|
NORFOLK Grand Island Senior High will be taking a full squad of 14 wrestlers to next week's state tournament in Omaha.
All 14 Islanders finished in the top four Saturday at the Class A, District 3 meet in Norfolk.
That dominance led Grand Island to the district title with 204 points. Omaha Creighton Prep was second with 180.
Grand Island coach Mike Schadwinkel said he joked with G.I. activities director Joe Kutlas that they were going to need a bunch of hotel rooms.
"We knew it was possible," Schadwinkel said of qualifying all 14 wrestlers. "It was just a matter of coming and performing well in what we feel is the toughest district in the state. We also felt our lineup is very solid and very balanced from 103 to heavyweight."
The Islanders came away with two individual titles on the day.
Second-seeded Billy Smith-Leetch pinned top-seeded Dion Tyler of Omaha North in 5:10 to win the 145-pound title and Jason Brisbin pinned Papillion-LaVista South's Jacob Fierro in 3:04 at 160.
"Jason Brisbin just had a great day coming from the fourth seed," Schadwinkel said.
"To bring home a district title from the fourth seed was nice for him. He's had a lot of ups and downs in his career, but for a senior to put it together the last two weeks is really nice."
The Islanders got second-place finishes from Isaiah Aguilar (112), Alec Chanthapatheth (125), Mathew Rice (130), Tyler Glover (135), Alan Taylor (171) and Jesse Janulewicz (215).
Riley Allen (140) and Nate Westerby (189) took third for the Islanders while Ty Chanthapatheth (103), Michael Bolan (119), Beau Jepson (152) and Tyler Swanson (285) each finished fourth.
Schadwinkel said the Islanders are excited to take a full team to Omaha.
"The kids have been talking about it a lot this week," he said. "We felt our strength is in numbers and our strength is in the team. It's been great to get to wrestle with such a balanced and talented group. We sure had a lot of fun the lasts few weeks."
Want to comment on this article?
Register on our forums and post your thoughts.
It's free and easy to do!
independentforums.com
|