Sidney wrestlers roll to meet title

While a familiar trio of wrestlers breezed through their weight classes at the Mitchell Invite on Saturday, it was a swarm of of high finishes by the Sidney Red Raiders that relegated 17 other schools to a battle for second place.

Powered by 12 top-four placings, the Raiders picked up 222.5 points to far out pace runner-up Gothenburg at 156.5. Host Mitchell finished a strong third (128) while Wheatland (Wyo.) (103) and Morrill (99) rounded out the top five.

"Our team was able to get big bonus points with pins in the first two rounds and they never looked back," said Raiders head coach John Ganser. "A big key for us will be to have our wrestlers finish the season the right way."

The trio of Raiders who earned their spot at the top of the podium were Kaden Vowers, Derek Robb and Michael Muggli.

In winning the title at 106 pounds, the freshman Vowers won his 30th match of the season against just seven losses. In the process of garnering 27.5 points for Sidney, Vowers pinned three opponents and won by a technical fall over a fourth.

Another freshman, Derek Robb (138), is now 37-0 after none of his opponents could survive more than 2 minutes and 49 seconds against him all day. Austin Kort (18-11) managed to survive the longest against Robb before he was pinned in the semifinal. Robb led the Raiders in points earned with 28 after pinning Joe Wiebert (21-9) of Bridgeport in 1:10 for the championship.

The veteran Muggli (36-4) – ranked fourth in Nebraska Class B at 145 pounds – scored 27.5 team points after erasing four opponents from the winner's bracket. None of Muggli's foes could go the distance as he topped three by fall and one by technical fall. In Muggli's first match, Grant Snider of Mitchell survived the longest before being dropped in 2:53.

In addition to the weight-class winners, Sidney had three wrestlers each finish in second, third and fourth places.

Brandon Lulf made quick work of his first two opponents on his way to the second spot on the podium at 195. He first pinned Rome Lerma of Minatare in 1:51. It took only 56 seconds for Lulf to get Mitchell's Garrett Sterkel's shoulders to the mat. Lulf was denied the top prize when he was pinned in the third period by Ryan Wosk (33-2) of Standley Lake (Colo).

Jack Feddersen amassed 20 team points by going 3-1 on the day at 126. He was turned back in the championship match by Drew Gilliland of Mitchell, 14-4. In his three victories, Feddersen had one pin and two major decisions.

Patraic Hays won a pair of matches at 170 before being stopped in the championship bout. On his way to scoring 13 points, Hays disposed of Roman Delgado by fall at 1:11 and outlasted Mathew Sorensen of Hemingford 10-5.

Dominic Beyer's 20 team points came after he went 3-1 to finish third at 285. Beyer (29-10) pinned two of his opponents in less than a minute. It took a little longer in the battle for third, however, as Beyer topped Kain Forbes of Crawford (11-6) by pin in 4:39.

Colton Peckham upped his season mark to 24-13 after winning three of four matches on the day at 113 to finish third. His only defeat was in sudden victory (13-11) to Trevor Holley. He went on to claim third after dropping Zach Condie of Wheatland (Wyo.) in 4:21.

Coby Haas proved too much for two of his three opponents in the 160-pound class. After receiving a bye and then dropping his first match, he pinned his final two opponents. Haas won by fall at 2:27 in the third-place match over Ephriam Blanco of Mitchell.

In the battle at 132 pounds, Brett Jaggers picked up 15 points in his fourth-place finish. Jaggers had a busy day with five matches in which he went 3-2. All five of Jaggers' matches resulted in a pin. In his opening match, Jaggers finished off Connor Grant in just 33 seconds.

Seventeen points was the haul for Sidney at 220 as Cody Hofrock battled through six matches in which he won four to claim fourth place. After winning four of his first five battles, Hofrock was turned back in the third-place match by Taylor Alcorn of Crawford (20-6) by a pin at 2:55.

Zach Borges upped his season win total to 25 as he picked up 11 points en route to fourth place in the 152-pound class. While Borges went 3-2 on the day, he lost his final match of the day to an opponent he had beaten earlier. After winning a 3-0 decision over Ted Parmely of Wheatland (Wyo), the tables were turned in the match for the bronze when Borges was pinned in 35 seconds.

"It has been a good month in January, but the payoff is just ahead," Ganser said.

Sidney will travel to Gering for its final regular-season match before districts. The dual with the Bulldogs is scheduled to be whistled into action at 6 p.m. The Red Raiders have yet to lose a dual meet all season.

Districts are Feb. 13-14 in Chadron. The top four placers in Chadron will earn a berth at the state meet the following week.

MITCHELL INVITATIONAL RESULTS

TEAM SCORES

1. Sidney 222.5, 2. Gothenburg 156.5, 3. Mitchell 128, 4. Wheatland 103, 5. Morrill 99, 6. Bridgeport 98.5, 7. Standley Lake 84, 8. Hershey 80, 9. Crawford 57, 10. Burns 44, 11. Kimball 40, 12. Southeast 37.5, 13. Garden County 23, 14. Hemingford 21, 15. Gering JV 15, 16. Minatare 10, 17. Banner County 7, 18. Scottsbluff JV 6.

SIDNEY HIGH'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

(with current season record)

106 – Kaden Vowers (30-7) placed 1st.

Round 1 - Vowers won by tech fall over Tyson Diede (Burns), 16-1

Quarterfinal - Vowers pinned Tate Coss (Garden County), 0:52

Semifinal - Vowers pinned Isaac Ronning (Burns), 4:00

Championship Match - Vowers pinned Noah Larson (Gothenburg), 4:00

113 – Colton Peckham (24-13) placed 3rd.

Round 1 - Peckham received a bye

Quarterfinal - Peckham tech fall Peyton Stancyzk (Garden County), 5:56 /21-4

Semifinal - Trevor Holley (Gothenburg) sudden victory over Peckham, 13-11)

Consolation Semifinal - Peckham pinned Elijah Boyd (Southeast), 0:32

3rd-place Match - Peckham pinned Zach Condie (Wheatland), 4:21

113 – Devon Schilz (9-13) did not place.

Round 1 - Schilz pinned Elysha Foster (Mitchell), 3:19

Quarterfinal - Trevor Holley (Gothenburg) pinned Schilz, 0:32

Consolation Round 2 - Schilz received a bye

Consolation Round 3 - Ronnie Brown (Bridgeport) dec. Schilz, 6-0

126 – Jack Feddersen (18-16) placed 2nd.

Round 1 - Feddersen pinned Wyatt Mader (Crawford), 1:56

Quarterfinal - Feddersen maj. dec. Gerrit Mikesell (Burns), 9-0

Semifinal - Feddersen maj. dec. Luka Mova (Standley Lake), 15-2

Championship Match - Drew Gilliland (Mitchell) maj. dec. Feddersen, 14-4

132 – Bret Jaggers (17-17) placed 4th.

Round 1 - Jaggers pinned Connor Grant (Gering JV), 0:33

Quarterfinal - Jaggers pinned Connor Swanson (Hemingford), 1:14

Semifinal - William Swanson (Mitchell) pinned Jaggers, 3:33

Consolation Semfinals - Jaggers pinned Jacob Cushman (Southeast), 2:02

3rd-place Match - Kaihden Dorsey (Gothenburg) pinned Jaggers, 2:54

138 – Derek Robb (37-0) placed 1st.

Round 1 - Robb pinned Marcus Carrillo (Mitchell), 1:48

Quarterfinal - Robb pinned Kyle Gerry (Standley Lake), 2:45

Semifinal - Robb pinned Austin Kort (Gothenburg), 2:49

Championship Match - Robb pinned Joe Weibert (Bridgeport), 1:10

145 – Michael Muggli (36-4) placed 1st.

Round 1 - Muggli pinned Snyder (Mitchell), 2:53

Quarterfinal - Muggli pinned Wyatt Anderson (Gothenburg), 2:33

Semifinal – Muggli won by tech fall Cody Mueller (Mitchell), 2:49 and 18-3

Championship Match - Muggli pinned Ruger Lewis (Burns), 1:09

152 – Arik Taylor (0-2) did not place.

Round 1 - Jayden Miller (Gothenburg) pinned Taylor, 1:13

Consolation Round 1 - Tristan Kirch (Garden County) pinned Taylor, 2:07

152 – Zach Borges (25-13) placed 4th.

Round 1 - Borges pinned Alex Knouse (Gering JV), 3:31

Quarterfinal - Borges dec. Tel Parmely (Wheatland), 3-0

Semifinal - Chayton Crow (Hershey) pinned Borges, 1:15

Consolation Semifinal - Borges (Sidney) dec. Colt Lewis (Burns), 10-7

3rd-place Match - Tel Parmely (Wheatland) pinned Borges, 0:35

160 – Coby Haas (11-11) placed 3rd.

Quarterfinal - Haas received a bye

Semifinal - Garrett Zwiebel (Morrill) pinned Haas, 2:31

Consolation Semifinal - Haas pinned Patrick Peterson (Gothenburg), 1:10

3rd-place Match - Haas pinned Ephraim Blanco (Mitchell), 2:27

170 – Patraic Hays (17-15) placed 2nd.

Quarterfinal - Hays pinned Roman Delgado (Burns), 1:11

Semifinal - Hays dec. Matthew Sorensen (Hemingford), 10-5

Championship Match - Elvariste Gomez (Morrill) pinned Hays, 0:12

182 – Kade Price (4-9) did not place.

Round 1 - Price received a bye

Quarterfinal - Tanner Wyse (Southeast) pinned Price, 1:18

Consolation Round 2 - Salvador Jimenez (Wheatland) pinned Price, 1:48

195 – Brandon Lulf (15-18) placed 2nd.

Quarterfinal - Lulf pinned Rome Lerma (Minatare), 1:51

Semifinal - Lulf pinned Garrett Sterkel (Mitchell), 0:56

Championship Match - Ryan Wosk (Standley Lake) pinned Lulf, 4:21

220 – Cody Hofrock (8-6) placed 4th.

Round 1 - Hofrock pinned Cody Kirby (Kimball), 4:26

Quarterfinal - Josh Calvert (Wheatland) dec. Hofrock, 5-2

Consolation Round 2 - Hofrock pinned Brodie Sutton (Sidney), 0:20

Consolation Round 3 - Hofrock pinned Tyler Franklin (Bridgeport), 3:21

Consolation Semifinal - Hofrock injury default over Jaret Walls (Standley Lake)

3rd-place Match - Taylor Alcorn (Crawford) pinned Hofrock, 2:55

220 – Brodie Sutton (0-2) did not place.

Round 1 - Bryan McGahan (Hershey) pinned Sutton, time unavailable

Consolation Round 1 - Sutton received a bye

Consolation Round 2 - Cody Hofrock (Sidney) pinned Sutton, 0:20

285 – Seth McMillen (0-2) did not place.

Round 1 - Michael Shmidl (Wheatland) pinned McMillen, 2:36

Consolation Round 1 - Hunter Woodruff (Southeast) pinned McMillen, 1:43

285 – Dominic Beyer (29-10) placed 3rd.

Round 1 - Beyer received a bye

Quarterfinal - Beyer pinned Matthew Brostman (Scottsbluff JV), 0:22

Semifinal - Matthew Hessler (Morrill) pinned Dominic Beyer, 0:55

Consolation Semifinal - Beyer pinned John Hunter (Southeast), 0:46

3rd-place Match - Beyer pinned Kain Forbes (Crawford), 4:39