Freshman Trevor Peterson errupted with joy after scoring a takedown in the first sudden victory period in the heartbreak round. Peterson beat Jackson Ulrich of Ord, assuring him a spot at the state championships. (Johnson Publications photo)
After dropping his semifinal match to Ty Connely of Kearney Catholic, Caleb Weiss found himself in a must win situation. The pressure didn’t seem to bother Weiss as he cruised to a 15-2 major decision over Eduardo Gonzalez of Minden in the heartbreak round. Weiss went on to place third. (Johnson Publications photo)
Junior Caine Haarberg was at his best at the District meet in Valentine. In his semifinal match against Brady Dawson of Southern Valley, Haarberg held on to win a very close 3-2 decision and advance to the finals. (Johnson Publications photo)
The lone senior qualifying for state, Bryson Fisher finished his first two matches in the first period. Here in the final match, Kaden Dawe of Ord put up a good fight but fell to Fisher in a 6-3 decision. (Johnson Publications photo)
Junior Eli Hinojosa was all business at the district tourney. Hinojosa faced a familiar foe in the finals in Bryan McGahan of Hershey. McGahan faced the same fate as Hinojosa’s other three opponents, losing by pinfall as time expired in the first period. (Johnson Publications photo)
District wrestling crowns two as champions; five qualify for state
The Chase County wrestling team attended the Class C-4 district tournament in Valentine last weekend and qualified five wrestlers for the state meet in Omaha which starts today (Thursday).
Head Coach Matt Vlasin said he was very pleased with the performance of his team. With the exception of a couple of matches, Vlasin said everyone wrestled to the best of their ability.
Coming home with district championships were senior Bryson Fisher at 160 pounds and junior Eli Hinojosa at 220.
After receiving a bye in his first round, Fisher scored pins in the first period of his next two matches. In the finals, Kaden Dawe of Ord gave Fisher a tough match, but was unable to upset the number one seeded Fisher, losing a 3-6 decision.
Despite being the top seed in the 220 pound bracket, Eli Hinojosa didn’t receive a bye. That didn’t seem to bother Hinojosa as he dominated the competition, winning all but one match in the first round.
In his semifinal match, Treyvon Brooks of Broken Bow took Hinojosa 29 seconds into the third period before being finished by a pin.
Also punching their ticket to the state meet where freshman Trevor Peterson, fourth place 132; junior Caleb Weiss, third place 145; and junior Caine Haarberg, second place 182.
Peterson had one of the most exciting matches in the consolation semifinals. Wrestling Jackson Ulrich of Ord, Peterson scored a point late in the third period to tie the match at eight.
That meant going into a one minute sudden victory period. Peterson shot a double legged takedown and was just about to clear his head and get the win, when the ref stopped the match due to blood from Ulrich.
Not to be denied, when the match resumed, Peterson shot on Ulrich again and was able to finish the takedown to secure a 10-8 victory and a spot at the state meet.
The consolation semifinals, otherwise known as the heartbreak round, claimed three of the other four wrestlers.
Seniors Colton Burpo (126), Roper Cochran (138) and Zach Space (195) all saw their high school wrestling career end in this round. All three wrestled a good tournament but fell just one win short of making the state tourney.
Sophomore Evan Fisher (170) was eliminated in the third round of the consolation bracket. With 12 seconds left in his match against Zane Hamilton Harris of Gordon Rushville, Fisher got a reversal which put Hamilton Harris on his back and appeared to have him pinned, but time ran out before the official could make the call.
As a team the Longhorns started the tournament red hot, with everyone who didn’t have a bye winning their first match by pinfall. This put Chase County in the lead in team points going into the second round.
The Longhorns finished the tournament with a fifth place finish out of the 16 teams participating.
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