OMAHA, NEB. – The first day of the NSAA Individual State Wrestling Tournament kicked off with a bang for the River Country Athletes trying to stake their claim to be called the best in the state. All classes, except for the girls, started today in their first two rounds. The following are the results from each school, sorted by class.

 CLASS B

AUBURN:

The lone Bulldog Senior Brad Hall (160) started off his day with a loss to Junior Alex Anthony, from McCook, in a back-and-forth decision score of 12-7. Hall will face against Matthew Zitek, a junior from Plattsmouth, today.

 

NEBRASKA CITY:

Sophomore Drew Weddle (106) won his first-round bout against Concordia/DC West Junior Brandon Wilson via pinfall at the 2:37 mark. He would then lose to Freshman Hudson Loges from Blair via a major decision, 9-1. He will have another shot to compete again, in the loser’s bracket, after a bye round.

 

The Junior, Carlos Prados (120), lost his first-round matchup against Minden Freshman Robert Nelson via a 5-2 decision. He will compete today against Aurora Senior Colin Kennedy.

 

Sophomore Gabe Hartman (132) lost his first-round bout against Blaine Christo from Ashland-Greenwood via 7-0 decision. He has an early-morning matchup against Gavin Dozler, a senior from Boone Central.

 

Andres Pro (138) kicked off his senior campaign for the state title with a loss to Elijah Johnson, a junior from Hastings, via a late pinfall at the 3:46 mark. He will start day 2 with a match against Junior Johnny Radicia from Elkhorn North.

 

Junior Baylor Poston (145) would win via pinfall at the 3:31 mark against Junior Ty Beetison from Ashland-Greenwood to start off the tournament. He would later lose to Landon Templar via a 2-1 decision that was due to a penalty & an escape awarded with less than 1:22. He will start off day 2 in the losers bracket with the bye.

 

Hayden Schalk (160) lost in a shocking disqualification against fellow Senior Ashton Schafer from Boone Central. He will start again against Ralston Senior Miguel James.

 

Senior Logan Hobbs (170) lost to Bennington junior Blane Boehmer via a sudden victory, scored in the first overtime period at the 0:38 mark, with a final score of 6-4. Hobbs will have to compete against Chadron’s Rhett Cullers, a junior, in the opening round of the loser’s bracket.

 

Mikah Ruiz (220), the 42-5 senior, kicked off his senior tournament with a dominating bang today. Winning his first round against Wahoo Junior Dominek Rohleder via a quick 1:35 pinfall, and then advancing to the state semifinals via a dominating major decision over Beatrice Senior Brock Ostdeik, 12-4. He is the lone River Country wrestler in class B to still have a shot at the title. The battle for the championship will pit Ruiz against the 38-6 Junior from Columbus Lakeview Landon Ternus for a late Friday match with the winner competing Saturday for the championship.

 

PLATTSMOUTH:

Senior Cael Nielson (120) kicked off his final tournament with the quick pinfall over Scottsbluff Sophomore Joey Canseco in 1:48. Nielsen would then lose via a 5-2 decision against Jesse Loges, a junior from Blair. Nielson will compete today, starting with a bye.

 

Logan Wooten (138) lost in his opening round to Senior Trevor Reinke via major decision, 13-0. The Sophomore will face off against Columbus Lakeview Junior Owen Bargen in the loser’s bracket.

 

The Junior Bryce Neuin (145) kicked off his tournament against the #1 overall seeded Drew Moser, a sophomore from Waverly, with a 1:34 pinfall loss. He will face against Junior Mason Wagner from Scottsbluff to start the next morning.

 

Matthew Zitek (160) lost his opening round against the undefeated Hastings Senior Jett Samuelson via a 1:57 pin. He will face fellow River Country senior, Brad Hall from Auburn, as the junior battles to survive the loser’s bracket.

 

Senior Josh Colgrove (170) began his last state tournament with a 1:43 pinfall victory over Freshman Darrius Helms from South Sioux City, but would lose to Beatrice Senior Torrance Jeehn via a last second reversal in a 2-1 decision. He will compete today to avenge his narrow loss after the loser’s bracket bye.

 

The Senior Josh Adkins (195) would get his first-round victory over Boone Central’s sophomore, Hank Hudson, via a pinfall at the 3:22 mark. However, Adkins would lose in the quarterfinal bout against Waverly Senior Wyatt Fanning via a pinfall at the 2:42 mark. He will start day 2 after resting through the loser’s round bye.

 

PLATTEVIEW

 

Senior Eliott Steinhoff (152) began the tournament with a 3:52 pinfall over McCook sophomore Canyon Hosick. Steinhoff would then lose his next round via a 6-2 decision against Hastings Junior Landon Weidner. Steinhoff will start after the well-earned bye.

 

Nick Horst (182) would begin his senior tournament with a loss against Josiah Mobley, a junior from Scottsbluff, in a last second pinfall at the 5:58 mark. Horst will square off against York Freshman Keagyn Linden this morning.

 

CLASS C

FALLS CITY

Top seed Wyatt Olberding (138) kicked off things with a 5-2 decision over Valentine Senior Cody Miller. The Sophomore then won in a 4-0 decision over Syracuse Junior Barret Brandt. Olberding will continue his quest for the state title by facing O’Neil Senior Ty Rainforth, who comes in with a 45-2 record. If successful, he’ll have a shot at the title on Championship title, yet even with a loss, he will have a favorable seeding for the 3rd place award.

 

Robert Gilkerson (145) began his freshman quest for the title with a pinfall victory over the Hartington Central Senior Conner Hochstein at the 5:32 mark. Gilkerson would then fall to the senior William Poppe from Crofton/Bloomfield via a 3:47 pinfall. Gilkerson will start day 2 of the tournament after a bye round in the loser’s bracket.

 

Senior Thomas Fields (195) began Thursday’s opening round of competition with a nail-biting 9-6 decision over O’Neil Junior Salvador Rodriguez after scoring a nearfall at 42 seconds left. Fields, however, would lose his quarterfinals matchup against Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinaur senior Aiden Worthey via a 5-2 decision. Fields will begin after an opening round bye in the loser’s bracket.

 

Jaden Nolte (285) began the heavyweight battle for the title in Class C with a pinfall victory over fellow River Country athlete Christian Harrifeld, a junior from Johnson County Central, at the 1:47 mark. Nolte would however go on to lose Superior Senior Payton Christiancy via a 3:12 pinfall. Nolte will lace it up again after a bye on the “battle for 3rd place” side of the bracket.

HTRS

Aiden Worthey won by decision over Mason Kreikemeier (Raymond Central) 18-8 (Dec 4-1) in the first round, then in quarterfinal action Worthey won by decision over Thomas Fields (Falls City) 32-10 (Dec 5-2).  Worthy will now face Trent Moudry of Bishop Neumann in the semifinals for a chance to advance to the championship match. 

JOHNSON COUNTY CENTRAL

The lone qualifier for Johnson County Central, Junior Christian Harrifeld (285), would start off his tournament against Falls City’s Jaden Nolte. The Senior would win over Harrifeld via a 1:47 pinfall. Christian will recoup himself together for today's action against Wood River Senior Tommy Leetch.

 

SYRACUSE

The Freshman Colton Sprauge (106) began his first state tournament with a major decision loss to fellow Freshman Yair Santiago from Norfolk Catholic. Sprauge will have a chance for redemption against Yutan Junior Janson Pilkington.

 

The Senior Jayce Goebel (120) kicked off his last tournament with a victory over senior Hudson Barger from Crofton/Bloomfield via a 10-4 decision. However, the senior from Syracuse would suffer a quarterfinal loss to the top overall seed, and undefeated senior, Cole Kunz from Central City via a late 5:09 pinfall. Goebel will compete after an opening bye in the loser’s bracket.

 

Barret Brandt (138) began his 2022 tournament with a win against Lincoln Christian Sophomore Seth McGrew with a 2:36 pinfall. However, Brandt lost to top seed, and fellow River Country wrestler, Falls City Sophomore Wyatt Olberding, via a 4-0 decision. Brandt will have some rest, before going back at it in the 2nd round of the loser’s portion of the bracket.

 

Top seeded Cy Petersen (145) had a shaky start to his first ever state tournament. The Freshman Rocket won via a 3-1 decision that was entirely decided in the third period over Malcolm Sophomore Bricen Wilkie. However, Petersen would fall to one of the biggest shockers of the opening day, Valentine Junior Cayden Lamb, who would win via a 2-0 decision after scoring a takedown in the opening round after bringing in a 33-15 record. Petersen will start his quest for the 3rd place title after the bye round.

 

Owen Wander (170) started his final tournament with a loss against Milford senior Chrisopher Scdoris via a 4-0 decision. Wander will start day two against another senior, Aiden Cook from Ponca.

 

Junior Jackson Nordhues (195) fell to Archbishop Bergen Senior Koa McIntyre in 1:48 via pinfall. Nordhues will recollect himself for a bout against Valentine Freshman Clayton Elliot to start the loser’s round side of the bracket.

 

CLASS D

 

PALMYRA

Dedrick Dowding (152) began his 2022 state tournament with a loss to top ranked seed Hunter Cook, the undefeated senior from Sutherland, in a pinfall recorded at the 3:41 mark. Dowding will have his second chance against Plainview Freshman John Lejia.

 

The Junior Evan Bryan-Aldrich (220) lost in the opening round to Southwest Junior Clayton Hardy via pinfall at the 1:35 mark. He will go at it again against the top-seeded Grant Hawkins, the senior from Pleasanton who was upset by the 10-12 Casey Miller.

 

As a reminder, we’ll have live coverage, all day, from the State Tournament at the CHI Center in Omaha on Championship Saturday. We’ll be bringing you full match recaps, Facebook Updates, as well as photos from the event.

 

For everything wrestling going down at the Individuals State Tournament, stay tuned to News Channel Nebraska, as we’ll have continuing updates on all River Country wrestlers, including the girls who will make history tomorrow in the first ever NSAA Girls State Individual Wrestling Championship Tournament.