Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Lukias Higer defeated Bridgeport's Todd Widener for the second time in two days.
With eight Red Raiders placing, Sidney finished fourth among 15 teams competing at the Chase County Invite on Saturday.
Sidney's total of 107 points put them behind Sedgwick County (217), Gordon-Rushville (167.5) and Cambridge (122). Again, as they did in a dual meet last Thurdsay, the Raiders edged out Bridgeport, who finished with 100 points for a fifth-place finish.
Kane Taylor (195 lbs.) and Cody Hofrock (182) led the Raiders to second and third place finishes, respectively. The leading point-getters for Sidney were Michael Muggli with 18.50 at 145 lbs., Taylor with 17 and Dominic Beyer (285) with 16.
Sidney's team score was aided by six wrestlers who scored double-digit team points. The others included Brenton Christian (170) who racked up 13 points, Jack Fedderson (106) and Hofrock with 12 and Jake Heeren (220) with 11.
Lukias Higer and Isaiah Votruba each picked up 4 points for the team. For Votruba, a freshman, its was his first taste of varsity wrestling.
"I knew yesterday I was going to wrestle but I didn't know until today I would be wrestling varsity." said Votruba after his final match. "The first guy I wrestled pinned me. I think I psyched myself out even though I felt confident going in. There was an intimidation factor there and their shouldn't be. It should never matter who you're on the mat with."
Actually, despite his 1-2 record, Votruba had a very positive start to his varsity career. In his second match at 132, he pinned Corey Anderson of Hitchcock County in 2:37. He was again pinned in his final match by Jackson Ebbers, though he was ahead on points at the time.
Taylor's second place came after he won a major decision over Dane Gieschen of Ogallala, 17-5. Gieschen's teammate Brody Cleveland exacted some revenge for his team as he stopped Taylor with a pin at 4:21 in the championship match.
In the 182 lbs. class, Hofrock earned his way into the third-pace match after pinning Jeramiah Wurm of Bayard at 4:14 in a consolation semifinal. Hofrock then won the third-place encounter by an 8-6 decision over Gordon-Rushville's Taylor Hood.
Anthony Fisher stopped Hofrock in his first match of the day with a pin in 1:10.
Beyer's fourth-place finish came when he won three straight matches after an initial defeat. He lost a narrow 5-3 decision to Bradley Cinesmith of Ogallala for third place. Beyer was wrestling against wrestlers he hasn't worked against.
"I feel confident against wrestlers I haven't seen before," Beyer said. "He doesn't know my weaknesses and it doesn't bother me that I don't know a lot about him. I keep getting better. I know more moves now and I'm quicker than I was at the beginning of the season."
The battle at 145 lbs. will continue to be among the more interesting classes to watch. The difference between a top group of wrestlers is very thin. Despite the talent laden class, Muggli has amassed a record of 23-5.
Though Muggli won four matches against one defeat in contested matches on the day, he lost by "rule" the third-place match to Casey Glassgow of Gordon-Rushville. Earlier Muggli lost a 3-1 decision to Glassgow.
Brenton Christian upped his record on the year to 13-9 after having to compete five times on Saturday. He won three of his matches, including his final one with fifth place on the line. After finishing off Wyatt McConnell of Hershey by a 4-2 decision Christian was hopeful, despite knowing he would have to face the top seed Taten Barnzhaf in his next match.
"I pinned (McConnell) the last two times I faced him but he's improved since then," Christain said. "I think he's learned a few more moves and I was getting pretty tired by the end of it."
Though Barnzhaf, who is 19-3 on the season, pinned Christian, he came back to take down McConnell again in the fifth-place match. Whatever moves McConnell may have learned, Christian found a way to adjust as he pinned him in 2:41.
Fedderson's match record advanced to 13-10 on the season as he split four matces to finish in fourth. Heeren was also 2-2 on the day in contested matches to up his record to 6-4 on the year. Lukias Higer had a medical forfeit in his fifth-place match to finish sixth. Higer is also above .500 on the year at 16-12 at 152 lbs.
The Raiders are off until Saturday when they travel to Lexington for a 9 a.m. start.
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