Four On The Floor

Kimball will be sending four wrestlers to the Nebraska State Wrestling Tournament in Omaha that gets underway today (Thursday) and continues through Saturday! By virtue of their outstanding performances at the D-4 District Tournament held this past week, the Longhorns will be sending one of their largest number of wrestlers to the big show in Omaha in many years. The Fearsome Foursome include senior heavyweight Stephen Bateman at 285 pounds, junior Connor Cluff at 126, freshman Trey Schindler at 138, and freshman Matthew Johnson at 106.

Coach Wade Brashear said "We had a great District tournament. All of our guys wrestled very well, even though we could have finished even better in some cases". Brashear went on to say that his wrestlers got off to a good start in Friday's rounds.

Matt Johnson as a freshman gives up about 30 pounds to his opponents every time he steps onto the mat, but will now have the chance to become a four time state qualifier. In his first match he suffered a 1st period fall to Grooms of Mullen, but came back to win 8-6 over a senior from Hemingford which got him to state. In his match for 3rd-4th, he lost by pin to Devitt of Hitchcock County. In his first round pairing at state he will go up against Lane Bohac of East Butler.

Connor Cluff at 126 had Kimball's highest finish taking 3rd place at District winning 3 of his 4 matches. Connor started out with a fall in 3:58 over McArthur of Hitchcock County and followed that win with a very strong performance against 7-3 to Samuel Foster of Sutherland in the semi finals. In the consolation semi finals he came back strong to pin Gaston of Hitchcock County in 2:49, and in his match for 3rd place Cluff pinned Abbott of Leyton in 1:55. Connor's first match at state is against Brenner McLaughlin of Thayer Central.

Trey Schindler will also have the opportunity to become a four time state qualifier after his strong showing at district. In the 138 pound weight class, always a tough weight class for a freshman. In his first match Trey secured a big win with a pin in 2:38 over Luke Honstein of Hemingford. In his semi final match he lost 10-7 to Beau Lake of Bayard. His most important win of the tournament came in the consolation semis where he was losing to Ezekiel Heaton of Hyannis but came up with a pin in 4:35 to give him a trip to Omaha. In the match for 3rd-4th, Trey met up with Honstein of Hemingford once again and this time Honstein won with a first period fall over Trey leaving Schindler with a 4th place finish. Trey will meet up with Nate Christiansen of Plainview in his first match at Omaha.

Stephen Bateman at 285 had 5 matches at District and got off to a very good start winning both of his matches on Friday. In his first match he pinned Baxter of Hitchcock County in :51 seconds and then decisioned Welch of Mullen 6-0. Coach Brashear said "Steve really should have been in the finals for the championship, but just made mistakes that cost him". In the semi finals Bateman lost by fall in 1:51 to Garduno of Minatare, but came back in his next match to pin Robb of Hemingford in 1:32 to guarantee him a state berth. In the match for 3rd place, Stephen was leading after the first 2 periods but lost by fall to Branic of Sandhills/Thedford leaving him with a 4th place finish. Steve will wrestle Marcus Cave of Weeping Water in his first match at state.

Joseph Burris, a senior on the Kimball team, went 2 and 2 at district and was just one win short of qualifying for state.

"Joe had his best tournament of the season but just came up short" said Coach Brashear. Wrestling at 145 he lost his first match by fall in 3:21 over Barrett of Wauneta-Palisade, and pinned Schaffert of Hitchcock County in 3:24. He needed one more win in the Heartbreak round of the consolation semis to get to the top four but lost by fall to DeNaeyer Of Mullen ending his Kimball High career.

Representing all of the Western Nebraska fans, we wish our four Kimball High wrestlers the best at the State Tournament, which once again, begins today (Thursday) in Omaha. Coach Wade Brashear has asked me also to thank all of the Great Parent support the team and the program has had all season, and also thank all of the fans for their support as well.

I would also like to personally thank all of you mothers who followed and provided us with such outstanding pictures and videos of each and every tournament all season long. It was truly appreciated.