallejo pinned Rogers at the 3:45 in late January. Griffis beat Feddersen 7-3 in early December, but lost to Rogers.

Projected Qualifiers:
1. #5 Danny Vallejo (Alliance) 29­-2
2. #3 Pierro Garcia (Lexington) 32­-6
3. Sabastian Harsh (Scottsbluff) 30­-6
4. Dunncan Rogers (McCook) 25­-10

Other Contenders:
Jack Feddersen (Sidney) 29-­11
Cam Griffis (Cozad) 19-8

170:
Projected Qualifiers:
Junior Prestin Melroy has no blemishes on his season record. He has certainly faced stiff competition as he has beaten a returning class A state champion and top ranked wrestlers from class C and D. He hasn’t faced Wilson, which should be a brawl in the finals. Wilson has beaten Brown and Brown has beaten Duncan.

Projected Qualifiers:

1. #1 Prestin Melroy (Holdrege) 36­-0
2. #2 Bryant Wilson (Alliance) 31­-4
3. Corey Brown (Adams Central) 30-­15
4. Josh Duncan (Lexington) 25­-14

182:
Although Harsh didn’t compete in the high school season last year and hasn’t faced Derr or Langan this year, he’s been on a warpath that warrants him the top spot heading into Omaha. We can only hope that the state bracket draws put he and Trevor Nichelson on opposite sides of the bracket. Derr and Langan have split matches this season, with Derr winning the latest meeting. Redecker owns a win over Cattin, but Cattin has been more consistent this season.

Projected Qualifiers:
1. #2 Salem Harsh (Scottsbluff) 43­-0
2. #5 Zeke Derr (Cozad) 33­-8
3. #6 Eric Langan (McCook) 22­-5
4. Lance Cattin (Chadron) 17­-10

Other Contender:
Ty Redecker (Alliance) 12­-17

220:
Taylor beat Titus in the 5th place match at the 2016 state tournament, and also beat him 13-4 and 10-3 this season. Sophomore standout Garrett Nelson is slightly unknown in the sense he hasn’t either state medalist, but look for him to make an impact. Nelson and Titus will likely battle in the semis for a shot at Taylor in the finals and it could go either way. Hudson and Lauder haven’t met this season, but Hudson gets the edge as he has beaten more district opponents.

Projected Qualifiers:
1. #3 Kaleb Taylor (McCook) 22­-5
2. #5 Garrett Nelson (Scottsbluff) 38­-9
3. #4 Bronson Titus (Holdrege) 33­-3
4. Pat Hudson (Gothenburg) 33­-18

Other Contenders:
Lane Lauder Alliance Senior 23­-10