Four Bison wrestlers qualify for state

SCOTTSBLUFF, Nebraska -- Pardon McCook High School head wrestling coach Nick Umscheid if he seems a little woozy after the Class B-4 District meet.

Coach Umscheid and his Bison had a emotional roller coaster ride at the district meet Friday and Saturday, Feb. 11-12, at the Scottsbluff High School gym. When the dust settled, McCook secured four berths in the Class B state wrestling meet at Omaha's Qwest Center starting Feb. 17.

McCook scored 94.5 points and finished seventh in the 12-team B-4 District field. The Bison finished just behind Holdrege in the final team standings. The Dusters scored 97 points and earned four state meet berths. Chadron was fifth with 122 points and four state qualifiers.

Scottsbluff won the B-4 District team title with 162 points and eight state qualifiers. Cozad qualified six wrestlers for state and finished second at districts with 142.5 points. Gothenburg was third with 122 points and five state qualifiers, and Gering was fourth with 118.5 points and seven individuals qualified for state.

In district meet competition, the top four medalist at each weight class qualify for state.

The four Bison state qualifiers include seniors Keldon Osterman and Rusty Sullivant, junior Skyler Kalinski and sophomore Clayton Korus.

The good news for McCook late Saturday was three wrestlers in the championship finals and one more in the third-place finals. The bad news was the Bison won just one of those four final bouts.

"In the final round, we went one-for-four," Coach Umscheid said. "You feel bad about that, knowing that you wanted to finish more on a high note and give your guys hopefully a little bit better chance in the first round of the state tournament. But it was up and down all weekend long. It was emotionally grinding on the coaches and the wrestlers, but that's the way it is every year at the district tournament."

Bison junior wins gold

Kalinski continued a standout season, as he claimed the district title at 145 pounds. Kalinski ran his season record to 37-1 with a comeback 5-4 decision over Chadron's Colby Riesen in the championship finals.

Umscheid said Skyler trailed most of the match until he rallied late for the one-point win

"Skyler wrestled a really good tournament," Coach Umscheid said. "He had a tough kid from Chadron in the finals. He was down for quite a bit of the match.

"But he gutted it out, he worked hard and came away with the victory, and we're hoping that that pays off for him down there at the state tournament next week."

Korus and Sullivant each finished second after tough losses in the championship finals. Korus settled for a silver medal at 119 pounds after he lost an 11-0 major decision to Clay Trejo of Cozad. Sullivant battled hard but lost a 5-4 decision to Ethan Hollertz of Holdrege in the 152-pound title match.

Osterman earned his first trip to state with his fourth-place effort. Osterman lost by fall to Justin Schremmer of Chadron in the 140-pound third-place finals.

Close matches for Bison

Umscheid said several other Bison came very close to earning trips to state. He said Jake Fahrenbruch and Kyle Groshong both lost close matches in Friday night's quarterfinals. Fahrenbruch and senior Ross Stewart each lost matches in the consolation semifinals by one point, and a win would have sent both to the third-place finals and a coveted trip at state.

"Friday night was kind of a rough night for us," Umscheid said. "We lost a couple close matches at 125 and 130 pounds with Jake Fahrenbruch and Kyle Groshong. They both lost by one point. Looking at it, (winning those matches) would have put them in good position Saturday in qualifying for the tournament, but they kind of dug themselves in a hole Friday night.

"The rest of the team, they responded well on Saturday, with everybody but one wrestler making it to the consolation semifinals, We had five guys that were one match away from making it to the state tournament. Jake Fahrenbruch and Ross Stewart both came within one point of qualifying.

"It was a roller coaster of emotions from being down Friday night with a couple of close losses, and then seeing the guys respond and wrestle well on Saturday, all the way up to the consolation semifinals. Then going one-for-five in the consolation semifinals, with Keldon Osterman getting the victory against the kid from Gothenburg. You feel bad for the other guys who came so close. But to see a guy like Keldon Osterman make it to his first state tournament as a senior, that's always a good thing. You feel really good for him. He's worked really hard for it."

Osterman clinched his trip to state when he pinned Justin Larson of Gothenburg in the consolation semifinal round.

After losing a 6-5 decision in the quarterfinals, Fahrenbruch came back with a pair of wins in the consolation round, including a 17-1 technical fall over Reese Ureste of Lexington, to advance to the consolation semifinals. Fahrenbruch needed one more win to clinch a spot in the third-place finals and a trip to state. But he lost a 3-2 decision to Terrance Hessler of Scottsbluff.

State meet in Omaha

The Nebraska State High School Wrestling Championships kick off a three-day run Thursday, Feb. 17, at the Qwest Center in Omaha. Class B first-round matches are scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m.