By: Kevin Fries

The 11th annual Flatwater Fracas once again proved to be one of the premier wrestling tournaments in Nebraska. This year the Fracas featured 28 teams from Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, and Wyoming. Of the teams involved, 17 of them are ranked in their respective states. Along with the team rankings, the Fracas showcased 118 individual ranked wrestlers with 18 of them being ranked #1.

Eight class B teams this year tested their squads against the Fracas field. The dual tournament gave each team a total of eight duals over the two day competition. The depth from top to bottom of the top class A teams (Gretna, Kearney, Lincoln) along with Manhattan, KS (6A #5) proved to be too much for the class B teams to overcome. However, these teams represented themselves very well. Several wrestlers posted significant wins against quality opponents.

Hastings

The #5 Tigers had the highest finish off all the class B teams, finishing in 8th place. Hastings finished 5-1 in their pool, defeating Bennington, Adams Central, Omaha North, Grand Island JV, and Mead, CO. Their lone loss was to Lincoln East (A #3). During their bracket duals, the Tigers fell to Cheyenne East (4A #3) and Columbus (A #8). Overall the Tigers finished the Fracas with a 5-3 record. The Tigers were led by three undefeated wrestlers: Izaak Hunsley (126 – UR), Conner Laux (138 – #1), and Damen Pape (170 – #2). Blayne Kile (120 – #2) posted a 7-1 record.

Notable Results:

120 – Blayne Kile over Amos Solano (Cheyenne East – 4A #1) Dec 4-2
126 – Izaak Hunsley over Broc Hall (Bennington – B #5) Dec 5-2
126 – Izaak Hunsley over Noah Gallegos (Cheyenne East – 4A #4) TF 17-1
138 – Connor Laux over Adam Kinnaman (Lincoln East – A #4) Dec 4-3
170 – Damen Pape over Grant Lyman (Lincoln East – A #6) Dec 1-0
170 – Damen Pape over Thomas Neal (Cheyenne East – 4A #2) Dec 8-7

Northwest

The Vikings took their #4 ranking into the competition and came out with a 9th place finish. The Vikings paced all class B teams posting 46 pins over the two days. Northwest finished 4-2 in pool duals, defeating Papillion LaVista South, Cheyenne East (4A #3), Beatrice (#9), and Lincoln Southeast. Their losses came at the hands of Kearney (A #2) and Blair (#6). In their bracket, Northwest defeated Bennington and Norfolk (A #10). Grady Griess (195 – #3) continued the dominance in his sophomore campaign finishing 8-0, and pinning all of his opponents. The Vikings also had five grapplers finish 7-1 – Grady Arends (106 – UR), Collin Quandt (113 – #3), Grayson Fries (120 – UR), Dalton Quandt (152 – #2), and Cooper Kiser (220 – #5).

Notable Results:

106 – Grady Arends over Gabe Durden (PLVS – A #3) Fall 2:42
106 – Grady Arends over Tanner York (Beatrice – B #3) Maj 12-3
106 – Grady Arends over David Stice (Cheyenne East – 4A #3) Fall 3:16
106 – Grady Arends over Dalen Richie (Kearney – A #5) Fall 0:48
113 – Collin Quandt over Drew Arnold (Beatrice – B #6) Dec 8-7
113 – Collin Quandt over Gage Ferguson (Kearney – A #3) Dec 7-6
120 – Grayson Fries over Amos Solano (Cheyenne East – 4A #1) TB-1 3-2
160 – Dalton Quandt over Daniel Grube (Cheyenne East – 4A #4) Fall 2:53
182 – Jeb South (#3) over Jason Stevens (Beatrice – B #5) Fall 1:19
195 – Grady Griess over Jacob Fogg (Cheyenne East – 4A #1) Fall 2:52
195 – Grady Griess over Sean Jackson (Kearney – A #2) Fall 3:00
195 – Grady Griess over Dalton Freiberg (Norfolk – A #5) Fall 1:52
220 – Cooper Kiser over Jerad Humble (Beatrice – B #6) Dec 3-2
285 – Marcos Martinez (UR) over Joshua Gross (Cheyenne East – 4A #7) Fall 3:14

Bennington

The Badgers took care of Adams Central, Grand Island JV, Omaha North, and Mead, CO, with their setbacks coming against Hastings (#5) and Lincoln East (A #3) during pool competition. In their bracket, Bennington fell to Northwest (#4) and Lincoln Southwest. Overall the Badgers finished with a 4-4 record. Bennington was led by Devin DeLancey (145 – #4) who posted a 7-1 record.

Notable Results:

145 – Devin DeLancey over Nolan Barry (Adams Central – B #5) Dec 1-0

Blair

The #6 ranked Bears took a strong performance on the second day to finish 13th. They posted wins during their pool against Papillion LaVista South, Lincoln Southeast, Northwest (#4), and Beatrice (#9). Their losses came against two ranked teams – Kearney (A #2) and Cheyenne East (4A #3). The Bears dominated their bracket with strong wins over Adams Central and Grand Island (A #7). Jackson Nielsen (113 – #2), showed his dominance posting an 8-0 record, of which four wins were against ranked opponents. Walker Moore (126 – #1) went 7-1 with his lone loss coming at the hands of star Phillip Moomey (A #1). Dalton Lewis (170 – #3) also finished with a 7-1 record for the Bears.

Notable Results:

113 – Jackson Nielsen over Gage Ferguson (Kearney – A #3) Dec 12-10
113 – Jackson Nielsen over Eliceo Ramirez (Grand Island – A #2) Dec 16-10
113 – Jackson Nielsen over Drew Arnold (Beatrice – B #6) Dec 4-2
113 – Jackson Nielsen over Collin Quandt (Northwest – B #3) Dec 16-10
126 – Walker Moore over Noah Gallegos (Cheyenne East – 4A #4) Fall 0:52

Lexington

The Minutemen brought their #3 ranking into the Fracas and finished 15th. Lexington had some injuries heading into the tournament, which affected the team’s results. They finished the pool duals with a 3-3 record posting wins over West Point Beemer, North Platte, and Smith Center, KS (3A #5). In their bracket, they fell to Grand Island (A #7) and defeated Adams Central. On the weekend, the Minutemen were led by Brady Fago (126 – #3) who finished with a 7-1 record. His lone set-back was to North Platte’s Jayson Scott (A #6).

Adams Central

Finishing 3-3 in their pool, the Patriots found the going tougher in bracket competition falling to Blair (#6) and Lexington (#3). Adams Central’s pool wins were against Omaha North, Grand Island JV, and Mead, CO. Setting the pace for the Patriots was Zach Wioskowski (285 – #2), who finished 8-0 over the two days.

Notable Results:

285 – Zachary Wioskowski over Drake Reinke (Lincoln East – A #6) Dec 5-1

Beatrice

The Orangemen entered Friday’s action as the #9 rated team in class B. Beatrice struggled to put together a complete dual from top to bottom and fell to all of their opponents during pool competition, including four ranked team. However, they did rebound nicely and finished their bracket duals with two wins, including a win over Battle Creek (C #3). The bright spot for the Orangemen was Jerad Humble (220 – #6) who finished the weekend with a 7-1 record.

West Point-Beemer

The Cadets were led by Ray Loftis (135 – #6), who posted a 7-1 finish over the two days of competition. West Point had their share of struggles on the weekend and were unable to capture a team dual win. Along the way, the Cadets did face five ranked teams.

Notable Results:

145 – Ray Loftis over Tristan Towey (Gretna – A #5) Dec 6-3