Wrestling coach Lilly Gossman orchestrated a quadrangular last winter between youth clubs from Arlington, Blair, Fort Calhoun and the communities of Tekamah-Herman.
On Monday, though, she was able to lead her FCHS girls wrestling team into the first-ever Two River Ruckus quadrangular between the high school dual lineups of each of those towns in Washington and Burt Counties.
“I love it,” Gossman said. “It's great to see kids getting mat time and building their confidence with that.”
The outnumbered Pioneers finished fourth with an 0-3 record, but the host Blair Bears went 3-0, besting 2-1 Arlington in a winner-take-all finale, 52-30.
“It was good to see all the other Washington County schools are growing with girls wrestling,” Eagles coach Doug Hart said. “It was a good event.”
Blair celebrates Senior Night
The Bears accomplished a lot Monday night.
They celebrated Senior Night, gathered donated toys for charity and won the Ruckus with a three-dual sweep. BHS bested Tekamah-Herman first, 78-0, Fort Calhoun 78-6 and AHS by 22 team points.
“I thought they came out and wrestled lights out,” coach Terry Bellamy said. “We had girls with only a handful of wins that wrestled some of their best matches of the year.”
Savanah Roan and Jo Inget led the Bears with two contested victories apiece. Roan secured two pins in 2:13 of mat time, while Inget secured a 43-second fall against Arlington and pinned Tekamah's Isabella Evasic with just a second left during the first period of their 140-pound matchup.
Katie Wheeler, Karlie Dewitt-Dodd, Jaslyn Raymond, Ali Wheeler, Madi James and Josie Tilson also added Blair pins, while 125-pounder Maia Opetaia-Swope claimed a 7-4 decision against the Tigers' Ruby Booth.
Kalli Jordan won a 7-3 decision during the quadrangular, too, while Isabella Matney earned a 12-3 major decision in the Bears' win against the Eagles.
Roan, a 130-pound senior, was pleased with her output after an earlier struggle this season.
“I definitely went out their strong today,” she said. “I've been, kind of, having some doubts about myself after Council Bluffs, but I was coming back strong today.”
Roan went 2-4 at the Mid-America Center during the Council Bluffs Classic, but celebrated Senior Night alongside Tilson and Taryn Bellamy with a pair of victories.
“It's great to have second-year wrestlers, but those seniors are great leaders,” coach Terry Bellamy said. “Both Savanah and Josie come in every day and work their tail off.”
He appreciates what they bring to the mat, but is especially proud of the senior class' first-year wrestler — Taryn.
“I can't be more proud of my own daughter for being up here and putting herself on the line and trying something new,” the coach said before speaking again about the entire trio. “They're a great group of kids.”
AHS falls 1 dual short
The Eagles finished second during the four-team Ruckus with a 60-6 win against Fort Calhoun and a 60-15 rout of Tekamah-Herman.
“I thought they wrestled pretty well,” coach Hart said. “I would have liked to of had that last dual, but we fought hard.”
In defeat, Brooklyn Ruskamp, Kelise Krivohlavek, Carly Segebart, Caitlyn Camp and Dianna Flores still earned wins against the champion Bears. Ruskamp, a 105-pound freshman, started off the dual with a victory against Riley Martin, an accomplished BHS wrestler who claimed fourth at a regional tourney in Council Bluffs earlier in the month.
The Eagle barely kept her shoulders off of the mat at the end of the first period, but earned her own pin in the second.
“I don't know,” Ruskamp said when asked how she'd prolonged the match. “The flexibility of my back? I kept my leg up. Just kept fighting.”
Flores claimed a first-period pin at 190 pounds against Blair, too, while Krivohlavek, Segebart and Camp secured two pins apiece during Monday's quadrangular. Flores' was the fastest, though, coming in just 64 seconds against Joslyn Beebe.
FCHS wrestlers win matches
Three wrestlers — Madi Larrick, Ali Dill and Anna Rae Hartline — represented Fort Calhoun during the Two River Ruckus.
Together, they lost to Arlington (60-6), Blair (78-6) and Tekamah-Herman (24-18). Coach Gossman said it wasn't their best night.
“They're just not showcasing everything in their wheelhouse yet,” sje said. “But, once they do, it'll be really good to see.”
Even in defeat, though, all three Pioneers picked up wins Monday. Larrick, a 125-pounder, bounced back from a loss against Arlington to pin both her Blair and Tekamah opponents.
Hartline won a junior varsity match against the Tigers, too, while Dill beat a longtime friend from Arlington, Callee Shearer.
“At the last meet I wrestled her at, she beat me,” Dill said. “And at the beginning of this match, right before weigh-ins, I came up to her and I said, 'I'm going to get you back this time.'”
The pin came late during the third-period of their match together. The FCHS wrestler herself was close to being pinned earlier, but turned the match around and won.
“That's our new motto,” Gossman said. “We're going to outwork you. We may not know all of our technique, but we're going to work until the very last second.”
