The Blair High School girls wrestling team quickly swept through the Eastern Midlands Conference Duals Tournament field Saturday at Gretna East.
The first-place Bears beat Bennington and Elkhorn by identical 48-36 scores before dominating the Gretna Dragons, 66-12. The event lasted just about 2 hours total.
“I think the team did great,” BHS 140-pounder Jo Inget said. “We were expecting a hard match from Elkhorn, but we pretty much dominated when we could.”
First, though, coach Terry Bellamy's Bears faced second-place Bennington during the opening round. Reata Malmberg, Ali Wheeler and Katie Wheeler all earned contested victories by pin with Ali Wheeler's taking just 45 seconds at 115 pounds.
Next, against the Antlers, Malmberg, Bianca Moreno, both Wheelers, Inget and Madi James produced Blair wins. All came by pin, though it was Inget's that took the least amount of time. She earned the fall in just 26 seconds.
Then, against Gretna in the final round, the Bears built a 66-0 lead before suffering their first and only contested loss of the dual. Malmberg completed a 3-0 day at 235 pounds against the Dragons as did the Wheelers at 115 and 120, respectively. Bella Borges, Emma Belnog, Inget and Kara Rodriguez all secured pins during the day-ending dual, too.
Inget's pin of Gretna's Riley Ruff came during the second period after a brief stoppage for injury time after the BHS 140-pounder put Ruff down on the mat — hard.
Once wrestling resumed, though, Ruff came at Inget aggressively. The Bear took advantage, rolling through the pressure and trapping her opponent for the pin right in front of the opposition's bench.
“I just knew what to expect at that point of the match,” Inget said.
Earlier, Belnog secured her Gretna pin in 1:22. Julia Hermeling pushed the action, too, but the BHS 135-pounder caught her in a compromising position.
“I was going to take a shot, but she was kind of aggressive,” the Bear said, detailing what led to the pin near the edge of the circle. “I just saw the head throw and just took it.”
It was Belnog's lone match of the quick tourney at Gretna East.
“I was kind of disappointed, but it's OK,” she said after wrestling up a weight class from her usual spot at 130 pounds.
In addition to the Blair wrestlers who earned contested victories toward the team title, Siena Smith Vivianne Shelton and Lily Warren had their hands raised for six team points apiece during the tournament due to forfeit. Their team next competes in a dual 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Missouri Valley.
On Friday, the Bears travel to Schuyler for a 1:30 p.m. tournament.
EMC DUAL TOURNAMENT
Saturday at Gretna East High School
GIRLS
Team standings: 1, Blair. 2, Bennington. 3, Elkhorn. 4, Gretna.
Blair Dual Scores
Blair 48, Bennington 36
Blair 48, Elkhorn 36
Blair 66, Gretna 12
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