Sidney's Robb wins wrestling crown at Chadron camp

CHADRON, Neb. – Derek Robb of Sidney was among the weight class winners at the Chadron State College Wrestling Camp last week. He defeated Tyler Gray of Elk Grove, Calif., 7-3, for the 152-pound championship.

Robb was undefeated as a freshman this past season while winning the Class B 138-pound championship at the Nebraska State Tournament. Gray will be a senior this fall. He was a 2015 California State Tournament qualifier.

Nine other Sidney wrestlers also attended the camp. They were: Tristan Ahrendt, Jack Feddersen, Coby Haas, Colden Harrison, Pat Hays, Kade Price, Devan Schilz, Isaiah Votruba, Kaden Vowers. Hays finished second at 183, Vowers was third at 118 and Feddersen took third at 144.

The camp drew 325 wrestlers from 28 schools in six states. The number of campers was up more than 100 from a year ago, CSC head coach Brett Hunter said.

He attributed part of the growth to having former Olympic gold medalist Brandon Slay as both a speaker and a clinician at the camp.

"He was unbelievable in both areas," Hunter said. "The kids really paid attention to what he said and demonstrated."

The Western Nebraska Chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes helped bring Slay, the 165-pound champion at the 2000 Olympics, to the CSC camp.

There were 33 weight class winners crowned as the camp was ending. Elk Grove, the team that came the farthest had the most champions with six. Former CSC wrestler Pat Coffey is the Elk Grove coach.

He brought 13 wrestlers to the camp. The trip took 22 hours in a van.

Both Powell, Wyo., and Plattsmouth, Neb., had five champions. Powell is also coached by an ex-Eagle, Nathan Urbach. His Powell team has won four straight Class 3A state championships. Before moving to Wyoming, Urbach coached the Rushville Longhorns to three state titles.

Plattsmouth finished third in Class B at last year's Nebraska State Tournament, just three points out of first.

Mesa Ridge High from Colorado Springs had four weight class winners. West Point-Beemer from eastern Nebraska had three.  Chadron had the two while eight schools had one apiece.

Eighteen CSC wrestlers helped conduct the camp. Hunter said another big boost came from Craig Peterson and his daughter, Amanda, both of Rushville. They did the announcing and recorded the results of each match during the camp.

Peterson was one of Hunter's first wrestling coaches, helping put the CSC coach on his way to winning two state high school championships at Rushville and two NCAA Division II titles at Chadron State.