Beavers are runnerup at Norton

Mulligan, Stucky, Hayes are champions

State rankings were nearly a dime a dozen in the always tough Norton Invitational.

Even with a field that featured several potential state champions, Scott Community High School cashed in with six finalists and a second place team finish on Saturday.

Just how tough was the tournament? It featured 20 wrestlers ranked within the top six in their weight classes in Class 3-2-1A, six in Class 4A and four more in Class 5A - a total of 30.

And that doesn’t include Nebraska grapplers making the trip from McCook and Cozad.

“It’s oustanding competition,” says head coach Jon Lippelmann. “We started the day well and to get six boys into the finals is about where we expected to be. You’re always wanting the top prize, but taking second place is still a pretty good day in this tournament.”

Norton, the top-ranked team in Class 3-2-1A, won the tournament with 246.5 points, followed by Scott City (185.5) and Shawnee-Mill Valley (147).

Sophomore 103-pounder Clay Mulligan, ranked No. 2 in Class 4A, kept his perfect record intact with a 2-1 win over Ryan Hodges (Shawnee-Mill Valley), ranked No. 3 in Class 5A.

Even though it was a scoreless match, and Mulligan was in the top position going into the third period, he felt confident about containing Hodges for the final two minutes.

“And I feel pretty confident I can turn most people,” he says. “I have a couple of tilts that I’ve gotten a lot better at.”

That paid off midway into the third period when Mulligan was able to tilt Hodges to the mat for a two-point near fall, which was all the scoring he would need. Hodges didn’t score his escape until Mulligan turned him loose with a second remaining.

“That’s the strongest kid I’ve wrestled this season,” said Mulligan, who improved his record to 18-0.

The undefeated start isn’t a surprise to the former state qualifier who has worked hard during the off-season to improve his technique.

“I’ve gotten a whole lot better on my feet. I’ve come up with a new shot and set up that are working pretty well for me,” he says.

 

Hayes Still Unbeaten

Adding to his undefeated streak was 145-pound senior Dakota Hayes (20-0) who won by a third period defensive fall over Atwood’s Kevin Wolters.

The last time the two wrestlers met was in the finals of the St. Francis Invitational a year ago, which Wolters won by a wild 13-10. There was little doubt as to the outcome.

Hayes jumped out to a 9-0 lead over the No. 4 ranked wrestler in Class 3-2-1A. In the third period, Wolters slipped a leg inside for a cross-body ride and Hayes was able to take the Atwood senior to his back for the pin.

Hayes had seen his pin streak end at 16 matches the previous night against Oakley, and added a technical fall in the opening round before starting another pin streak in the semi-finals against Eric Albers - the same grappler who had ended the streak on Friday in the Oakley dual.

It’s all about having good motion, says Hayes with respect to his success so far this season.

“If you are constantly moving there will eventually be a window,” he says. “But you have to move in order to create an advantage somewhere.”

Senior Dillon Stucky, a 140-pounder, continued to dominate against a quality field. He had to survive a tough 8-2 decision over Mill Valley’s Devin Ellison and followed with a third period escape for a 3-2 decision against Beloit’s Dyllan Nezum, who went on to take third place.

That set up a rematch with Connor Pfannenstiel (Norton), who Stucky had defeated 5-1 in the Goodland dual tournament just before Christmas. After falling behind 1-0 in the second period, Stucky took the lead with a key takedown over Pfannenstiel, who had been ranked No. 6 prior to Christmas.

The SCHS grappler added a third period escape for a 3-1 win.

Also advancing to the finals and coming away with silver medals were Paco Antillon (119), Morgan Numrich (152) and Luke Hayes (189).

Antillon advanced to the finals with a pair of falls where he faced Ross Stewart (McCook), who had defeated the SCHS senior by a 3-2 score in the Lexington tournament last year. This time around both grapplers were scoreless after regulation and following the first three overtime periods.

Stewart was able to ride Antillon for 30 seconds in the fourth overtime to win the match on criteria.

Numrich easily earned a berth in the championship match with a fall and major decision. That set up a rematch with Norton’s Landon Keiswetter who Numrich had defeated, 9-3, at the Goodland tournament. Keiswetter scored on a second period escape and penalty point for a 2-0 win.

L. Hayes faced undefeated Tanner Sturgeon (Cozad) in the championship match, falling behind 6-2 after giving up three early takedowns. But the sophomore finished strong despite an 8-5 loss.

Claiming third place medals for Scott City were Alex Kough (112) and Calvin Erven (189).

Kough, a freshman, dropped his only match of the tournament by a 5-4 decision to Logan Hunke (Cozad) in the opening round, but he worked his way back through the consolation bracket with two wins, setting up a rematch with Hunke. The second time around Kough took a 4-3 lead into the third period when he won by a fall.

“Alex isn’t big in stature, but he’s not lacking in talent or power,” says Lippelmann. “We’re trying to expand his knowledge and as that happens he should continue to improve.”

Erven (14-5) was dropped into the consolation bracket following a 5-2 loss to Mill Valley’s Leo Beck, who is the No. 4 ranked wrestler in Class 5A. The SCHS senior cruised to a bronze medal with falls in his next two matches over Danny Baker (Hoxie) and Casey Robison (Norton).

“There are still a few habits we’re trying to break with Calvin, and he knows that,” Lippelmann adds. “Once we can eliminate those we’re going to see Calvin winning the big matches.”

Name

Email

Title

Comment