A freshman and a senior will represent Arlington High School during the NSAA State Wrestling Championships on Thursday in Omaha.
Braxton Soll and Kolton Gilmore earned their spots Saturday during the Class C-2 District Tournament at Albion Boone Central. Their squad finished ninth out of 16 teams at the event, scoring 68 points while the championship squad — St. Paul — totaled 197.
“The boys wrestled well,” Eagles coach Doug Hart said. “Had a lot that gave themselves a chance, but came up short.”
Five AHS wrestlers lost during the win-or-go-home consolation semifinals, but both Soll and Gilmore advanced beyond it. Gilmore was first, earning his 165-pound qualification with a third period pin of Wilber-Clatonia's Lane Vesely during the semifinals. He dropped his finals match to 34-6 Bryson Thomsen of St. Paul, but earned two first period pins during the first two rounds, too.
Gilmore will contend for a state medal with a 33-8 season record.
Soll, meanwhile, is 25-8 at 126 pounds this winter. The freshman was 2-2 in Albion on Saturday, pinning both Blaise Kann of Norfolk Catholic in the quarterfinals and Johnson County Central's Logan Topp in the consolation semis. He finished fourth from there, though, losing his third-place match to 45-9 Superior wrestler Holden McDonald.
Haydn Hegemann, Jake Flesner, Stokely Lewis, Tate Johnanes and Ben Flesner, however, were the five AHS wrestlers to finish one win shy of state qualifications. Johannes, a 26-14 190-pounder, was close, dropping a 4-3 decision, while Jake Flesner — a 2023 state qualifier — lost his “heartbreak” round match 5-1.
Eagles Cameron Hancock, Tanner Kyllo — another 2023 qualifier — and Karson Foust also won matches during the C-2 Tournament, but were eliminated before reaching a qualification bout.
The NSAA State Championships begin 9:30 a.m. Thursday and continue through Saturday at the CHI Health Center.
CLASS C-2 DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
Saturday at Albion Boone Central
Team standings: St. Paul 197, Hartington Cedar Catholic 139, Wilber-Clatonia 136, Wahoo Neumann 121.5, Milford 106.5, Raymond Central 104.5, Boone Central 96.5, Johnson County Central 83, Arlington 68, Oakland-Craig 65.5, Norfolk Catholic 44, Centura 36, Superior 34, Tri-County Northeast 23, Wakefield 18.5, Ponca 3.
Arlington Results
(Weight: wrestler, tourney record (overall record))
106 pounds: Haydn Hegemann, 0-2 (17-19)
113: Jake Flesner, 1-2 (25-11)
120: Cameron Hancock, 2-2 (15-16)
126: Braxton Soll, 2-2 (25-8), state qualifier (fourth place)
132: Tanner Kyllo, 2-2 (22-19)
138: Brayden Stonehocker, 0-2 (0-4)
144: Landon Olson, 0-2 (1-19)
157: Karson Foust, 1-2 (6-17)
165: Kolton Gilmore, 3-1 (33-8), state qualifier (second)
175: Stokely Lewis, 3-2 (19-12)
190: Tate Johannes, 3-2 (26-14)
215: Ben Flesner, 1-2 (9-7)
285: Zane Gerrish, 0-2 (9-19)
