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OMAHA < The final whistle blew and Zachary Starostka rolled over on the mat and quickly glanced up at the scoreboard, confirming what he thought to be true.
Then came a big smile.
Starostka's 9-6 victory over Joey Krotz of Gordon-Rushville on Thursday propelled the Grand Island Central Catholic junior into Friday's semifinal round at 160 pounds. Now 31-8 on the season, Starostka moved within one victory of the state finals in his first trip to the Class C state wrestling meet at Omaha's Qwest Center.
"I set a goal at the beginning of the season to medal and I knew that sealed the deal," Starostka said when asked about his satisfied grin. "Now, I don't want to stop with this."
Starostka will next face 40-1 Ethan Studebacker of Raymond Central in the semifinals. He got there with a 4:49 pin of Keaton Buchholtz of Norfolk Catholic in the first round and then knocked off Krotz, who was the Class B state runner-up last year at 160.
"With him being a state runner-up, I was pretty nervous," Starostka said. "That gave me the confidence that I can beat a lot of people now."
GICC coach Marc Starostka Zachary's father said he thought the opening minutes of the match were critical.
"That first takedown was big," Marc Starostka said. "When he got that first takedown, he got the confidence. That was his goal was to get the takedown and that set the tone."
Zachary Starostka agreed.
"It was my first time here, so I was nervous as heck," he said. "I knew that I just needed to keep my head on straight more than I ever had and that I needed to wrestle the best I ever had in my life.
"I just didn't want to melt down out there because it's pretty intimidating."
The Crusaders finished opening day tied for 18th in the team standings with 16 points. Justis Stolz (27-14 at 112) and Jay Osterbuhr (32-10 at 152) both went 1-1 for the Crusaders, while Weston Walton (27-14 at 125), Dale Curran (25-15 at 130), Bryce Walker (25-21 at 145) and Zachary Schroder (22-17 at 285) all suffered first-round losses.
"On paper it might not look good, but considering the kids' effort and everything, it has definitely been a good thing," Marc Starostka said. "I don't just look at what's on paper."
"We're seeing some of the best competition in the state and we've been preparing for that all season long, so they know what to expect."
Madison leads the Class C team race 40.5-35.5 over Fort Calhoun. Top-rated (NSWCA) Sargent/Burwell is fifth with 30 points.
The Bulldogs/Longhorns moved three grapplers into the semifinal round with Dakota Holt (36-6 at 119), Bruce Zurek (39-2 at 135) and Tom Brown (40-3 at 171) all clinching state medals. Sargent/Burwell still has five wrestlers alive in the consolation rounds.
Ord is just outside of the top 10, standing 11th with 22 points. The Chanticleers pushed two of their three qualifiers into the semifinals with Sean Trampe (33-2 at 112) and Braden Orent (33-5 at 125) both winning twice.
St. Paul's Jordan Heusinkvelt (35-4 at 215) and Ravenna's Noah Steele (35-1 at 189) both advanced to the semifinals with two wins via fall.
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