Muggli headed to Omaha

Several Raiders came excruciatingly close, but senior Michael Muggli was the only Sidney wrestler to advance to state out of the District B4 Championships in Cozad over the weekend.

As for the team competition, Sidney struggled to gain points and finished in 12th place.

Scottsbluff was the runaway winner with 196 points while Lexington was runner up with 157. Host Cozad (135), Chadron (124.5) and Ogallala (85) rounded out the top five.

Muggli punched his ticket to Omaha in the competitive 145 lbs. class after pinning his way to the final match. He immobilized McCook's Coy Terry (:32), Rodrigo De La Torre of Lexington (1:46) and Emmanuel Cabello of Alliance (3:10).

Muggli's winning streak earned him the right to face three-time state champion Colton Adams of Scottsbluff. Adams, who earlier won his fourth trip to state, turned the tables on Muggli with a pin at 2:59.

"I knew Colton was going to be tough, but now I kind of feel like it's taken something away from what I accomplished," said Muggli shortly after the final match. "But now I'm going to state and I have new goals. This is my third year now going to state and I haven't medaled yet. I would really like to end my high school career by medaling at state."

Five of Muggli's Sidney teammates found themselves one win away from a trip to state. Unfortunately, all were turned back in the "heartbreak round."

The Raiders falling just short of their ticket to Omaha were Jack Fedderson (106 lbs.), Ryan Nieto (152), Brody McKnight (160), Brenton Christian (170) and Kane Taylor (195).

The good news for Sidney wrestling is that all those are underclassmen and will have at least one more go.

Fedderson, a freshman, may have had the most painful experience as he slugged it out with George Hernandez of Scottsbluff for six grueling minutes. When the final whistle sounded, Fedderson was on the short end of a 1-0 score after yielding an just a single escape point.

"We haven't seen Scottsbluff this year so I didn't really know what I was going to do against (Hernandez)," said Fedderson. "I wanted to shoot a lot in the first period and try and take away his offense with mine. It didn't work out as I had hoped."

That Fedderson finished with a match record over .500 (19-17) is a strong indication that even better things lay ahead. Before this season he had very little wrestling experience.

"It was a good year. I'm not going to beat myself up over the last match," said Fedderson.

After winning his first two matches, Nieto was forced into the heartbreak round after being pinned by Chadron's Tate Cullers. It was Hugo Escamilla of Cozad that kept Nieto from a trip to Omaha with a 13-5 score.

Nieto, however, also had a productive season going 15-10 overall.

McKnight had a good tournament, as he scored 8 points for the team. After splitting a pair of matches on Friday, McKnight finished off two opponents to earn his way into the consolation semis.

"Brody had a good tournament and a good day," said Raiders Head Coach John Ganser. "It was a hard way to finish when you come up a little short like that, but they all fought hard."

In the 170 lbs. class, Christian won three of the five matches he wrestled. He also finished his year on the plus side of .500 with a 16-12 record.

Taylor (17-10) was the last Raiders wrestler to have a chance in a heartbreak match. He was stopped by Ogallala's Brody Cleveland, who finished his season with a 28-4 mark.

"I probably should have beaten the first guy I faced. I just made a bad mistake at the wrong time," said Taylor. "The end of the tournament was the most frustrating. It almost feels like the season was for nothing.

"But really it was a good year. I'm a lot better now than I was last year. As long as I keep improving that's all I can ask of myself," concluded Taylor.

The first match referred to by Taylor was against Dakota McBride of McCook (22-10). Taylor had him down 5-0 and nearly pinned him before the tables were turned.

Among the other Raiders to battle at districts were Zach Borges (132 lbs.), Isaiah Votruba (138), Cody Hofrock (182) and Jake Heeren (220).

Depite their early exits all had solid seasons. Borges finished up with a 17-13 season mark. Heeren also finished above .500 (10-9) despite not wrestling the first part of the year. Votruba is a freshman who showed promise. He didn't wrestle at the varsity level until late in the year. Hofrock came into districts with a .500 varsity record as he split time between varsity and junior varsity.