Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Kimball's Jordan Cluff (3rd from the left) on the medal stand at the C-4 District Wrestling Tournament held in Bridgeport. The Longhorn junior was Kimball's lone state qualifier after placing 3rd at 113 pounds. State action begins in Omaha today (Thursday) and continues through Saturday.
Jordan Cluff at work controlling his opponent at the C-4 District Tournament. Cluff finished 3rd at 113 pounds and advanced to the State Tournament in Omaha, where he will represent Kimball High.
Jordan Cluff is headed to Omaha and the 2018 Nebraska State Wrestling Tournament! The Kimball High junior earned his spot in this year's state tournament by finishing 3rd in the C-4 District tournament held at Bridgeport this past week. He earned his medal and qualifying spot in the 113 pound weight class. This will be his first trip to state competition.
Jordan had 1 bye, won 3 matches and lost only 1 in district action. In the quarter finals, he pinned Edwards of Loomis-Bertrand in 1:51, lost 16-7 to Rowse of Ord in the semi-finals, won 13-8 over Battershaw of Valentine in the consolation finals and pinned Cooper of Bridgeport in 2:55 for 3rd place. He will go up against Rodney McDonald of South Central NE Unified District 5 in his first round match of the state tournament today (Thursday) in Omaha.
While Jordan was Kimball's lone qualifier, there were others who had good effort and came up just short. Senior, Garrett Pedersen, who has had an exceptional year, saw his season, and high school career, come to an end with an overtime loss in the Heart Break round. Wrestling at 126, Pedersen drew a bye, pinned Bruns of Hershey in 1:43, lost 8-0 to Child of Gordon-Rushville in the semi-finals, and then lost 5-3 in overtime to Shiers of Kearney Catholic.
Stephen Bateman at 195 won 2 and lost 2 in a very tough weight bracket, but the big sophomore is headed towards a good final two years in the sport. Stephen pinned Rodriguez of Arcadia-Loup City in :31 seconds, lost by fall to Gabriel of Ord, pinned Wood of Loomis-Bertrand in 2:22 and lost by pin to Chasek of Mitchell.
Connor Cluff, a freshman, wrestling at 120, had a bye and lost twice on the mat. Senior, Jaden Mohr, had the same stats of 1 bye and 2 losses at 132. Freshman, Izaak Rohde, had 2 byes and 2 losses. Toby McManigal at 285 had 2 byes and 2 losses.
Coach Wade Brashear commenting on the District Tournament said, "The C-4 District Tournament turned out to be very competitive, as usual. Some of the best top-ranked wrestlers in the state were in this district. As a team, we wrestled some of our better matches of the year. Jordan Cluff was able to capture a 13-8 decision over Battershaw of Valentine in the heartbreak round to earn his ticket to state. He went on to earn a fall in the consolation finals and received a 3rd place medal. I would like to thank the wrestlers and their parents for the continued support and work ethic throughout the year, especially for our two seniors, Garrett Pedersen and Jaden Mohr. It was an honor to coach these athletes and I wish them the best in their future life ventures."
