by Kevin Fries (@kwfry)

Week 10 marks what most consider the final week of the “regular” season on the Nebraska High School wrestling calendar. For many schools, this week is their conference tournament and for the wrestlers one last chance to dial it in before heading to districts.

This week features three top level conference tournaments in Class B. These three tournaments alone feature 10 ranked teams and 80 ranked wrestlers, including 17 who are ranked #1 in their respective class and weight.

Where Can You Find Them?

NEwestle Team Rankings
1. Hastings (GNAC)
2. NW (Central Conference)
3. Blair (EMC)
4. Scottsbluff (GNAC)
5. Sidney (Southeast Duals Tourney, WY)
6. Skutt (River Cities Conference)
7. Lexington (GNAC)
8. Holdrege (Central Conference)
9. Wahoo (Idle)
10. Alliance (Southeast Duals Tourney, WY)

GNAC
The Class B marquee tournament of the weekend happens in Lexington at the Greater Nebraska Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament. For many, this conference has been a staple over the years that has produced countless state champions and memories. Due to several realignments, this conference will
look much different next year. Kearney and Norfolk are headed to the Class A-rich Heartland Athletic Conference, and Lexington is moving to the Central Conference. Gering will be joining the GNAC next year.

The team race should be as competitive as ever this year, as A#3 Kearney looks to repeat as GNAC champs. B#1 Hastings should make a strong push as all their young talent has had another year on the mat. This year’s tournament features 35 rated wrestlers, of which nine are ranked #1. Keep an eye on 138, 170, and 285 as all these weights have four ranked wrestlers.

Teams:
A#10 Columbus
B#1 Hastings
A#3 Kearney
B#7 Lexington
McCook
A#9 Norfolk
North Platte
B#4 Scottsbluff

Ranked Wrestlers:
106
#1B Paul Garcia (Scottsbluff)
#5B Dylan Miller (Hastings)
#6A Dallyn Ritchie (Kearney)
113
#2B Bryce Brown (Hastings)
#4A Brayden Smith (Kearney)
#5A Darian Diaz (North Platte)
120
#1B Blayne Kile (Hastings)
#6A Jordan Barber (North Platte)
126
#1A Phillip Moomey (Kearney)
#5A Carter Kucera (Columbus)
#5B Izaak Hunsley (Hastings)
132
#2B Mario Ybarra (Scottsbluff)
#6A Gauge McBride (Kearney)
#6B Mason Brumbaugh (Hastings)
138
#1A Nick James (Kearney)
#1B Devon’Tae Gutierrez (Scottsbluff)
#2B Connor Laux (Hastings)
#6B Trystan Berry (Lexington)
145 #4A Teontae Wilson (Kearney)
152
#3B Tomas Margritz (Lexington)
#5A Jud Kuchera (Kearney)
160 #2B Pierro Garcia (Lexington)
170
#1B Damen Pape (Hastings)
#3A Braiden Ruffin (North Platte)
#5A Carson Zwingman (Columbus)
#5B Riley Kopf (Lexington)
182
#3A Kasten Grape (Columbus)
#6A Steven Berumen (Kearney)
195
#2A Sean Jackson (Kearney)
#5A Anthony DeAnda (Columbus)
#6A Dalton Freiberg (Norfolk)
220
#1A MJ Montgomery (Norfolk)
#1B Kaleb Taylor (McCook)
285
#1A Lee Herrington (Kearney)
#2B Jade Wurth (Lexington)
#3A Conner Cowling (Norfolk);
#4B Garrett Nelson (Scottsbluff)

EMC
The Eastern Midlands Conference (EMC) tournament continues to provide a great conference tournament. This year’s host, B#3 Blair is looking to push defending champs A#1 Gretna for the team title. 26 ranked wrestlers, of which 6 are ranked #1, will make this tournament one of the most competitive in recent history. Some intriguing match-ups could happen at 126, 160 and 182.

Teams:
Bennington
B#3 Blair
Elkhorn
A#1 Gretna
Nebraska City
Norris
Plattsmouth
Waverly

Ranked Wrestlers:
113 – #1B Jackson Nielsen (Blair); #6B Anthony Long (Plattsmouth)
120 – #4B Chase Larsen (Plattsmouth); #6B Hank Frost (Blair)
126 – #1B Walker Moore (Blair); #2A Van Schmidt (Gretna)
132 – #2A Trevor Fauver (Gretna); #3B Zach Orton (Blair)
138 – #2A Tyler Cunningham (Gretna); #4B Devin DeLancey (Bennington)
145 – #4B Evan Canoyer (Waverly)
152 – #2A Cole Huss (Gretna); #4B Kaleb Canoyer (Waverly); #5B Matt Harvey (Norris)
160 – #1A Cody Everhart (Gretna); #1B Rhett Trail (NE City); #3B Logan MacDonald (Bennington)
#5B Jayden Wooten (Plattsmouth)
170 – #3B Dalton Lewis (Blair); #4A Kobe Everson (Gretna)
182 – #1A Lance Jarrett (Gretna); #1B Gavin Eason (Norris); #6B Alex Byington (Elkhorn)
195 – #3A Caloway Soucek (Gretna); #3B Devin Pfeifer (Plattsmouth)
220 – #2A Conner Fee (Gretna)

Central Conference
Featuring 19 ranked wrestlers, two of which are ranked #1, the Central Conference Tournament will once again be a solid tournament from top to bottom. B#2 Northwest is looking to break a 34-year drought of a team championship but will have to knock of defending champ, Schuyler, as well as one of the hottest teams in Class B, York.

Teams:
Adams Central
Aurora
Columbus Lakeview
Crete
B#8 Holdrege
B#2 Northwest
Schuyler
Seward
York

Ranked Wrestlers:
106 – #6B Tristen Obermiller (Adams Central)
113 – #5B Collin Quandt (NW)
120 – #3B Shawn Buchanan (Crete); #5B Grayson Fries (NW)
126 – #2B Trevor Kluck (Aurora)
145 – #1B Scott Fulsos (York); #6B Zachary Hulbert (Holdrege)
152 – #2B Dalton Quandt (NW); #6B Zeth Gerkensmeyer (Col Lakeview)
182 – #2B Prestin Melroy (Holdrege); #4B Jeb South (NW)
195 – #2B Grady Griess (NW)
220 – #2B Bronson Titus (Holdrege); #4B Jesus Maganda (Schuyler); #5B Cooper Kiser (NW)
285 – #1B Noah Stafursky (York); #3B Hunter Brenn (Holdrege); #5B Zach Wioskowski (Adams Central)
#6B Marcos Martinez (NW)