The Fort Calhoun High School girls wrestling team prepared all season for the Class B-2 District Tournament in Falls City.
“We've been wrestling big tournaments with competition all year,” said coach Lilly Gossman after Friday's first day of the two-day meet. “So, they were excited. They were really excited.”
The nine Pioneers' excitement translated into a third-place team finish and five state qualifications — the first five in school history. Madi Larrick, Beckah Gossman, Ali Dill, Annaleigh McLaughlin and Anna Rae Hartline next compete Feb. 18-19 during the NSAA State Girls Wrestling Championships in Omaha at the CHI Health Center.
While Larrick and Gossman secured their state opportunities with district titles, Hartline, Dill and McLaughlin battled their way back into contention through the consolation rounds. Hartline lost a 135-pound semifinals match to Alizabeth Whitley of Lyons-Decatur Northeast on Saturday, but she secured her trip to Omaha with a pin of Thayer Central's Libby Hergott during the consolation semifinals.
“She wants it,” Coach Gossman said Friday after the fourth-place district finisher earned a come-from-behind third period pin in the quarterfinals. “She wants it bad.”
The coach noted how Hartline was inspired by falling short of her own expectations during FCHS' first girls wrestling campaign in 2023-24.
“She's been hanging onto last season, not doing as well as she has wanted, and that's been her motivation,” Gossman said.
Dill, meanwhile, moved to 40-17 at 125 pounds this season after a 4-1 tournament run in Falls City. The Pioneer placed third, securing a 6-1 decision during the consolation semifinals and a third-period pin in the third-place match against Minden's Aubree Bules.
“Much more confident in herself,” Gossman said when asked how Dill has improved during her second wrestling season.
McLaughlin, however, will conclude her first high school wrestling campaign at state after a fourth-place district result at 105 pounds. The FCHS standout lost her second match of the tournament on Friday, but battled back with three-straight wins — two pins and a 19-3 technical fall — to qualify. She is 43-16 this season.
Beckah Gossman, however, is 43-3 this year at 145 pounds. The freshman swept through her bracket with four pins, capping the event with a 18-second fall against 37-6 Auburn wrestler Lucia Campbell — who'll also be on the 145-pound bracket in Omaha.
Coach Gossman, Beckah's mother, said it was challenging to watch her daughter compete Friday.
“Stressful,” she said. “I thought I was ready, but it is far more stressful than I anticipated.”
Larrick may have kept stress to a minimum during her district run, avoiding the elimination rounds. She was 3-0 at 130 pounds, improving to 33-10 this season after missing the first month of the campaign due to injury.
According to trackwrestling.com, the Pioneer standout took just 34 combined seconds to close out her semifinal and first-place matches in Falls City. She stopped Tekamah-Herman's Daisy Cameron first in 18 seconds before earning a 16-second pin of Thayer Central's Braelyn Degenhardt in the finals.
As noted, Fort Calhoun was prepared and delivered during the B-2 District Tournament.
“We just prepped our schedule to constantly build them up and let them know that big tournaments are where it's at,” Coach Gossman said.
Pioneers Bella McLaughlin, Audrea Gutierrez, Kendall Magana-Torres and Lydia Kmitta also wrestled in Falls City, but fell short of state qualifications. McLaughlin scored two wins at 110 pounds, but dropped an 11-10 decision to be eliminated Saturday.
NSAA CLASS B-2 DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
Friday-Saturday at Prichard Auditorium, Falls City
GIRLS
Top-10 team standings: Columbus Lakeview 173 points, Minden 146, Fort Calhoun 108.5, Auburn 107, Johnson County Central 101, Tekamah-Herman 94, Lyons-Decatur Northeast 85.5, West Point-Beemer 73, Neligh-Oakdale 68, Thayer Central 62.
Fort Calhoun Results (top-4 qualify for state)
Weight, wrestler: Tourney record (overall record), place.
105 pounds, Annaleigh McLaughlin: 4-2 (43-16), fourth.
110, Bella McLaughlin: 2-2 (20-30), NA.
115, Audrea Gutierrez: 0-2 (5-27), NA.
120, Kendall Magana-Torres: 0-2 (11-34), NA.
125, Ali Dill: 4-1 (40-17), third.
130, Madi Larrick: 3-0 (33-10), first.
135, Anna Rae Hartline: 3-2 (37-22), fourth.
145, Beckah Gossman: 4-0 (43-3), first.
170, Lydia Kmitta: 0-2 (14-26), NA.
