Well, I guess the wrestling takeover continues.
Nothing against the basketball players of Washington County — or the swimmers, of course — but I couldn’t help but pick three more grapplers for Nannen Physical Therapy Athlete of the Week again this week. This time, we celebrate the efforts of Blaise Baughman, Annaleigh McLaughlin and Rylie Kyllo.
Blaise Baughman, Blair wrestling: The Bears’ 190-pounder won all week, capping it with a 3-0 showing at the Schuyler Invite. He beat third-ranked Eric Hall of Norris in the finals by 10-7 decision and started things off with a 12-second pin. Special mention goes to Hudson Loges and Madi James, who also won tournament brackets in Schuyler, as well as swimmer Jacob Hanson, who led the Fremont Tigers to a meet win.
Annaleigh McLaughlin, Fort Calhoun wrestling: The FCHS 105-pounder went 5-0 Thursday through Saturday, winning Nebraska City’s Rumble in River Country with a 3-0 mark. She had two pins during Thursday’s triangular, too, pinning an Omaha Burke Bulldog in 36 seconds. Special mention goes to Levi Lasher for winning his Yutan Invitational bracket as well as the entire Fort Calhoun boys basketball team for keeping their winning streak going against Mead.
Rylie Kyllo, Arlington wrestling: I just showcased Kelise Krivohlavek last week, so she was out of the running, but it was still tough to pick an Athlete of the Week between the Eagles’ other home invite champions — Callee Shearer, Brooklyn Ruskamp and Kyllo. I picked Rylie because she had to put in the most work, winning four matches at 115 pounds by pin. Special mention goes to the aforementioned wrestlers as well as grappler Cameron Hancock, a Yutan Invite champ, and Trent Koger, who scored 31 points in Thursday’s home basketball win.
Never fear hoopers and swimmers, I’ll get you back into the Athlete of the Week action next week. It’s just wrestling’s time right now, you know?
