Coach Terry Bellamy's Blair High School girls wrestling team earned second Thursday during the Fairbury Invite, scoring 145 team points.
Beatrice, meanwhile, won the title with a 186.5 tally and Crete was third with 127 points.
Madi James and Emma Belnog led the Bears in their final tourney before the holiday break, finishing the day's event without a loss. James' second bracket title of the season came at 145 pounds. She was 4-0 Thursday with four pins, improving to 16-1 on the season.
Three of James' pins took place during the second period, while her finals match with Superior's Carlee Hinz ended by fall at the 4:42 mark of the third. Notably, the BHS standout bested 11-2 Franklin wrestler Audrey Cline during the semifinals.
Belnog, meanwhile, added four of her own pins at 130 pounds. The Bear won her first match in just 21 seconds, her next in 3:21 and a semifinals matchup against Grace Neemann of Waverly in 5:43.
Belnog bested Louisville's Kamdyn Olson in the finals, too, securing the pin in 3:09.
BHS' Ali Wheeler and Kara Rodriguez reached the finals of their weight classes as well, finishing second. Wheeler was 3-1 at 120 pounds with three pins, including a 36-second effort during the quarterfinals against Alencia Perez of Waverly.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, earned her silver medal at 155 pounds. She was 2-1 overall Thursday, securing both of her wins by pin.
At 100 pounds, Blair's Emma Himes earned third with two pins. Her third-place match against Thayer Central's Aydrian Meyer ended by fall during the second period.
Katie Wheeler's 120-pound third-place match didn't go her way, but the BHS grappler still earned fourth with a 3-2 tournament mark.
Though they finished shy of fourth-place finishes, the Bears' Bella Borges and Jo Inget logged two pins apiece in Fairbury. Siena Smith, Reata Malmberg, Jaslyn Raymond, Kalli Jordan and Lily Warren had one each as well.
Coach Bellamy's BHS team next competes Dec. 30 at a Conestoga tournament.
FAIRBURY WRESTLING INVITE
Thursday at Fairbury High School
GIRLS
Team standings: Beatrice 186.5, Blair 145, Crete 127, Nebraska City 115.5, Palmyra 85.5, Johnson County Central 82, Fairbury 81, Louisville 80, Republic County 79, Red Cloud/Blue Hill 53, Thayer Central 47, Waverly 38.5, Superior 38, Franklin 32.5, Wilber-Clatonia 31, Sandy Creek 21, Centennial 19, Weeping Water 8, Exeter-Milligan-Friend 7, Harvard 4, Centura NA.
Top-4 Blair placers: 1, Emma Belnog, 130 pounds. 1, Madi James, 145. 2, Ali Wheeler, 120. 2, Kara Rodriguez, 155. 3, Emma Himes, 100. 4, Katie Wheeler, 120.
