By Dru Kastler (@KastlerDA)

Every year when the dust settles from the district tournaments, there are plenty of surprises. This year was no different in that three #6 ranked, one #4 ranked and one #3 ranked wrestler did not make the trip to state. Reasons include injuries, failed skin checks and just extremely tough brackets. On the flip side there were several wrestlers who defied expectations and paved their way to state. Out of this year’s state qualifiers, there are three wrestlers with an even .500 record and four with losing records. Only one of those wrestlers did not have a win over a wrestler with a winning record en route to placing in the top four, but that one wrestler defeated a returning state qualifier. There are nine unbeaten wrestlers left in class C. Congrats to all individual qualifiers.

There were also some surprises on the team front as well. Aquinas had a fantastic district tournament, finishing runner-up in front of their home crowd and qualified as the sixth seed for the state duals. Ord finished 4th at the C4 district without a returning qualifier (who suffered a late season injury) and still managed to qualify seven wrestlers. They were able to grab the final spot in the state dual tournament. There were other teams with injured wrestlers who also may have been able to cross over into the state duals had they been able to compete at districts. The overall depth of teams certainly proved to be pivotal as those without full lineups or multiple weights open were mostly out of contention despite having some tough individuals. Some of those teams that are not at the state duals can still certainly place in the top five or ten at the state tournament. Congrats to all teams that qualified for state duals and to those who exceeded expectations at districts.

C1 District at Aquinas Catholic (bold teams are state duals qualifiers)

Team Scores
1. Battle Creek (10 SQ) 224.5
2. Aquinas Catholic (7 SQ) 165.5
3. O`Neill (5 SQ) 127.0
4. Wilber-Clatonia (3 SQ) 102.0
5. Fort Calhoun (5 SQ) 101.5
6. Bishop Neumann (5 SQ) 88.0
7. Logan View (3 SQ) 85.5
8. SCNU District #5 (4 SQ) 82.0
9. Central City (4 SQ) 79.0
10. Crofton/Bloomfield (4 SQ) 74.0
11. Johnson Co Central (3 SQ) 70.0
12. Shelton/Kenesaw (2 SQ) 67.0
13. Twin River (1 SQ) 23.0
14. Stanton 22.5
15. Ponca 19.0
16. Lincoln Lutheran 11.0

District Coach of the Year: Cody Wintz of Battle Creek

106
1. Caydon McCracken of Battle Creek
2. Koby Brandenburg of Central City
3. Tyler Curtis of Fort Calhoun
4. Caleb Egglston of Johnson County Central

113
1. Sam Saldivar of Johnson County Central
2. Hailey Schiermeyer of Logan View
3. Elias Lorenzo of O`Neill
4. Collin Burton of Battle Creek
120
1. Owen Lade of Battle Creek
2. Jack Theisen of Fort Calhoun
3. Luis Hernandez of Logan View
4. Jackson Tejeda of Central City

126
1. Damien Kersten of Battle Creek
2. Connor Emswiler of Aquinas Catholic
3. Riley Wehrer of Wilber-Clatonia
4. Chase Devries of SCNU #5

132
1. Jeff Heinz of Fort Calhoun
2. Max Hohn of Bishop Neumann
3. Ty Heimes of Battle Creek
4. Tanner Ives of SCNU #5

138
1. Anthony Eickmeier of Aquinas Catholic
2. Preston Bussey of Battle Creek
3. Luke Haberman of Bishop Neumann
4. Luke Peterson of Central City

145
1. Caden Moore of O`Neill
2. Blake Heller of Battle Creek
3. Ian Ingwersen of Bishop Neumann
4. Joe Twomey of Fort Calhoun

152
1. Gavyn Buschkoetter of SCNU #5
2. Cooper Bates of Wilber-Clatonia
3. Cauy Shaw of O`Neill
4. Quinten Moles of Crofton/Bloomfield

160
1. Kyle Petree of Aquinas Catholic
2. Stephen Duffy of Shelton/Kenesaw
3. Jaden Janssen of Crofton/Bloomfield
4. Jake Hubschman of Fort Calhoun

170
1. Michael Coufal of Aquinas Catholic
2. Daniel Duffy of Shelton/Kenesaw
3. Sergey Parry of Twin River
4. Tristan Cloyed of Bishop Neumann

182
1. Joseph Reimers of Aquinas Catholic
2. Brett Hull of Logan View
3. Ethan Poppe of Crofton/Bloomfield
4. Luke Fairbanks of Bishop Neumann

195
1. Bailey Thompson of O`Neill
2. Noah Carlson of Central City
3. Austin Marx of Battle Creek
4. Kaleb Johnson of Crofton/Bloomfield

220
1. Jason Hahlbeck of O`Neill
2. Jan-louw de Jager of Battle Creek
3. Jackson Witter of Aquinas Catholic
4. Josh Bailey of Johnson County Central

285
1. Riley Homolka of Wilber-Clatonia
2. Hunter Rempe of South Central Nebraska Unified District #5
3. Thai Thompson of Battle Creek
4. Grant Romshek of Aquinas Catholic

C2 District at Cross County High School (bold teams are state duals qualifiers)

Team Scores
1. David City (8 SQ) 175.0
2. Cross Co/Osc (6 SQ) 134.0
3. Ray. Central (6 SQ) 129.0
4. Gibbon (7 SQ) 128.0
5. Centennial (6 SQ) 120.0
6. Wood River (6 SQ) 114.0
7. Wakefield (3 SQ) 77.0
8. Doniph-Trumb (3 SQ) 74.0
9. Arlington (3 SQ) 68.0
10. Fill. Cent. (3 SQ) 66.5
11. Yutan (2 SQ) 57.0
12. Lin. Christian (1 SQ)38.0
13. Grand Isl. CC (1 SQ) 28.0
14. Shelby-Rising City (1 SQ) 24.0
15. Red Cloud/Blue Hill 12.0
16. Hastings St. Cecilia 4.0

District Coach of the Year: not determined yet

106
1. Nick Springer of Raymond Central
2. Landon Zeckser of Doniphan-Trumbull
3. Wyatt Schoepf of Centennial
4. Koltyn Forbes of Wood River

113
1. Seth Styskal of David City
2. Ryan Bond of Wood River
3. Tyric Beattie of Gibbon
4. Gaven Schernikau of Centennial

120
1. Evan Waddington of Wood River
2. Noah Styskal of David City
3. Daniel Escandon of Gibbon
4. Cristian Carranza of Cross County/Osceola

126
1. Wyatt Allan of Wood River
2. Justin White of David City
3. Easton Albrecht of Raymond Central
4. Chase Smith of Gibbon

132
1. Monte Mumm of Raymond Central
2. Alex Dubas of Cross County/Osceola
3. Lee Betzen of David City
4. Chace Bond of Wood River

138
1. Melvin Hernandez of David City
2. Ethan Mumm of Raymond Central
3. Ty Burkle of Yutan
4. Gavin Avery of Centennial

145
1. Grant Albrecht of Raymond Central
2. Kain Songster of Centennial
3. Christian Lovan of Fillmore Central
4. Isaac Verzani of Wakefield

152
1. Marc Zeckser of Doniphan-Trumbull
2. Levi Kult of Yutan
3. Garrett Walla of Raymond Central
4. Tanner Lamoree of Cross County/Osceola

160
1. Trae Meysenburg of Cross County/Osceola
2. Calvin Caneva of Lincoln Christian
3. Clayton Koch of Arlington
4. Drew Schultz of Shelby-Rising City

170
1. Jake Prochaska of Centennial
2. Javier Murillo of Gibbon
3. Gatlin Motis of Fillmore Central
4. Remington Gay of Arlington

182
1. Cody Thomas of Wakefield
2. Brad Baasch of Doniphan-Trumbull
3. Riley Smith of Arlington
4. Douglas Alvarado of David City

195
1. Ryan Worm of David City
2. Wyatt Kee of Gibbon
3. Caleb Cast of Centennial
4. Diego Guerrero of Wood River

220
1. Garrett Davidson of Cross County/Osceola
2. Moises Barboza of Wakefield
3. Matthew Eilers of David City
4. Collin Smyth of Gibbon

285
1. Hunter Miller of Cross County/Osceola
2. Riley Moses of Fillmore Central
3. Jose Murillo of Gibbon
4. Dalton Spies of Grand Island Central Catholic

C3 at St. Paul High School (bold teams are state duals qualifiers)

Team Scores
1. Syracuse (8 SQ) 176.0
2. North Bend (6 SQ) 140.0
3. Norfolk Cath. (4 SQ) 104.0
3. Sutton (4 SQ) 104.0
5. Tekamah-Herm (6 SQ) 103.0
6. Louisville (4 SQ) 93.0
7. Malcolm (4 SQ) 84.0
8. Conestoga (3 SQ) 73.0
9. St. Paul (4 SQ) 72.0
10. Wisner-Pilger (2 SQ)67.0
11. Madison (3 SQ) 61.0
12. Pierce (2 SQ) 59.0
13. Centura (2 SQ) 53.5
14. HTRS (1 SQ) 43.0
15. Milford (2 SQ) 33.5
16. Palmyra (1 SQ) 14.0

District Coach of the Year: not determined yet

106
1. Ryan Zoucha of Malcolm
2. Ethan Zegers of Milford
3. Mason Witt of North Bend Central
4. Isaiah Parsons of Conestoga

113
1. Lee Carlson of Sutton
2. Brandon Schram of Tekamah-Herman
3. Jacob Paczosa of St. Paul
4. Jeaven Scdoris of Milford

120
1. Anton Carlson of Sutton
2. Lane Bridgmon of Syracuse
3. Wyatt Smydra of Norfolk Catholic
4. Cody Elliott of Tekamah-Herman

126
1. James Price of Centura Public Schools
2. Dawson Hogue of Conestoga
3. Cody Pester of Syracuse
4. Matt Hawkins of Tekamah-Herman

132
1. Max Hughes of Syracuse
2. Cody Yawn of Pierce
3. Jonah Heng of Norfolk Catholic
4. Jacob Ray of North Bend Central

138
1. Jarred Hulinsky of St. Paul
2. Trenton Elliott of Tekamah-Herman
3. Chandler Stone of Sutton
4. Dylan Jones of Louisville

145
1. Keegan Pope of Syracuse
2. Spencer Warner of Louisville
3. Dillon Hupp of Norfolk Catholic
4. Bryan Richard of Conestoga

152
1. Ryan Haskell of Madison
2. Schadrick Westerman of North Bend Central
3. Jeff Burr of Syracuse
4. Adam Stewart of Malcolm

160
1. Zach Borer of North Bend Central
2. Mitchell McWilliams of Syracuse
3. Nick Novak of HTRS
4. Greg Flack of Malcolm

170
1. Cooper VonSeggern of Wisner-Pilger
2. Dalton Mueller of North Bend Central
3. Ben Metzler of Tekamah-Herman
4. Kevin Cruz of Madison

182
1. Brock Ray of North Bend Central
2. Ryder Fuchs of Pierce
3. Cole Fousek of St. Paul
4. Max Hansen of Tekamah-Herman

195
1. Haydn Deinert of Malcolm
2. Tanner Peterson of Sutton
3. Riley Dillon of Palmyra
4. Austin Jensen of Syracuse

220
1. Kaden Henry of Wisner-Pilger
2. Joe Dickey of Louisville
3. Hunter Kocian of St. Paul
4. Austin Simmons of Centura Public Schools

285
1. Caleb Lefferdink of Syracuse
2. Sam Cantu of Norfolk Catholic
3. Noah Shumaker of Louisville
4. Brandon Silva of Madison

C4 at Valentine High School (bold teams are state duals qualifiers)

Team Scores
1. Valentine (12 SQ)             264.0
2. Broken Bow (8 SQ)          153.0
3. Kearney Catholic (6 SQ) 138.0
4. Ord (7 SQ)                           127.5
5. Chase County (5 SQ)          125.0
6. Bridgeport (5 SQ)                109.0
7. Gordon-Rushville (4 SQ) 70.0
8. Mitchell (2 SQ)                    56.0
9. Arcadia/Loup City (1 SQ)  55.0
10. Hershey (2 SQ)                  54.0
11. Ravenna (1 SQ)                  48.0
12. Minden (1 SQ)                   40.0
12. Southern Valley (1 SQ)   40.0
14. Ainsworth                         26.0
14. Kimball                              26.0
16. Loomis/Bertrand (1 SQ) 20.0

District Coach of the Year: Shane Allison of Valentine

106
1. Chase Olson of Valentine
2. Casey Benavides of Bridgeport
3. Colton Rowse of Ord
4. Layne Shiers of Kearney Catholic

113
1. Gage Krolikowski of Valentine
2. Spencer Gaffney of Broken Bow
3. Tyrell Means of Gordon-Rushville
4. Jadden Treffer of Ravenna

120
1. Clayton Glendy of Broken Bow
2. Brody Benson of Valentine
3. Quin Child of Gordon-Rushville
4. Kaden Boyce of Ord

126
1. Jordan Kelber of Valentine
2. Darryn Walters of Mitchell
3. Zach Rogers of Kearney Catholic
4. Patrick Powers of Broken Bow

132
1. Carter Fleshman of Kearney Catholic
2. Julian Ramon of Valentine
3. Blake Henry of Gordon-Rushville
4. Trevor Peterson of Chase County

138
1. Eric Pacheco of Kearney Catholic
2. Noah Eklund of Valentine
3. Logan Belsky of Gordon-Rushville
4. Brandon Wallander of Loomis/Bertrand

145
1. Hudson Pearman of Valentine
2. Ty Connely of Kearney Catholic
3. Caleb Weiss of Chase County
4. Jacob Mackley of Hershey

152
1. Caleb Long of Valentine
2. Jack Keating of Kearney Catholic
3. Joel Myers of Broken Bow
4. Tanner Knight of Ord

160
1. Bryson Fisher of Chase County
2. Kaden Dawe of Ord
3. Andrew Miller of Broken Bow
4. Kieron Wenig of Valentine

170
1. Donald Stephen of Valentine
2. Abe Hernandez of Mitchell
3. Gavin Trompke of Ord
4. Logan Coalson of Bridgeport

182
1. Jerrod Fedorchik of Bridgeport
2. Caine Haarberg of Chase County
3. Brady Dawson of Southern Valley
4. Jacob Lech of Ord

195
1. Ethan Gabriel of Ord
2. Tysen McDowell of Minden
3. Marce Vasquez of Bridgeport
4. Tristan Kociemba of Broken Bow

220
1. Aaron Hinojosa of Chase County
2. Bryan McGahan of Hershey
3. Treyvon Brooks of Broken Bow
4. Steven Shields of Valentine

285
1. Lane Hruby of Arcadia/Loup City
2. Curtis Freeze of Bridgeport
3. Jared Fulton of Valentine
4. Drew Drake of Broken Bow