The Teams:

#1 Plainview Pirates (7-1)
106 #1 Eli Lanham / #3 Ashton Dane
113 #1 Scout Ashburn
120 Kyler or Jordan Mosel
126 #8 Tanner Frahm
132 Keagan Mosel
138 #2 Nate Christensen
145 Bode Wortman / Ayden Stewart
152 #3 Will Gunning
160 #5 Matt Christensen
170 #2 Alizae Mejia
182 Lucas Hammer
195 #3 Collin Gale
220 Gale or OPEN
285 Julio Tellez

#2 Neligh-Oakdale Warriors (10-2)
106 Carson Whitesel
113 Cody Booth
120 #4 Brock Kester
126 Griffin Clausen
132 Isaias Juarez / Thomas Johnson
138 #5 Austin Rudolf
145 OPEN
152 #4 Aiden Kuester
160 OPEN
170 Connor Dempsey / Caleb Payne
182 #5 Dawson Kaup
195 #2 Kaleb Pofhal
220 #6 Colton Klabenes
285 OPEN

#3 Burwell Longhorns (5-2)
106 OPEN
113 Triston Moses
120 #6 Tate Phillipps
126 Hays Jensen
132 #6 Coleton Dawe
138 Cody Mayfield / Cooper Stout
145 Phillip Martinez
152 Dominic Tolfa
160 Jace Ostrom / Cash Gurney
170 Alex Gideon
182 #1 Corey Dawe / Ethan Joy
195 #8 Tyler Dawe
220 #8 Jacob Busch
285 #6 Hunter Mayfield

#4 Mullen Broncos (11-2)
106 #6 Tristin Grooms / Eli Paxton
113 Paxton / Jeffery Forsen
120 #3 Teven Marshall
126 Kyle Durfee
132 Brady Oltmer
138 OPEN
145 Spencer DeNaeyer
152 Sean Simonson
160 Kendal Neal
170 OPEN
182 Riley Kessler
195 #3 Ty Kvanvig
220 #2 Clayton Hassett / Tel Kvanvig
285 Isaac Welch

#5 Pender Pendragons (6-2)
106 Layne Sturek / Matthew Ferris
113 #7 Braxton Volk
120 Trey Johnson / Cassandra Brown
126 Chase Hofmeister
132 OPEN
138 Alexander Johnson
145 OPEN
152 Zachery Randall
160 Jacob Burns
170 OPEN
182 OPEN
195 OPEN
220 Eric Hathaway
285 Colton Sanderson

#6 Elkhorn Valley Falcons (5-3)
106 #2 Hunter Bennett
106 Nathan Halsey
113 Zack Hartl
120 Tristian Smith
126 #5 Adam Miller
132 Reed Bennett
138 Hunter Klinetobe
145 OPEN
152 OPEN
160 Michael Glynn
170 OPEN
182 OPEN
195 Gavyn Clause
220 Caden Reikofski
285 OPEN

#7 Maxwell Wildcats (7-1)
106 Ethan Norton / Wyatt Heessel
113 Norton/ Heessel
120 #8 Sam Melton / Eaton Messersmith
126 Jacob Gholson / Shane Schneider
132 Jagger Baird
138 Klayton Pagel / Hunter Swanson
145 Robert Frisbee / Jacob Tobey
152 Caden Messersmith / #5 Dalton Whisenhunt
160 #1 Derek Gibson
170 OPEN
182 Ashton Smith
195 #5 Kayden Stubbs
220 #7 Luke Howitt
285 Jason Rumery

#8 Winside Wildcats (6-2)
106 OPEN
113 #3 Cayden Ellis / #4 Jacoby Mann (Possibly Injured)
120 OPEN
126 Matthew Fredrick
132 #5 Art Escalante / Maddox Magwire
138 #4 Gabe Escalante
145 Tyler Carlson
152 Sean Heimdale
160 OPEN
170 Mason Topp
182 OPEN
195 OPEN
220 OPEN
285 OPEN

The Bracket:

The Predictions:

Quarterfinals:

#1 Plainview vs #8 Winside
On paper it looks like #1 Plainview will coast through this dual as Winside will give up 6 possibly 7 forfeits if Jacoby Mann isn’t healthy enough to wrestle. Of the wrestled matches Plainview will be a favorite in 6 matches if they wrestle it straight up. Plainview could bump Lanham to 113 and Ashburn to 120 if Mann is healthy were, they would still be favored in both matches.

Projected Winner: #1 Plainview

#4 Mullen vs #5 Pender
In this dual it appears that Pender will spot #4 Mullen 24 points out of the gate with forfeits. Mullen will be the favorite in at least 5 other matches. It will be interesting to see how Mullen handles there two 106 pounders who are both fairly tough. Look for Paxton to wrestle this dual at 106 and Grooms to wrestle at 113. If that is the case Pender might be a slight favorite in both matches, but expect them to be competitive bouts.

Projected Winner: #4 Mullen

#3 Burwell vs #6 Elkhorn Valley
This dual looks to be all Burwell, as Elkhorn Valley looks like they will spot the Longhorns 30 points with forfeits. Burwell will return 6 of those points by forfeiting at 106 but will be favored in 6 of the wrestled matches if the teams wrestle it straight up. Burwell may weigh Hays Jensen in at 120 which could give us a possible matchup at 126 between #6 @ 120 Tate Phillipps vs #5 Adam Miller.

Projected Winner: #3 Burwell

#2 Neligh-Oakdale vs #7 Maxwell
This dual might be the highlight of round 1 in Class D. Maxwell has the potential to fill all 14 weights while Neligh-Oakdale can only fill 13 and possibly less. Caleb Payne at 170 and Colton Klabenes at 220 haven’t wrestled a match since January 16th. Also 126 Griffin Claussen hasn’t wrestled a match since before Christmas either so they could have to forfeit at 126 as well. Bonus points will play a huge factor in this if Neligh-Oakdale doesn’t have Payne and Claussen. Neligh looks to be favored in 8 of the wrestled weights. Will they be able to make up the bonus points from potential forfeits? Maxwell is known for the ability to score bonus points in any match at any time so look for this one to go down to the wire.

Projected Winner: #2 Neligh-Oakdale

Semifinals:

#1 Plainview vs #4 Mullen
Expect to see some movement by both teams in this dual with both teams having 2 quality 106-pound wrestlers. Look for #3 Dane and Paxton to wrestle at 106 and #1 Lanham and Grooms to wrestle at 113. If that holds true to form that means #1 Ashburn would bump up 120 and wrestle #3 Marshall. That match would be a rematch of last season’s 113 pound 3rd place match, which Marshall won 10-0. Other than that, look for one other ranked match up as we could see #2 Hassett and #3 Gale at 220. Gale will most likely weigh in at 195 so we could see him wrestle #3 Kvanvig, Gale won an exciting match over Kvanvig at state last year and beat Hassett in overtime this season. It appears Mullen will have to give up forfeits at 138 and 170, while Plainview will give up a forfeit at either 195 or 220.

Projected Winner: #1 Plainview

#2 Neligh-Oakdale vs #3 Burwell
This should be another dual that comes down to the wire for Neligh-Oakdale. This dual really hinges on the health of the previously mentioned wrestlers for Neligh-Oakdale who have been out of the lineup. Regardless, we should see plenty of good individual matches. At 120 we should see #4 Kester vs #6 Phillips. These two haven’t met this season. At 182 we should see #1 Dawe vs #5 Kaup, a match that Dawe would be a heavy favorite in. At 195 we should see #2 Pofahl vs #8 Dawe, which favors Pofahl. Finally, at 220 we could see #6 Klabenes vs #8 Busch. Again, Klabenes hasn’t wrestled a match since 1/16. Neligh-Oakdale needs him to be healthy and win that match to keep them alive in this dual. Burwell also may need to win swing matches at 120 and 220, along with a few extra bonus points when they can get them to win this dual. Expect this one to be a tight one.

Projected Winner: #3 Burwell

Finals:

#1 Plainview vs #3 Burwell
Last season these two programs met in the state finals, Plainview won 48-27. It could very well happen again if Neligh-Oakdale isn’t at full strength this weekend. If this dual happens expect #1 at 113 Ashburn to bump up and wrestle 120 against #6 Phillips, something Plainview has asked of Ashburn pretty much all season long in Duals. Don’t expect to see much more movement from either team in this dual. If Neligh Oakdale is a full strength and does sneak past Burwell in the semis, not much changes in the match up with the Pirates. Plainview looks like the favorite against either team to win their 2nd consecutive state dual championship.

Projected 2020 Class D State Dual Champion: #1 Plainview Pirates

Projected Top Eight:
1. Plainview
2. Burwell
3. Mullen
4. Neligh-Oakdale
5. Maxwell
6. Pender
T7. Elkhorn Valley
T7. Winside