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Morgan, Schleeman third in Class B
Bison squad
places 14th
OMAHA -- The McCook Bison wrestling team made the trip to Omaha on Thursday for the Nebraska state wrestling championships at the Qwest Center in Omaha.
McCook was represented with six high school competitors.
Two Bison wrestlers placed third -- Nate Morgan at 112 pounds and Chris Schleeman at 215 pounds.
Drew Peterson and Hank Lictenwaldt posted 2-2 records at 130 and 171 pounds. Jesus Gauna and Skyler Kalinski posted 1-2 records at 103 and 125 pounds.
"Throughout the three days there was plenty of excitement and stress for anyone to handle," said McCook wrestling coach Nick Umscheid. "All six McCook wrestlers represented their town, school and families well. They each gave everything they had in every match and we are very proud of their achievements. Of the six who qualified, four of them will be returning next year with hopes and dreams of doing better than they did this year.
"For the seniors who finished their career at the state tournament they will have plenty of memories to tell their friends and family for years to come. Some of the team highlights over the three days were that every wrestler who competed from McCook won atleast one match which is no easy accomplishment.
"Another highlight would be that we had four of our six wrestlers still competing on Friday night in the championship semifinal matches and consolation quarterfinal matches. This was the most wrestlers we have had wrestling at that stage of the state tournament in the last five years. Some of the individual accomplishments from the team were pretty impressive also."
At 103 pounds, Jesus Gauna was able to pick up a first round victory over his opponent from Grand Island Northwest.
"Jesus had lost to this same wrestler just a few weeks ago, but he has improved a great amount and had a lot of confidence and momentum working on his side going into the state tournament," Umscheid said. "It was a hard-fought battle with Jesus coming out the victor.
"Jesus is only a freshman and has come a long ways in just a short amount of time. He fights with every ounce of strength and heart in his body.
"He now has the experience of the state tournament in his memory and has wrestled under the big lights in Omaha. Hopefully this will motivate him to work even harder next year and take that next step on his way to the top of the medal stand."
Another competitor for McCook was 125-pound freshman Skyler Kalinski.
"Skyler was also able to win his first round match against a returning state medalist from Bennington," Umscheid said. "It was a hard fought match with Skyler winning in a close one. Skyler lost his next two matches against some great competition, but he picked up some great experience that he will use next year and in the off season.
"Skyler had an excellent year. To come in as a freshman and win over twenty matches and qualify for the state tournament is no easy task. Skyler deserves all the accomplishments that he picked up over the year. There are few wrestlers who are willing to put in the time and effort necessary to perform at that type of level as a freshman.
"One of Skyler's greatest tools is his work ethic and desire to win. He is willing to put in the time necessary to make himself a champion. He is always the first one to practice and usually the last one to leave. He sets a great example for our other wrestlers to follow."
Also competing down at state was sophomore 130-pounder Drew Peterson.
"Drew had an excellent state tournament," Umscheid said. "He made it all the way to the consolation quarterfinals on Friday night. Not many wrestlers can wrestle in their first state tournament and say they made it that far. Drew did not let the atmosphere distract him one bit throughout the three days. He just goes out on the mat and does his thing to the best of his abilities.
"He also picked up some invaluable experience this weekend and has that itch already to get back down there next year and do even better.
"Drew has come a long way this year and finished the season on fire. He was able to pick up over thirty wins as a sophomore, win the conference and district titles, and qualify for his first state tournament.
"That's quite the list of accomplishments for someone who is only a sophomore. Drew came very close to placing in the top six of the state tournament but he will not look at that as a negative but as a positive to motivate him for next year. The sky's the limit with Drew and how far he can go in wrestling."
Senior Hank Lichtenwaldt also competed in his first state tournament at 171 pounds, Hank also came one win away from placing in the top six.
"This was only Hank's third year of wrestling and he has come a long way in just a short amount of time," Umscheid said. "He was also competing with an injured shoulder the last two weeks of the season but he didn't let that distract him of accomplishing his goals. We would have loved to have seen him on the medal stand on Saturday because he deserved it as much as anyone else.
"He was a great example for our younger wrestlers to follow. He gave it everything he had in every match and those are the type of wrestlers that you love to coach. He is going to be missed next year and not easy to replace."
The final two competitors for the Bison on the weekend also finished the best overall.
Nate Morgan at 112 pounds and Chris Schleeman at 215 pounds.
Both were able to pick up third-place finishes after close semifinal losses the night before.
"Nate had the best semifinal match of the entire tournament," Umscheid said. All eyes were on his match against the returning state champion from Omaha Skutt and it came down to a triple overtime tiebreaker. Either wrestler could have one this match and it is a shame that one of them had to lose.
"It was a very intense, nail biter with Nate coming up a little short at the end. Many people congratulated Nate after his match for putting up such a valiant effort and many people stood and applauded the performance that both wrestlers displayed in their match.
"Nate had wanted that win very badly over the last year and gave it everything he had. In many people's eyes that was the championship match. Nate showed alot of maturity though by rebounding the next day and dominating his next two opponents on his way to a third place finish.
"Nate is an exceptional athlete and wrestler. There is nothing that he can't do on a wrestling mat and he showed it last weekend.
"He has one more shot at moving toward the top of the medal stand next year and we know that he will do whatever it takes to accomplish his goals."
The other third place finisher for the Bison was senior Chris Schleeman at 215 pounds.
"Chris put on another heroic display this past weekend and saved his best wrestling of the year for the state tournament," Umscheid said. "Chris' season was shrunk down due to injuries but he didn't let that bother him from accomplishing his goals on the wrestling mat. He came back from injury with about three weeks to go in the season.
"In those three weeks he able to become a four-time conference finalist, conference runner-up, district champion and finished third in the state tournament.
"There are not many people on this planet that could have done what he did. Chris is the ultimate competitor considering he did most his wrestling while still suffering from a rib injury that gave him immense pain during most of his matches.
"He was able to block out the pain long enough though to put on some very exciting matches. He lost in the championship semifinals against the eventual champion from Auburn.
"Chris was the only wrestler in the state tournament that the Auburn wrestler did not pin and that just tells you what type of wrestler Chris is. He was able to bounce back on Saturday with a very good attitude and focus.
"His first match on Saturday was against the fourth-ranked wrestler from Boys Town and after that the second-ranked wrestler from York. Chris was able to defeat both of those wrestlers on his way to his third place finish.
"Chris has given us many great memories that we will be sharing with younger wrestlers in years to come. It will be hard to find another wrestler with his heart and determination to get the job done no matter what the situation is. It has been an honor to sit in his corner for the last four years and help him in achieving his goals.
"Both Nate and Chris did an excellent job of competing and have nothing to be ashamed of. They both lost to the eventual champion of their bracket and if they had been placed on the other side of the bracket probably would have been in the championship finals.
"But those are things that they couldn't control and didn't let bother them. They just went out on the mat and did the best that they could do. We are very proud of them and the other four state qualifiers who competed for McCook last weekend."
McCook Bison state
wrestling tournament results
Team Finish: 14th place -- 41 points
Individual Results
103 Jesus Gauna 1-2
112 Nate Morgan 4-1 3rd place
125 Skyler Kalinski 1-2
130 Drew Peterson 2-2
171 Hank Lichtenwaldt 2-2
215 Chris Schleeman 4-1 3rd place