Junior High wrestlers perform well in Hemingford

Caleb Schaeffer led the young Longhorns on the mats last Thursday, Nov. 8, in Hemingford with a first place win and 20 team points on the board.

Schaeffer pinned Colter Gerard of Edgemont Jr. High in round one in just 42 seconds and followed up with a win by fall in 2:53 over Owen Talton of Bayard in round two. Round three brought a win by fall over Aaron Suhr of Minatare in 37 seconds to secure Schaeffer’s first place finish in the 123-128 weight bracket.

Braylon Miller earned 14 additional team points for the Longhorns and secured a first place finish in the 110-113 weight bracket with his first round win by 5-3 decision over Morrill’s Daniel Bunton. Miller followed up in round two win in sudden victory 14-10 over Ryal Baldwin of Mitchell. Miller finished up his most successful tournament to date with a round three win by 5-2 decision over Banner County’s Adam Knaub.

Chris McCloskey earned first place in his 115-117 weight brackets and added 14 team points to the Kimball board with a round one win by 4-3 decision over Gabriel Tretter of Leyton Junior High. McCloskey won by 7-1 decision in round two over Gavin Hunt of Garden County and secured his first place with a round three win by 7-0 decision over Mitchell’s Nathan Hargreaves.

Rounding out the Horns first place wins is Matthew Johnson in the 65-66 weight bracket with eight team points earned.

Round one saw Johnson pin Jarett Anderson of Hay Springs in 41 seconds, and though round two stats were not available, he won by major decision (8-0) over Garden County’s Wyland Lobner in the third round.

Kimball’s Trey Schindler placed second in the 130-134 weight bracket and earned 14 team points for the Kimball board with a first round win, by fall in 29 seconds, over Crawford’s Wade Riggs. Schindler followed up with a round two win by fall in 37 seconds over Matt Applegate of Bayard before his round three loss to Curtis Rittgarn of Gordon-Rushville by fall in 59 seconds.

Teammate Kyle Fraser also placed second and earned 12 team points in the 95-100 weight bracket, though round one was a loss to Jarrett Fear of Mitchell, by fall in 2:31. Fraser came back in the second round for a win by 10-4 decision over Garden County’s Kyle Rote and tied up his second place spot with a round three win by fall in 1:39 over Morrill’s Teige Whetham.

Teammate Brandon Paxton earned second place in the 101-107 bracket with 12 team points for the Horns beginning with a round one win by fall in 31 seconds over Mitchell’s Craig Lemoine. Paxton fell to Bridgeport’s Elijah Conley in round two in just 43 seconds before bouncing back in the third round with a win by 7-0 decision over Crawford’s Gage Emmet.

James McGinnis earned nine team points and secured a third place victory with a round one win by disqualification over Mitchell’s Hayden Umble. Round two was a loss by 12-5 decision to Garden County’s Ty Coss and McGinnis fell to Ayden McDonald of Hay Springs in the third round in 1:44.

Gage Schaeffer also earned a third place finish in the 109-11 bracket with nine team points added to the Horns board. Round one brought a sudden victory loss for Schaeffer to Banner County’s Nathan Clement 14-12. Jairett Olson of Garden County pinned Schaeffer in round two in 36 seconds before the young Longhorn rallied in the third for a win by fall over Jackson Mitchell of Mitchell in 2:42.

Makhi Bryson placed third in the 96-104 bracket and added eight team points to the board with a round one win by 12-0 major decision over Sam Bunton of Morrill. Bryson fell to Mitchell’s Wyatt Hayward in round two in 38 seconds and was pinned by Bridgeport’s Coy Fleming in 26 in the third round.

Aaron Gilming, Gabe Brooks and Tyler Loffland each earned fourth place finishes in their brackets and added four team points to the Kimball board.

Adam Knaub earned second place in the 110-113 bracket and earned the Wildcats 14 team points with a first round win over Mitchell’s Ryal Baldwin by fall in 1:44. In round two Knaub pinned Morrill’s Daniel Bunton in 29 seconds before a round three loss to Kimball’s Braylon Miller by 5-2 decision.

Teammate Brendyn Onstott also earned second place in the 112-115 bracket and added 14 points to the Wildcats’ board despite a first round loss to Mitchell’s Xavier White by 7-6 decision.

Onstott rallied in the second round for a win by fall in 33 seconds over Hemingford’s Zane Hinman followed by a win by fall in 1:49 over Bruno Ramos of Bridgeport in round three.

Nathan Clement earned second place in the 109-111 bracket and added twelve points to the Banner County board with a first round win in sudden victory (14-12) over Kimball’s Gage Schaeffer. Clement followed in round two with a win by fall in 1:21 over Mitchell’s Jackson Mitchell before falling to Garden County’s Jairett Olson in round three by 11-3 major decision.

Eddie McGown earned nine team points and a third place finish despite a first round loss to Sage Krebs of Gordon-Rushville by 11-1 major decision.

McGown rallied in the second round to pin Kimball’s Aaron Gilming in 1:24 before losing in round three to Bayard’s Nate Barker by fall in 59 seconds.

Teammate Noah Yetter secured a third place finish in the 167-175 bracket with a first round loss to Gordon-Rushville’s Atreyu Thorsen by fall in 32 seconds before coming back in the second round to pin Mitchell’s Sullivan Johnson in 1:34. Yetter fell in round three to Crawford’s Carter Rudloff in 1:06.

Isaac Olsen placed fourth in the 143-146 bracket and earned four points for the Wildcats.