Bears forge ahead

8 BHS wrestlers qualify for NSAA State Championships

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Eight Blair Bears extended their wrestling seasons Saturday, qualifying for the NSAA State Championships during district competition.
Jesse Loges, Luke Frost, Charlie Powers, Dylan Berg, Braden Hanson, Dex Larsen, Gabe Gaskill and Lance Hume earned top-four finishes, pushing BHS to its second-straight second-place district finish at home. The Bears scored 137 team points during the District 2 Tourney, while first-place York tallied 140.
Loges, Powers and Larsen won their brackets to move onto state — which starts 9 a.m. Friday at the CHI Health Center in Omaha. In doing so, Powers and Larsen won their 48th matches of the season, which is an unofficial school record.
Powers (48-2 overall) earned the spot atop the 145-pound podium, going 3-0 against Jasper Birkestrand of Minden, Ty Kaup of West Point-Beemer and Caden Corcoran of Ralston. The junior pinned Birkestrand, earned a technical fall against Kaup and stuck Corcoran to the mat at the 4:43 mark of the bracket title match.
Larsen, meanwhile, went 3-0 at 195 pounds with two pins and a 13-4 major decision. His 48th win of the season came by 48-second pin during the finals against 21-3 Chase Cotton of York.
Larsen is unbeaten with one tournament to go and could become just the second Blair wrestler to complete a season without defeat. Brandon Lincoln was the first in 2012.
Loges remains six wins shy of 48, but he improved to 42-6 with a 3-0 showing at 106 pounds. The junior dominated, earning a 26-second pin in the first round before notching technical falls during the semifinals and finals.
Frost and Gaskill also earned championship matches Saturday at BHS. Frost earned a 113-pound final against Seward's Cash Duncan and fell just short, 6-2.
Gaskill, meanwhile, lost his 220-pound first-place match 5-1. To reach that point, however, the 20-21 Bear upset 28-6 Brandon Kabourek of Omaha Gross and 30-13 Platteview wrestler Leo Guenther.
Hanson (182 pounds) and Humes (285) battled back from losses during the semifinals to finish third and claim their spots at the state tournament. Hanson won his third-place match by 7-2 decision, while Hume pinned York's Kadence Velde in 3:09.
Berg took fourth at 160 pounds, securing his state berth during the consolation semifinals. He won a 13-1 major decision in that match to advance.
After the Class B state tourney starts 9 a.m. Friday, it continues 9 a.m. Saturday with the semifinals and the eventual third- and fifth-place matches. The finals then start at 7 p.m.

Blair Wrestling