By Grant Egger - sports@enterprisepub.com
Top-ranked Bears Hudson Loges and Blaise Baughman won their brackets Saturday, leading the Blair boys wrestling team to a third-place finish during the Eastern Midlands Conference Tournament at Elkhorn High School.
Nine of coach Erich Warner's wrestlers earned top-four finishes overall as BHS finished with 112.5 team points — 10.5 more than fourth-place Gretna East. Bennington (208 points) and Waverly (153), meanwhile, earned first and second, respectively.
Loges was 2-0 at 138 pounds, beating 36-9 Ryder Higdon of Gretna East by pin and Bennington's Brodee Scobee (39-7 overall) by 12-2 major decision. The Bears standout is 43-1 this season.
Baughman was 3-0 at 190 pounds Saturday, besting Norris' Eric Hall in the finals by 10-4 decision. The 38-3 BHS wrestler added a first-round pin against Nick Winters of Elkhorn and a 15-0 technical fall against Hastings' Zander Lockling.
Blair heavyweight Cornez Tucker Jr. wrestled during the finals round, too, but fell to Waverly's Harrison Smith by 9-6 decision. The Bear pinned Gretna East's Kaehle Toledo in 46 seconds to earn the opportunity.
Carson Faue (150 pounds) and Griffin Rosterman (175) added third-place finishes in BHS singlets, too. Faue was 3-1 with a 10-4 decision win in his third-place match, while Rosterman was 2-1 with two decision victories against Sam Daake of Waverly and Gretna's Brody Sliva.
The Bears' Landon Bernasek (132 pounds), Jaxon Logan (144), Wyatt Loftis (165) and Michael Buckley (215) added fourth-place results in their weight classes as well. They all notched one pin apiece.
Storm beats Blair in dual
Elkhorn South successfully defended its home turf Thursday, claiming a 61-18 dual victory against Blair.
The Bears won just three matches on the Storm's mats. Loges pinned Enzo Manzitto in 1:10 at 138 pounds, while Baughman pinned Joe Schluckbier in 37 seconds at 190.
Tucker Jr., meanwhile, secured a Blair win at heavyweight. He pinned South's Isaac Carver in 2:23.
In junior varsity competition, Bears Lakodah McKinnis, Isaiah Partida, Dominic Peterson and Louis Biffar earned victories, too. Biffar won two, claiming 9-5 and 6-2 decisions at 175 pounds.
EASTERN MIDLANDS CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Saturday at Elkhorn High School
BOYS
Team standings: Bennington 208 points, Waverly 153, Blair 112.5, Gretna East 102, Hastings 93, Elkhorn North 83, Gretna 53, Norris 39.5, Lincoln Northwest 25, Elkhorn 16.5, Lincoln Standing Bear NA.
Top-6 Blair placers: 1, Hudson Loges, 138 pounds. 1, Blaise Baughman, 190. 2, Cornez Tucker Jr., 285. 3, Carson Faue, 150. 3, Griffin Rosterman, 175. 4, Landon Bernasek, 132. 4, Jaxon Logan, 144. 4, Wyatt Loftis, 165. 4, Michael Buckley, 215.