On a cold day with snow on the ground, four Arlington boys earned state wrestling qualifications inside the packed and toasty Malcolm High School gym.
Jake Flesner, Braxton Soll, Ben Flesner and Tate Johannes earned fourth in their weight classes, leading coach Doug Hart's Eagles to their 10th-place finish in the Class C-1 District Tournament.
“These (wrestlers) worked hard all season, not only on honing their wrestling skills, but on their mindset as well,” the coach said. “The whole team has been working on building confidence on and off the mat.”
Ben Flesner will make his state debut with a 20-21 overall record. The 165-pounder went 4-2 in Malcolm, though, beating two wrestlers with winning records to advance.
During the third consolation round, Flesner beat 26-18 Carter Herrington of Palmyra by pin. He then upset 39-11 Conner Neuhalffen of Battle Creek during the all-or-nothing consolation semifinals, securing another fall in 1:43.
Johannes, meanwhile, earned his first Class C state appearance with a 6-5 decision win against Lincoln Lutheran's Logan Lampe during the consolation semis. Before that, though, he also picked up a pair of pins to start his 190-pound bracket run. One took 54 seconds, while the second came just 13 seconds before the end of the third period.
Soll, however, had to bounce back after a loss in his first match of the day to qualify for a second state tournament. The 126-pounder — who is 21-8 after missing the first part of the season due to injury — responded with a pair of pins in 30 and 20 seconds. He then secured an ultimate tiebreaker overtime win against 37-17 Tristan Sisco of Syracuse in the consolation semifinals, clinching his state spot.
Jake Flesner is headed back to the state tournament after going 2-2 in C-1 matches. The Eagle bounced back after a 10-0 major decision loss in the 120-pound semifinals to win his state-clincher by pin. He stopped Falls City's Bailey Thimmes in 2:36 to earn his spot — two years after his last state bout.
Arlington's Cameron Hancock, Tanner Kyllo and Stokely Lewis earned two district wins apiece, too, but finished shy of the state tournament Saturday afternoon.
“We wrestled well today,” Coach Hart said. “The boys all put themselves in a position to get to (the CHI Health Center). If we had a minor setback or a loss, they reset their mind to fight back and make it.”
The NSAA State Boys Wrestling Championships begin 3 p.m. Thursday in Omaha and continue through the 3 p.m. Saturday championship finals.
CLASS C-1 DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
Saturday at Malcolm High School
Team standings: Battle Creek 215.5 points, Broken Bow 159, Syracuse 137, Columbus Scotus 132, O'Neill 105, Albion Boone Central 91, Falls City 86, Tri County 82, Madison 72.5, Arlington 68, Norfolk Catholic 67, Malcolm 50.5, Lincoln Lutheran 30.5, Palmyra 21, Centura 20, Freeman 8.
Arlington Eagle Results (top-4 placers qualify for state)
(Weight, wrestler: Tourney record (overall record), place)
120 pounds, Jake Flesner: 2-2 (27-10), fourth.
126, Braxton Soll: 3-2 (21-8), fourth.
132, Cameron Hancock: 2-2 (26-15), NA.
150, Tanner Kyllo: 2-2 (24-16), NA.
165, Ben Flesner: 4-2 (20-21), fourth.
175, Stokely Lewis: 2-2 (29-13), NA.
190, Tate Johannes: 3-2 (27-11), fourth.
285, Zane Gerrish: 0-2 (19-18), NA.
