Wrestling teams of the Nebraska Capitol Conference (NCC) met Saturday at Douglas County West High School.
The Syracuse Rockets won the boys' league title, while Raymond Central was second and Logan View took third. Fort Calhoun, meanwhile, earned fifth and Arlington took seventh.
Three Pioneers — Presley Olberding, Landon Bernasek and Gage Nixon — won NCC brackets, while Kolton Gilmore led the Eagles with a second-place showing.
3 Pioneers go unbeaten
Six of coach Drew Welchert's FCHS wrestlers earned top-four conference finishes Saturday.
Bernasek was one of the three who went unbeaten. He was 3-0 against the NCC's 126 pounders, battling through all three rounds of competition.
In the quarterfinals, Bernasek wrestled Maddox Stubbendick of Syracuse into the third period, finally finishing the match by fall in 4:55. To get into position for the pin, the Pioneer grabbed a leg, stood up with it to his chest and tripped the Rocket to the mat near the boundary.
From there, Bernasek beat Arlington's Braxton Soll by 4-1 decision and topped Marcus Foust of Logan View by 14-6 major decision.
Olberding, meanwhile, won the 113-pound weight class by 11-6 decision in the finals against Syracuse's Carter Wander. He beat Elijah Ehlers during the semifinals (7-0), too, and pinned his first opponent — the Eagles' Jake Flesner — in 1:35.
Nixon, a senior, went 2-0 at 132 pounds with two decisions as well. The 19-10 FCHS standout topped Louisville's Tucker McCarthy 7-3 first before earning an 8-3 victory against Logan View's Sam Peters.
The Pioneers' TJ DeMilt, Merritt Olberding and AJ Duros claimed spots on the podium at DC West, too. DeMilt was 3-1 with a pin at 157 pounds to take third, while Merritt Olberding and AJ Duros each went 2-2 for fourth at 106 and 150 pounds, respectively.
6 Eagles medal
Gilmore led six Arlington medalists at DC West on Saturday.
The 23-3 Eagle reached the 165-pound finals and dropped a tight, 2-1 matchup to 33-2 Cy Petersen of the NCC champion Rockets.
To reach the finals, Gilmore also bested Fabian Montes of Conestoga by pin and the host Falcons' Kayden VerMaas by 5-0 decision. The AHS standout took 4:54 to beat Montes, turning the Cougars' driving double-leg takedown attempt into a pin when he grabbed his opponent's waist, pulled him over the top on a backward roll and took advantage of the newfound open space between the wrestlers.
Cameron Hancock and Zane Gerrish added third-place finishes for coach Doug Hart's NCC lineup, too. Hancock was 2-1 at 120 pounds with a 52-second pin of Logan View's Dylan Palmer, while Gerrish was 0-2 in the three-person heavyweight class.
The Eagles' Tanner Kyllo, Stokely Lewis and Tate Johannes were fourth in their divisions as well. Lewis was the winningest Arlington wrestler of the three, going 2-2 at 175 pounds. He beat Syracuse's Kaleb Schultz by 6-3 decision and pinned DC West's Hudson Jarecke.
Kyllo and Johannes, meanwhile, secured a win apiece at 138 and 190 pounds, respectively.
NEBRASKA CAPITOL CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Saturday at Douglas County West
Team standings: Syracuse 171, Raymond Central 147, Logan View 128, DC West 122, Fort Calhoun 114, Yutan 95, Arlington 71, Conestoga 50, Louisville 50.
Arlington medalists: 2, Kolton Gilmore, 165 pounds, 2-1 tournament record. 3, Cameron Hancock, 120, 2-1. 3, Zane Gerrish, 285, 0-2. 4, Tanner Kyllo, 138, 1-2. 4, Stokely Lewis, 175, 2-2. 4, Tate Johannes, 190, 1-2.
Fort Calhoun medalists: 1, Presley Olberding, 113 pounds, 3-0 tournament record. 1, Landon Bernasek, 126, 3-0. 1, Gage Nixon, 132, 2-0. 3, TJ DeMilt, 157, 3-1. 4, Merritt Olberding, 106, 2-2. 4, AJ Duros, 150, 2-2.
