Saturday's Fort Calhoun Wrestling Tournament moved along quickly as five teams competed on two mats.
Pioneer coaches Drew and Jake Welchert bolted back-and-forth between bouts as their wrestlers faced opposition from Wahoo, Millard South, Omaha Roncalli and Omaha Northwest.
“Five teams here. They're all good,” FCHS 145-pounder AJ Duros said. “I think we have some good competition today.”
When the hustle and bustle concluded, the Pioneers were fourth with 117 team points — 32 less than tournament champion Millard South. The Welcherts' Gage Nixon, Lance Olberding, Ely Olberding and Duros all earned first-place individual finishes, too.
Notably, Duros was the 145-pound champion with a 3-0 record Saturday. His first match ended in just 1:26 when he took Roncalli's Nathan Evans to the mat and pinned him in quick succession.
“Nothing real special. Just basic moves,” the Pioneer said. “Coach takes us through all of those things.”
Duros turned Evans to his back with a forceful half nelson hold.
“It's basically over from there,” he said.
Lance Olberding, meanwhile, won at 132 pounds. The senior earned two technical falls and pinned Millard South's Julian Humm in 1:51.
Ely Olberding's pin during the 138-pounds semifinals came in 2:30. The FCHS standout then bested Wahoo's Caden Smart 7-1 in the finals.
Nixon pinned all three of his 120-pound opponents, too. He beat Jayse Styskal of Wahoo in 1:50, Millard South's Edwin Carey in 5:29 and Ehku Say of Northwest in 5:39.
In addition to its tourney champs, Fort Calhoun's Levi Lasher (second at 126 pounds), Michael Maxon (second at 145), Peyton Lincoln (third at 152), Fred Altstadt (fourth at 152) and Dakota Tripp (fourth at 220) all earned top-four finishes. Lasher was 2-1 with a pin, while Maxon was 1-2 with a pin. Lincoln an Tripp added falls, too.
The Pioneers next compete during a junior varsity tournament Friday at Omaha Westside before a 9 a.m. Saturday trip to Logan View High School for an invite.
JV hosts tourney, too
The Fort Calhoun wrestlers hosted a junior varsity tournament last Friday afternoon, too. Five Pioneers took part with two earning a top-four podium spot.
Matthew Kelly was third at 138 pounds, winning four of his five matches. Though he lost his semifinals bout with Omaha Bryan's Diego Ramirez, the wrestler came back to win a 12-6 decision with Omaha Westside's Daywan R. Phillips. He won his third-place match by injury default.
Ethan Hammond, meanwhile, was fourth at 145 pounds Friday. The FCHS athlete went 2-2 with a pair of third-period pins.
FORT CALHOUN TOURNAMENT
Saturday at FCHS
Team standings: Millard South 149 points, Wahoo 144.5, Omaha Roncalli 120, Fort Calhoun 117, Omaha Northwest 41.
FCHS Medalists: 1, Gage Nixon, 120 pounds. 1, Lance Olberding, 132. 1, Ely Olberding, 138. 1, AJ Duros, 145. 2, Levi Lasher, 126. 2, Michael Maxon, 145. 3, Peyton Lincoln, 152. 4, Fred Altstadt, 152. 4, Dakota Tripp, 220.
