Select Washington County youth wrestlers from Fort Calhoun, Blair and Arlington competed at the Nebraska USA Wrestling Folkstyle Tournament last weekend.
Two Pioneer Wrestling Club grapplers won state titles, while many more earned medals Sunday at the Heartland Event Center in Grand Island.
Gossmans claim 1st place
Bennett and Baeli Gossman earned state championships as the Pioneer Wrestling Club finished 19th out of the 275 teams represented in the USA Wrestling tournament.
Bennett went 3-0 in his 55-56-pound weight class of the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten division. He pinned all three of his opponents, including Brylen Wietfeld of Clarkson-Leigh in the finals. That match took 2:54, while his previous two bouts took just 1:11 combined.
Baeli, meanwhile, was 3-0 in the 48-49-pound class of her kindergarten-to-second grade girls age grouping. She won all three of her matches by pin, ending the finals bout in just 1:38.
Baeli was also eighth at 50 pounds in the boys and girls division.
In addition to its champions, nine more Pioneer Wrestling Club athletes earned medals in Grand Island. Henry Christensen was second at 95 pounds of his first- and second-grade group. He won a second-place-place match by 5-1 decision.
Bennett Miller, a 59-pounder, was also third in the same age division, while John Dennis and Abel Christensen earned seventh. Lane LeColst was eight, too.
Fort Calhoun's Kyler Pearson was third at 65 pounds competing against fourth-graders, while Beckah Gossman earned fifth at 109 pounds in her girls category. Henry Jorgensen added a fifth-place finish in the kindergarten competition, while Ledger Bernasek was sixth in the sixth grade division.
Brooks Miller, Laykyn Bernasek, Barrett Gossman, Noah Duros, Nathan Duros and Landon Bernasek also represented their Pioneer Wrestling Club, which is led by coach Ben Gossman, at state.
Blair Wrestling Club
Blair Wrestling Club earned 57th in Grand Island. Its top finishers were Charley Cosentino and Easton Kruse.
Cosentino led the Bears' kindergarten wrestlers, earning third in the 71-75-pound weight class. He went 2-2 overall, securing a 10-0 major and 10-9 decision.
Fischer Brown, meanwhile, was seventh at 41 pounds.
Kruse had Blair's top third- and fourth-grade finish, taking third at at 112 pounds. He won four matches, including one by a 38-second pin.
Mason Gubbels added an eighth-place finish, too, while Kaleigha Pierre was fourth in the 97-pound class of the girls' competition.
Blair Wrestling Club's Aiden Maschman, Wyatt Jenson, Jackson Davis, Alex Munger, Javon Chudomelka, Landry Larsen, Brooks Davis, Ryker Villwok, Wyatt Loftis and Carson Faue represented their hometown in Grand Island, too, competing for their own victories on the mat.
Notably, Blair wrestler Blaise Baughman, representing his Westside Wrestling Club team in the seventh- and eighth-grade division, earned a second-place finish at state.
Emmet Rosterman and Tannon Bellamy medaled for their club teams, too. Rosterman was a second-place finisher, while Bellamy took sixth.
Reed leads Arlington wrestlers
Teagan Reed led all Arlington wrestlers who competed last weekend at the state tournament.
Wrestling at 100 pounds in the third- and fourth-grade division, the Eagle went 3-2 with three pins. All three falls came during the first period.
In addition, Arlington wrestlers Brody Overholt and Grayson Bowman earned sixth-place finishes at the Heartland Event Center. Overholt competed at 70 pounds in the first- and second-grade division, while Bowman is 46 pounds in the kindergarten age grouping.
Wrestlers Monte Monke, Ericson Lozo and Tanner Kyllo were seventh-place state finishers as well, while Maverick Monke took eighth. Cade Egbarts, Ryker Wegner and Tyson Soll earned match victories, too, while Braxton Soll also competed.
