By Kevin Fries

Even though not all Class B teams were in action during Week 5, there was plenty of intrigue generated by several outcomes. Several of the teams were still not at full strength, but the results will give us plenty to talk about heading to Omaha – not only in the team races, but also in some individual match-ups.

(Recap below represents new rankings as of 1/2/18)

Friday

Ord Holiday Dual Tournament

B#4 Northwest dominated the Ord Holiday Dual Tournament, defeating C#9 Ord 51-30 to take home the team title. On their way to the title, Northwest defeated two of their opponents 84-0 and had 38 pins over the entire tournament. The championship dual was marked by two marquee matches. At 113, #3B Collin Quandt of Northwest defeated #5C Colton Rowse 11-9. In the most anticipated match of the day, #2B Grady Griess of Northwest dominated #1C Ethan Gabriel of Ord, recording a pin in 1:49. Griess continued his dominating season and handed Gabriel his first loss of the season.

Undefeated Wrestlers (4 or more matches):

106 – #3C Hunter Gilmore (Arlington)

113 – #3B Collin Quandt (NW)

120 – Grayson Fries (NW)

126 – Kaden Boyce (Ord)

132 – #6C Josh Miller (Arlington)

138 – #6C Dawson Houge (Conestoga)

145 – Garrett Kluthe (Ord)

152 – #2B Dalton Quandt (NW)

160 – Kobe Wilkins (Arlington)

170 – Blake Westerby (NW)

182 – #6C Jacob Lech (Ord)

195 – #2B Grady Griess (NW)

220 – #5B Cooper Kiser (NW)

285 – Marcos Martinez (NW)

Saturday

Bennington Badger Duals

The Badger Duals were billed as the elite tournament for the Class B teams this week, and the action didn’t disappoint. Hastings entered the day looking to prove they are worthy to be in the Class B team race talk. The Tigers showed they have the ability to compete with anyone and won the tournament with a 46-21 win over Bellevue East in the championship match. Along the way, Hastings dominated Omaha Skutt 49-19. Additionally, Wahoo took down Omaha Skutt in the 3^rd place match. All indications point to a wide-open Class B team race in Omaha.

In addition to the extraordinary team match-ups, the tournament also boasted some great individual matches. The most anticipated match came at 170 between #1B Damen Pape (Hastings) and #2B Billy Higgins (Skutt). Pape had Higgins on his back in the first period and never looked back, posting a major decision 12-3. Another Tiger who had a great day, was 120 #1B Blayne Kile. Kile posted signature wins over #6B Joey Orsi (Skutt) and #3B Shawn Buchanan (Crete) to finish the day 5-0.

Team Results:

1^st Place Match – B#2 Hastings defeated Bellevue East 46-21

3^rd Place Match – B#10 Wahoo defeated B#1 Omaha Skutt 50-22

5^th Place Match – Fairbury defeated Bennington 60-6

7^th Place Match – Crete defeated Ralston 38-36

9^th Place Match – Ashland-Greenwood defeated Wayne 34-27

Undefeated Wrestlers (4 or more matches):

106 – #5B Dylan Miller (Hast)

113 – #1B Caleb Lazure (Skutt); Jacob Francois (Bel East)

120 – #1B Blayne Kile (Hast); Noah Talmadge (Ralston)

126 – #6B Izaak Hunsley (Hast)

132 – #3B Nick Stoltenberg (Skutt)

138 – #1B Conner Laux (Hast); #3B Logan Slater (Fair)

145 – #3B Stone Mendez (Skutt); Carson Johansen (Crete)

152 – Luke Wilke (Hast); Josh Nuckolls (Wahoo)

160 – Berto Vergara (Wayne); Clayton VanHorn (Crete)

170 – #1B Damen Pape (Hast)

182 – #4B Eli Jansen (Skutt)

195 – #1B Sam Kolterman (Wahoo); Kolton Johnson (Crete)

220 – Erik Pike (Ashland-Greenwood); Brandon Swahn (Wahoo)

285 – 220 #3B Jack Sutton (Wahoo); Josh Callejas (Hast)

Creighton Prep Tom Dineen Invitational

Omaha Gross entered as the lone Class B team in the tournament. Gross finished in 15^th place and were led by senior Conner Weis who finished in 4^th place at 160. Unfortunately, the anticipated match-up between #1A Burks from Omaha Burke versus #2B Grice from Omaha Gross at 106 didn’t transpire due to an injury suffered by Grice before the tournament.

Fillmore Central Holiday Tournament

York took home the team title with a final team score of 197.5, 66 points ahead of runner-up Oakland Craig. The Dukes crowned three champions and had four runner-up finishers.

York Top Finishers:

106 – Thomas Ivey – 2^nd

113 – Kaleb Eliker – 1^st

132 – Gabe Hobbs – 3^rd

138 – Harrison Gocke – 2^nd

145 – #1B Scott Fulsos – 1^st

170 – Chase Cotton – 2^nd

220 – Doug Lazlo – 2^nd

285 – #1B Noah Stafursky – 1^st

Newman Grove Holiday Invitational

Boone Central finished in second place in the team race behind Logan View. Boone Central had two champions (160 – Garrett Cornwell; 220 – Joe Merten) and three runner-up finishers (113 – Will Grape; 170 – Trey Schafer; 285 – Dalton Rasmussen).