It took nearly a month, but Fort Calhoun wrestlers finally had the opportunity to compete in tournament matches on their home mats Monday afternoon.
The FCHS Invitational was originally set for Dec. 14, but was pushed back by icy road conditions. So, on the final day of their holiday break, coach Drew Welchert's boys at long last earned fifth out of 11 teams at home.
The Pioneers collected 10 pins and scored 95.5 team points, finishing behind champion Columbus Scotus (144 points), runner-up Tekamah-Herman (135.5) and two more of their visitors.
Merritt Olberding, ranked second at 113 pounds in Class B according to the NSWCA, led Calhoun with his first-place finish at 120 pounds. Wrestling just two matches, the Pioneer earned pins in both, improving to 14-4 this season.
Seniors TJ DeMilt and Alex Schuler, meanwhile, both claimed second in their weight classes. DeMilt went 2-1 at 157 pounds, securing back-to-back pins against Fadhil Aldakhi of Lincoln Northeast and Scotus' Mike Krienke before a finals loss to 9-1 Grady Meyer of Wahoo.
Schuler, however, secured his 2-1 tournament mark at 190 pounds for FCHS. He secured a 10-2 major decision during the first round of bouts before securing an 18-3 technical fall in the semifinals.
Schuler's tight loss to 18-2 Gabe Stock of Tekamah came by 5-3 decision.
The Pioneers' Kasyn Storm, Rocco Ruma and Fred Altstadt secured fourth-place finishes at home, too. Storm's at 113 pounds included a 56-second pin of Omaha Roncalli's Noah Bazer, while Rocco Ruma worked his way into the third-place match with a 5-4 decision over Salam Saydo of Lincoln High at 132 pounds.
Altstadt, meanwhile, secured an 18-3 technical fall in 4:45 to eventually take fourth in the 150-pound weight class.
Though he finished shy of the podium, Fort Calhoun 126-pounder Sean Waters secured a team-best three pins during the home invite. Beau Ruma and Nathan Duros also claimed contested victories on the day, too.
The Pioneers next compete 9 a.m. Saturday at Omaha Northwest during the Huskies' home tournament. Google Weather calls for a 20 percent chance of Saturday precipitation as of Tuesday afternoon.
FORT CALHOUN WRESTLING INVITATIONAL
Monday at FCHS
BOYS
Team standings: Columbus Scotus 144, Tekamah-Herman 135.5, Millard South 112.5, Wahoo 100, Fort Calhoun 95.5, Auburn 78.5, Lincoln Northeast 63, Lincoln High 62, Omaha Northwest 62, Omaha Roncalli 36, Palmyra 7.
Top-6 Fort Calhoun finishers: 1, Merritt Olberding, 120 pounds. 2, TJ DeMilt, 157. 2, Alex Schuler, 190. 4, Kasyn Storm, 113. 4, Rocco Ruma, 132. 4, Fred Altstadt, 150.
