Raiders top Bridgeport in dual

With four contested matches won, including one by a pin and one via a major decision, the Sidney wrestling team edged Bridgeport in a dual meet 34-31 on Thursday night.

Though the Raiders topped the Bulldogs in the team match, the host team--Bridgeport--managed to pull out one of the most anticipated matches of the night.

Midway through the meet, Sidney's Michael Muggli faced the Bulldogs Brandon Nichols at 145 lbs. Both are highly ranked and veterans of last year's state tournament. Muggli qualified at 132 lbs. at 2013 state in Class B while Nichols made his mark at 138 lbs. in the Class C tournament. Nichols was knocked off in the semi-final round.

So far Nichols has not lost a match this season. Muggli was edged in overtime in Sidney last month. Nichols shaded him again on Thursday night by a 3-2 score.

"It was an exciting night, Nichols is an excellent wrestler and so is Michael," said Raiders Head Coach John Ganser. "Michael had a nice take down on him and Nichols is very good on top."

Of those that won a contested match for the Raiders, Kane Taylor had the shortest night of all as he pinned Brandon Blake in 1:41. For Taylor it's his second win over Blake this season including a win at Gordon-Rushville.

Taylor competes in the 195 lbs. class.

"Coach Ganser wanted a pin and I wanted a pin as fast as I could get it," Taylor said. "We knew this would be a close match so we wanted the six points."

Jack Fedderson also faced a wrestler he battled at Gordon-Rushville last month. Fedderson won by a major decision 10-1 over Ramon Dominguez at 106. Fedderson dominated the match from start-to-finish and gave up only one point on an escape by Dominguez.

"I wanted to work stuff on him that I haven't been doing very well with," said Fedderson. "I worked in some tilts and got him on his back. It's a win in the books and I'm fine with that."

In the 170 lbs. class Brenton Christian earned the decision over Jerrod Fedorchik. Like Fedderson, Christian yielded only an escape point to his opponent and was never in serious danger.

In a match as close at the Muggli-Nichols battle, Lukias Higer outlasted the 'Bulldogs' Todd Widener 1-0. The only point registered over the six minutes was an escape by Higer early in the battle.

"I wrestled him once before and pinned him but he gave me a tough battle today," Higer said. "I was trying to get as many shots as I could and I took them whenever I could get them."

In the other two contested matches in which Bridgeport came out on top, Joseph Weibert topped Zach Borges in a major decision 11-3 at 132 lbs. and Lawrence Schneider pinned Brody McKnight in the 160 lbs. class.

The Raiders and 'Dogs split six matches won by forfeit. The Raiders uncontested winners were Brandon Lulf (182), Jake Heeren (220) and Dominic Beyer (285). The match at 120 lbs. was a double forfeit. Bridgeport was awarded forfeit wins at 113 lbs., 126 lbs. and 138 lbs.

Sidney next takes to the mat on Saturday when they will make an early morning bus trip to Imperial. With weigh-ins scheduled for just past 7 a.m., the Raiders bus will depart the high school at 4:30 a.m.

The Chase County Invite is scheduled for a 9 a.m. start.

Sidney Wrestling Results

Dual at Bridgeport - Jan. 16

106 Jack Fedderson-Sidney def. Ramon Dominguez-Bridgeport by Maj. Dec. 10-1

113 Paul Brown-Bridgeport by forfeit

120 Double forfeit

126 Peyton Baumann-Bridgeport by forfeit

132 Joseph Weibert-Bridgeport def. Zach Borges-Sidney by Maj. Dec. 11-3

138 Wesley Christian-Bridgeport by forfeit

145 Brandon Nichols-Bridgeport def. Michael Muggli-Sidney 3-2

152 Lukias Higer-Sidney def. Tom Widener-Bridgeport 1-0

160 Lawrence Schneider-Bridgeport def. Brody McKnight-Sidney by pin at 2:04

170 Brenton Christian-Sidney def. Jerrod Fedorchik-Bridgeport 4-1

182 Brandon Lulf-Sidney by forfeit

195 Kane Taylor-Sidney def. Brandon Blake-Bridgeport by pin at 1:41

220 Jake Heeren-Sidney by forfeit

285 Dominic Beyer-Sidney by forfeit