Eli Hinojosa used his bull-rush double leg takedown on Tripp Nicholson of Hershey to set up a pin at the 2:49 mark in his fourth match of the day. That set up a rematch with Ryan Christensen of Ogallala in the finals. Hinojosa took just 21 seconds for that pin to take first place in the 220 pound class and keep his perfect record intact. (Johnson Publications photo)
Mikael Kuhlmann stepped up his game, going 2-3 in the 152 pound division. Here, Kuhlmann secures a pin over Jacob Schmitt of Hershey in just 50 seconds. (Johnson Publications photo)
In his second match of the day at 106, Brit Gockley dominated Lawrence Rodriguez of Minatare. Although Gockley was close to pinning Rodriguez several times, he settled for a major decision win of 16-7. (Johnson Publications photo)
Evan Fisher had his best showing of the year at 170 pounds. It took only 31 seconds to pin Josh Mason of Garden County enroute to a first place finish. (Johnson Publications photo)
Eli Hinojosa earned the Vern Phelps Outstanding Wrestler Award which is voted on by all the head coaches at the meet. (Johnson Publications photo)
Chase County fifth at home wrestling invite with 2 champions
Chase County wrestlers started the morning a little sluggish but came on strong later in the day to finish in fifth place at their home invitational.
Head Coach Matt Vlasin was a little disappointed that Hershey was able to edge out the Longhorns by two points in the end Saturday, but said he would much rather finish strong than start strong and not be able to finish.
Bridgeport led in team points every round except the final one when Ogallala edged them out by half a point to take the championship
Team results
Ogallala 181, Bridgeport 180.5, Burlington 134.5, Hershey 115, Chase County 113, Bayard 89, Hitchcock County 85, Perkins County 75, Garden County 67, Gordon-Rushville 55, Dundy County Stratton 44, Kimball 44, Minatare 14 and Wauneta-Palisade 5.
The Longhorns had two champions on the day, with Evan Fisher going 5-0 at 170 pounds and Eli Hinojosa winning all five matches at 225 pounds and winning the Vern Phelps Outstanding Wrestler Award.
Caine Haarberg finished in third place going 2-2 in the 182 pound division.
Four wrestlers finished in fifth place including Brit Gockley (106), Kenyan Biesecker (126), Logan Mendenhall (138) and Caleb Weiss (145).
Mikael Kuhlmann rounded out the medal winners, bringing home sixth at 152 pounds.
With most of the wrestlers at the final weight for the year, now it’s time to tune things in with districts coming up on Feb. 9-10 in Bridgeport.