There wasn’t much surprise when the final wildcard standings came out for these qualifiers. Every team but Papio South has been ranked in the top 10 all season. Papio South attended four dual tournaments this season including the York Duals, the Flatwater Fracas, the Metro Duals, and the Monarch Duals. Kearney is undefeated heading into Saturday’s competition, while Columbus is seeded 7th despite beating 2nd seed Millard South at home. Lincoln Pius X was the next closest team to qualifying for this tournament.

In past years, there are typically top wrestlers from various teams who are not in the lineup for State Duals. However, due to the change in the date of the tournament, teams should hopefully be at full strength. Keep in mind, that lineup shifts may occur to strengthen lineups and add points that could shift the dual in another team’s favor, but that is not accounted for unless mentioned.

Teams Competing (Dual Record) Power Points
1. Kearney (15-0), 47.8000
2. Millard South (20-2), 46.0000
3. Omaha Burke (26-3), 45.6552
4. Grand Island (10-1), 45.4545
5. Lincoln East (11-3), 45.2857
6. Papillion- La Vista (22-3), 44.7200
7. Columbus (25-5), 44.1667

8. Papio South (18-9), 43.2222

106- #2 Archer Heelan

113- #5 Hunter Nagatani

120- #5 Rylie Steele

126- Gage Ferguson

132- #1 Phillip Moomey

138- #3 Gauge McBride

145- #1 Nick James

152- #6 Colton Kowalek

160- #5 Carter Abels

170- #4 Gus Franzen

182- Josh Pierson

195- Bronson Amend

220- Dario Rodriguez

285- Peter Kreutzer

106- #5 Caleb Coyle

113- Blake Jackson (previously ranked #3 before injury)

120- Jeremy McKee

126- #1 Conor Knopick

132- #3 Antrell Taylor

138- #2 Tyler Antoniak

145- Blake Smith

152- Alex Vacha

160- Isaiah Jackson

170- Krew Tran

182- #1 Isaac Trumble

195- #2 Josh Trumble

220- #3 Gavin Peitzmeier

285- Chris Wortman

106- #6 Nate Rubino

113- Colin Koeneman

120- #1 Jakason Burks

126- Jayden Looney

132- #6 Trey Nielsen

138- Blaine Miller

145- #5 Trey Nielsen

152- #3 Deson Stapleton

160- #1 James Burks

170- Jaxon Kelley

182- Austin Dougherty

195- #1 Dillyn Miller

220- Dylan Sales

285- #5 Deangelo Stapleton

106- #4 Juan Pedro Jr

113- #3 Blake Cushing

120- Kael Kingery

126- Brody Arrants

132- Kolby Lucasiewicz

138- Tyler Salpas

145- Iziah Deras

152- Jacob Sheldon

160- Aidan Williams (previously ranked #4 before injury)

170- Alexziah Deras

182- #5 Oscar Richter

195- #6 Daylone Keolavone

220- Elmer Garay

285- #4 Ethan McPhilips

106- #3 Brandon Baustert

113- Nic Swift

120- #2 Nathan Rizek

126- Shaemon Erb

132- #5 Breckin Sperling

138- #1 Maxx Mayfield

145- Caidell Davis

152- #1 Chance Fry

160- Edward Lankas

170- #3 Grant Lyman

182- AJ Muthersbaugh (previously ranked #3 before injury)

195- Noah Sprieck

220- Chris Karmazin/Blake Pieper

285- Gege Creighton

This is Papio South’s first year qualifying for the state duals and has 3 ranked wrestlers with 3 losses or less including Caleb Connor (6th at 145), Alex Irizarry (2nd at 152) and Trajen Linear (3rd at 182). Irizarry and Linear are favored in their matches, while Connor will face returning state champion and top ranked Nick James. Kearney has a wrestler ranked in 9 of the first 10 weight classes, and should have a considerable lead heading into 182 where Linear (33-0 record) should get a bonus point win for the Titans. None of the wrestlers on either team at 192, 220 and 285 are ranked, so even if the Titans win these 3 matches, Kearney will be too much for them from 106-170.

While these teams haven’t faced each other in a dual this season, plenty of head to head matches have occurred at the Council Bluffs Classic, Kearney High Invite and the Heartland Athletic Conference Tournament. This dual should come down to the wire, with 113, 182 and 195 being the most intriguing. At 113, Blake Cushing has had an excellent season, and he and Swift have not met this season. Swift has the knack to wrestle well in tight team races, and would really give the Spartans a boost with a win over #3 Cushing. At 182, Oscar Richter has had a solid season and has been ranked most (if not the entire) season. Muthersbaugh saw his first action of the season this week in duals. At 195, Noah Sprieck (East) and Daylone Keolavone (GI) have both beat each other 3-2. Keolavone won their latest matchup and looks to have the edge over Sprieck.

The Bulldogs won 52-20 when these two faced each other on January 3rd, with the Monarchs forfeiting 3 weight classes (160, 195 and 285). The Bulldogs have 3 ranked wrestlers at those weights including returning state champions James Burks (160) and Dillyn Miller (195) who would’ve surely earned falls anyway. The Monarchs controlled the matches from 126 to 145 in the dual, and look for that to happen again. Price does have a 5-4 win over Stapleton this season at 152, but Stapleton has pinned Price twice this season. 113 and 182 are matches where Monarchs should win, which means they could win as many as 7 matches against the Bulldogs. It’s not a far reach to expect the Bulldogs to earn falls in 6 of the 7 matches they are heavily favored in. The Monarchs will make things interesting, but the Bulldogs will prevail.

The Discoverers beat the Patriots 30-27 in their home gym in an exciting dual on January 3rd. There will be a few lineup changes for each team, and also some matches where both teams can do some damage control. Caine Stenger will man the 106 spot for Columbus, and could help his team if he’s able to avoid giving up a major decision to #5 Caleb Coyle, who won 21-12 over Blake Cerny previously. Blake Jackson is back in the lineup at 113 to face Clay Cerny. On January 3rd, Cerny won 6-3 over Jeremy McKee who is now at 120 for the Patriots. Cerny is solid, but Jackson should win the match at 113, and look for McKee to give Kobza a run for his money at 120. Kobza won 11-4 over Garrett Carbullido in that January dual at 120, and McKee recently beat Carbullido in a wrestle off. Levi Bloomquist should take the mat for Columbus at 126, and his team will need him to avoid giving up the pin as he will battle #1 Conor Knopick. At 132, Kucera and Taylor should have another tight battle. Kucera won 8-5 in their January meeting in his home gym. Both teams will likely send out a different wrestler for 145 this time around. Previously, Iburg (Columbus) won by fall over Shane Quandt (Millard South), but this time we should see Camdyn Iwan (Columbus) battle Blake Smith (Millard South). We should see Isaiah Jackson take the mat at 160 for Millard South to face #3 McMeekin for Columbus. Jackson’s teammate Rakes gave up a pin in January, so limiting that to a major decision would be huge. A likely battle of #1 Trumble and #2 Zwingman should take place at 182. Can Trumble earn another major decision over Zwingman? At 195, Josh Trumble was on a mission to earn a major decision over then #2 DeAnda in January, but came up 2 points short winning 11-5. In January’s dual, Millard South sent out Chris Wortman to battle Kasten Grape at 220, but Wortman is now at 285. We should get to see a battle between #1 Grape and #3 Peitzmeier at 220. Although Grape has been a pinning machine this season, he will be hard pressed to duplicate that result against returning state finalist Peitzmeier. At 285, Wortman will face Eddie Loredo, who was pinned by Peitzmeier in January’s dual. Wortman and Loredo have similar body types and are pretty athletic, so this match won’t look like your run-of-the-mill heavyweight match.

Trying to predict the outcome of this dual is like trying to predict the winner of the World Chess Championships. Kearney won 34-29 in their dual on January 3rd by inserting Brayden Smith at 132 and bumping Phillip Moomey up to 138, Gauge McBride up to 145, and Nick James up to 152. 152 was the only “bumped up” match that Kearney only lost in that stretch. Kearney switched Josh Pierson and Gus Franzen around at 170/182, with Franzen earning a major decision at 182. With a healthy Muthersbaugh back in the lineup at 182 for the Spartans, that might be enough for them to win the dual should Kearney use the same “bump up” strategy. 106 should be hotly contested, as Baustert has consistently closed the gap in their 3 meetings this season. Heelan won 8-2, then 5-1, and most recently 3-1 in sudden victory.

The Patriots upended the Bulldogs 42-25 at the Fracas in December, and also 37-28 at the Metro Duals in mid-January. If both teams keep their lineups as expected, nearly all of the matchups have already occurred this season. In their mid-December dual at the Fracas, Rubino (106) had a 2-1 match with Coyle in mid-December, and Wortman (285) won 5-2 over Stapleton. As most coaches prefer, both teams will rely on their hammers getting bonus points.

These teams have not faced each other in a dual this season, but some individual matchups did occur at the Council Bluffs Classic the first week in December. It should be a back and forth dual, as neither team’s highly ranked wrestlers are in grave danger of losing. Look for the Trumble brothers at 182 and 195 along with Peitzmeier (220) to surge at the end of the dual.