Finally, the season has arrived. Competition officially starts today, with a number of duals getting underway. Then we head to a loaded weekend of wrestling next weekend. It will be our first time seeing a lot of guys at new weights, plus varsity debuts for many wrestlers. On Saturday, we will see three of the top ten teams leaving the state to open their season. Millard South and Papillion LaVista are heading to Iowa for the Seargent Bluff Invite, while Lincoln East heads to the Gardner Edgerton invite in Kansas. One of the better dual tournaments of the weekend will be in York, because as many as 35 ranked wrestlers will be competing. That tournament is featured in the Class B preview.
NEwrestle Top Ten Teams – Where Can You Find Them?
#1 Millard South 12/7 Seargent Bluff-Luton Invite (IA)
#2 Columbus 12/5 vs Grand Island, 12/7 Bennington Invite
#3 Lincoln East 12/7 Gardner-Edgerton Invite (KS)
#4 Omaha Burke 12/5 @ Central, 12/7 York Dual Tournament
#5 Kearney 12/7 Kearney Invite
#6 Omaha Central 12/5 vs Burke, 12/7 Lincoln Pius Duals
#7 Papillion LaVista 12/5 @ Plattsmouth, 12/7 Seargent Bluff-Lutton Invite (IA)
#8 Grand Island 12/5 @ Columbus, 12/7 Kearney Invite
#9 North Platte 12/7 Cozad Invite
#9 Omaha Westside 12/6 Blair Invite, 12/7 York Dual Tournament
Thursday
#2 Columbus vs #8 Grand Island
106 #3 Caine Stenger vs #5 Ein Obermiller
195 #1 Kasten Grape vs #5 Daylon Keovalone
Both teams have deep lineups, but we will likely only have two ranked matchups. Stenger returns after a state appearance last season. He faces Obermiller, who had a strong off season after being behind Juan Pedro last season. Grape starts his senior year down a weight class where he will try to defend his state title. He takes on Keolavone, who was a state qualifier last season. Columbus and Grand Island each have 7 ranked wrestlers. It should be a tight dual where bonus points could be a big factor.
#4 Omaha Burke @ #6 Omaha Central
106 #2 Julio Reyes vs #4 DJ Bonam
126 #1 Jakason Burks vs #2 Gabe Grice
152 #3 Deson Stapleton vs #2 Deon Davis
285 #8 Nolan Olafson vs #2 Jacob Frezell-McClinton
There will be four ranked matchups, including our first of many matchups between two time state champions Burks and Grice. Deon Davis moves up a weight this year after finishing fourth last season. He will open up with 3rd place finisher Stapleton, who stays at the same weight. 106 should be intriguing as Reyes (transfer from Johnson County Central) takes on super freshman Bonam. Nolan Olafson makes his Varsity debut against 4th place finisher Frezell-McClinton. It will be another tightly contested dual that could come down to the big dogs at 285. Burke has 8 ranked wrestlers, whereas Central has 6.
Saturday
Vern Ekfelt Tournament at Omaha North
- Bellevue East
- Omaha Benson
- Omaha North
- Omaha South
- South Sioux City
- Plattsmouth
- Tri-Center/Neola, IA
120
- #1A Garrett Grice-Bellevue East
- #7A Quentin Donald-Omaha Benson
132
- #5A Daniel Derozier-Bellevue East
138
- #4A Peyton Martinez-South Sioux City
- #5A Caelan Hester-Bellevue East
170
- #8A Aden Curiel-South Sioux City
220
- #3A Mikey Vasquez-Omaha South
285
- #3A Jacob Ngeleka-South Sioux City
- #4A Preston Welch-Bellevue East
The tournament doesn’t pack the same punch as last year when they had Millard South and Papillion LaVista. It will be a great tournament though, to see many old faces and new faces. Bellevue East should be the favorite but as we all know in wrestling, nothing is solved on paper.
Kearney Invite
- #5A Kearney
- #8A Grand Island
- #2B Hastings
- Creighton Prep
- Lincoln Southwest
106
- #5A Ein Obermiller-Grand Island
- #6A Francisco Becerra-Creighton Prep
113
- #2A Juan Pedro-Grand Island
- #4A Archer Heelan-Kearney
- #8A Landon McLaughlin-Lincoln Southwest
120
- #3A Hunter Nagatani-Kearney
- #6B Dalton Hanson-Hastings
126
- #3A Blake Cushing-Grand Island
- #4A Rylie Steele-Kearney
- #8B Landon Weidner-Hastings
132
- #8A Jaxon Morrow-Lincoln Southwest
- #3B Bryce Brown-Hastings
138
- #3A Brayden Smith-Kearney
- #7A Brody Arrants-Grand Island
145
- #6A Gage Ferguson-Kearney
- #7A Tyler Salpas-Grand Island
152
- #4A Gauge McBride-Kearney
- #6A Kolby Lukasiewicz-Grand Island
- #3B Mason Brumbaugh-Hastings
160
- #7A Ethan Carstens-Lincoln Southwest
- #3B Izaak Hunsley-Hastings
170
- #3 Carter Abels-Kearney
182
- #1B Damen Pape-Hastings
- #7B Joey Glogowski-Creighton prep
195
- #2A Tony Pray-Creighton Prep
- #4A Daylon Keolavone-Grand Island
- #4B Evan Morara-Hastings
220
- #7A Dario Rodriguez-Kearney
285
- #7B Josh Callejas-Hastings
The Kearney Invite will have plenty of quality compared to the quantity of teams competing. There are 2 or more ranked wrestlers at nearly every weight, which should make for interesting finals matchups. Many of the wrestlers are returning state medalists looking to make an early statement this season. It should be a good preview of the Fracas in two weeks.
Fremont Invite
- Fremont
- Bellevue West
- Elkhorn
- Millard West
- Lincoln High
- Norfolk
- Omaha Gross
- Omaha Roncalli
- Woodbine (IA)
- Sioux City East (IA)
113
- #7B Jackson Franks-Gross
126
- #7A Wyatt Godfrey-Norfolk
- #8A Wyatt May-Millard West
152
- #6A Josh Licking-Norfolk
- #8A Jackson Okereke-Lincoln High
160
- #4A Ethan Valencia-Millard West
- #6A Brayden Splater-Norfolk
- #8A Tommy Wentz-Fremont
170
- #6A Jack McDonnell-Bellevue West
195
- #6A Laikon Ames-Norfolk
- #7A Evan Johnson-Elkhorn
220
- #6A Ben Hazel-Bellevue West
There will be 10 teams competing, all with a shot of taking home the Fremont Invite title. It should be interesting to see which weights some of the Bellevue West wrestlers start at, coming off of a State Championship in football a little over a week ago. With no ranked heavy weights, it will be a good tournament for some to get their feet wet and make a name for themselves early in the season.
Pius X Duals
- #6A Omaha Central
- Lincoln Pius
- Lincoln Northeast
- #7B Waverly
- #10B Beatrice
- Norris
106
- #4A DJ Bonam-Omaha Central
120
- #2A Emilio Haynes-Omaha Central
- #1B Drew Arnold-Beatrice
126
- #2A Gabe Grice-Omaha Central
- #7B Trae Greve-Waverly
132
- #2B Trevor Reinke-Beatrice
152
- #2A Deon Davis-Omaha Central
160
- #5B Tyler Nelson-Norris
170
- #3A Justin Davis-Omaha Central
- #1B Evan Canoyer-Waverly
220
- #8A Markell Smith-Omaha Central
- #3B Dylan Meyer-Norris
285
- #2A Jacob Frezell-McClinton-Omaha Central
- #1B Trevor Brown-Waverly
There will be a good mix of A and B teams at Pius on Saturday. Central will have already had a dual, and should have some rust knocked off. Haynes and Arnold should be a tremendous match. Haynes was a state runner up last season, while Arnold finished 4th at B120 and had strong summer in Fargo and won Fall Brawl in Kansas City this fall. It should be a high scoring match. Canoyer and Davis will also be another big time battle. Canoyer was the runner up in Class B at 170 pounds while Davis was 4th in the A145 bracket.
Sergeant Bluff-Luton Invite
by Matt Dyer:
Teams:
Akron-Westfield, IA
Ballard, IA
Bishop Heelan Catholic, IA
Estherville Lincoln Central, IA
Kingsley-Pierson, IA
Lawton-Bronson, IA
A#1 Millard South, NE
A#7 Papillion-LaVista, NE
Riverside, Oakland, IA
Sergeant Bluff-Luton, IA
Sioux Center, IA
Spencer, IA
Storm Lake, IA
1A#3 Underwood, IA
1A#8 Woodbury Central, IA
Individual Ranked Wrestlers:
106
| State | Class | Rank | Name | School |
| IA | 1A | 1 | Jader Briggs | Akron-Westfiled |
| IA | 1A | 3 | Jace Rose | Riverside, Oakland |
| NE | A | 8 | Dominic Martinez | Papillion La Vista |
113
| State | Class | Rank | Name | School |
| NE | A | 1 | Caleb Coyle | Millard South |
| IA | 1A | 9 | John Schroder | Riverside, Oakland |
120
| State | Class | Rank | Name | School |
| IA | 1A | 2 | Stevie Barnes | Underwood |
| NE | A | 4 | Joel Adams | Millard South |
| NE | A | 8 | Jordan Bobier | Papillion La Vista |
126
| State | Class | Rank | Name | School |
| IA | 1A | 3 | Beau Klingensmith | Woodbury Central |
| NE | A | 6 | Ian Rudner | Papillion La Vista |
132
| State | Class | Rank | Name | School |
| NE | A | 1 | Conor Knopick | Millard South |
| IA | 2A | 7 | Nate Curry | Sergeant Bluff Luton |
| IA | 1A | 8 | Zane Ziegler | Underwood |
138
| State | Class | Rank | Name | School |
| NE | A | 1 | Tyler Antoniak | Millard South |
| NE | A | 2 | Cody Niemiec | Papillion La Vista |
| IA | 1A | 2 | Logan James | Underwood |
| IA | 2A | 4 | Isaac Bryan | Sergeant Bluff Luton |
| IA | 2A | 6 | Gage Long | Ballard |
| IA | 2A | 9 | Mitchell Jones | Bishop Heelan Catholic |
145
| State | Class | Rank | Name | School |
| NE | A | 1 | Antrell Taylor | Millard South |
| IA | 1A | 1 | Nick Hamilton | Underwood |
| IA | 2A | 2 | Jack Gaukel | Sergeant Bluff Luton |
| NE | A | 8 | Landon Roberts | Papillion La Vista |
152
| State | Class | Rank | Name | School |
| NE | A | 1 | Scott Robertson | Millard South |
| IA | 1A | 1 | Wade Mitchell | Woodbury Central |
| IA | 1A | 2 | Blake Thomsen | Underwood |
160
| State | Class | Rank | Name | School |
| NE | A | 2 | Cole Price | Papillion La Vista |
| IA | 1A | 4 | Nate Monahan | Woodbury Central |
| IA | 3A | 6 | Isaiah Spencer | Spencer |
170
| State | Class | Rank | Name | School |
| IA | 3A | 9 | Kole Wiegert | Storm Lake |
| IA | 2A | 10 | Blake Liebe | Sergeant Bluff Luton |
182
| State | Class | Rank | Name | School |
| NE | A | 3 | Carson Mass | Papillion La Vista |
| IA | 2A | 10 | Colby Wilmesherr | Bishop Heelan Catholic |
195
| State | Class | Rank | Name | School |
| IA | 2A | 4 | Chayce Hooyer | Sioux Center |
220
| State | Class | Rank | Name | School |
| NE | A | 1 | Isaac Trumble | Millard South |
| IA | 1A | 6 | Chris Gardener | Underwood |
285
| State | Class | Rank | Name | School |
| NE | A | 6 | Chris Wortman | Millard South |
A border clash of two great Midwest teams will take place as Underwood, Iowa and Millard South, Nebraska come into this tournament after both having successful 2018-2019 seasons. Both Underwood and Millard South come into the tournament with highly successful wrestlers who have made noise on the national scene. #7 Papillion-LaVista brings a solid group of wrestlers to this event as well.
This tournament also hosts several number one ranked wrestlers in two states along with several nationally ranked wrestlers. Which means we’ll likely see some great matches.
Look for Stevie Barnes-Underwood and Adams-Millard South to be a great match at 120 lbs. Both had freestyle and Greco success this past summer. Barnes is a returning state finalist in Iowa and Adams is a 15U world bronze medalist in Greco. Look for Adams to make his presence known in high school wrestling at this tournament.
138 should be an exciting weight to watch. The top three seeds will have a ton of experience coming into this tournament. Look for Antoniak-Millard South and James-Underwood to meet in the finals, but getting there will be a tough road with one of them to likely face Niemiec-Papillion La Vista.
Fans from Iowa and Nebraska wish Taylor-Millard South was 100% healthy so they would be able to see a possible Taylor and Hamilton-Underwood matchup at 145 lbs. . Don’t sleep on Gaukel-Sergeant Bluff-Luton in this weight class either as he could provide just as good of a match for either Taylor or Hamilton.
We’ll get our first look at Utah State Champ Robertson-Millard South. He’ll step out on the mat against two talented Iowa wrestlers in Mitchell-Woodbury Central and Thomsen-Underwood at 152 lbs.
The team race should come down to Millard South and Underwood as the top two teams, but don’t look past Papillion-La Vista, Sergeant Bluff-Luton and Woodbury Central as potential contenders.
What About the Rest of Class A?
Elkhorn South and Omaha Northwest will be at the Bennington Invite Saturday. Read more about that in our Class B Preview.
Gretna will be at the Dan Hill Invite in Harlan, Iowa Saturday.
Lincoln North Star will be at the Blair Invite Friday.
Lincoln Southeast and Papillion LaVista South will be at the York Dual Tournament Saturday. Read more about that in our Class B Preview.
Millard North and Omaha Bryan will be at Friday Night Fracas in Nebraska City Friday.