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Bison hit milestones while making path to Omaha
GERING, Neb. — With just seven wrestlers, McCook earned a B-4 top five finish on while sending five to Class B state in Omaha starting Friday morning.
Seniors Reid Steinbeck, Tate Felber, Talyn Campbell and B-4 champion Alec Langan all punched return state trips.
Sophomore Alex Anthony also earned a second state tourney with his 160-pound district title.
“It was a great day of wrestling for our team,” coach Nick Umscheid confirmed as McCook scored 82.5 points and put four wrestlers into district title matches. “It’s great the four seniors we had wrestling will finish their high school careers in Omaha at the state tournament.”
Lone sophomore Anthony reached 35-3 when he outscored three foes, 35-12, capped with a 3-1 payback win over 45-4 Phillip Halstead from Alliance.
“By winning the district title, he put himself in good position to win some matches at the state tournament,” Umscheid observed.
Langan (41-1 record) knows all about winning at state since he’s placed fifth and third during these past two seasons.
Class B’s No. 1 220-pounder won’t care about any of that once the first whistle blows on Friday.
He’s focused on each match just like Saturday’s :37 pin, 3:17 win and 11-4 finals triumph over No. 4-rated Keifer Anderson of Broken Bow.
“Alec has also become a four time state qualifier which in itself is no easy feat,” Umscheid admitted. “He should continue to do great things next week in the state tournament.”
The Class B action starts early on Friday then resumes Saturday until 7 p.m. state finals at Omaha’s CHI Health Center.
Campbell (34-9 record) was just a couple of moves from placing higher than fourth at district where he lost an 11-8 consolation to 34-9 Austin Monnier of Sidney.
However, he conquered the ultimate “heartbreaker” match as Campbell won 8-4 and secured win No. 100.
“Talyn was in one of the toughest brackets at our district finishing in fourth place,” the coach explained. “ He is a tough draw for any opponent he may face in Omaha.”
Steinbeck (27-8) also be a force who powered his way into the heavyweight district championship match.
Following the 54-second opening win, he battled 31-5 Ryan Bickel from Chadron until finally scoring the pin with only 10 seconds remaining in regulation.
Steinbeck lost the ensuing title match to 40-5 nemesis Sawyer Bumgarner from Broken Bow, but the 9-5 final was closer than their Southwest Conference finals showdown one week earlier.
“Hopefully with that win (over Bickel) and by finishing as district runner up, Reid has set himself up for some big wins at state,” Umscheid said.
Felber (35-12) gives McCook one more experienced returning state qualifier after taking second at the B-4 meet.
He pinned SWC foe Cade Kirwan of Holdrege in 4:58 before another thrilling semifinal against a Chadron Cardinal.
They battled into overtime before Felber won a 4-3 tie-breaker over Daniel Wellnitz (31-10 record).
Powerhouse Cameron Zink from Ogallala (46-3) scored a 10-3 finals victory over Felber.
Any Bison fan who’s watched Tate knows he’d love another shot at Zink or any other state title contender.
“Tate was able to avenge a loss from last year by beating his opponent from Chadron in the semifinals in triple overtime,” N.U. concluded.
Freshmen Cadde Beeby (113) and Canyon Hosick (145) both fell short of reaching state.