Three 2025 NSAA State Girls Wrestling Championship spots belong to Blair Bears.
Ali Wheeler, Reata Malmberg and Emma Belnog seized those opportunities Saturday during the Class A-1 District Tournament at Crete High School. Coach Terry Bellamy's Bears earned seventh overall during the 14-team tournament.
“Just one more step away from placing,” Wheeler said after a semifinals win at 115 pounds.
The BHS senior will make her second state appearance Feb. 18-19 at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, seeking her first medal after claiming her first state win before elimination last year.
Wheeler secured her second chance at a podium spot with a second-place effort in Crete. The wrestler lost her finals match to 27-2 Waverly standout Mackenzie Olson, but won her first three matches to match up with the bracket champion.
The 115-pounder first beat Millard South's Mylee Wakefield by 53-second pin before stopping Omaha Westside's Khloe Heinz with another fall. She then pinned Crete's Ruby VanHorn, a first-time opponent, in the second period to claim another state berth.
“Some people get in their head, and I was just trying my best to get out of my head,” Wheeler said. “And it worked, I guess.”
Overall, she said she's more mentally ready for another state tournament run.
“I feel like I'm going to be more prepared,” the Blair standout said. “State was very nerve-racking, and this time I'm ready for it.”
While Wheeler has experience, Malmberg and Belnog will be making their state debuts Feb. 18. They earned their spots through the consolation rounds Saturday, though Malmberg bypassed the all-or-nothing heartbreak round. It was win or go home, but Blair's 190-pounder won without wrestling, securing her state spot by medical forfeit.
It was disappointing.
“I was hoping she would be fine to wrestle, so I could get that experience,” Malmberg said of Crete's Adriana Gomez. “But, hopefully she gets better.”
Altogether, though, the state-qualifying wrestler earned third during the A-1 District Tourney, claiming two contested victories against Elizabeth Larsen of Adams Central and Millard South's Kamiya Hobson. The Bear pinned Hobson, a 27-18 Patriot, in 2:43 during the third-place match.
Malmberg said she's improved since last year's district elimination, remaining more focused this season. She's also worked hard to drop into her new weight class.
“It was a 20-pound drop, so it was pretty hard,” the state qualifier said.
It's all been worth it, though.
“Honestly, it feels amazing,” Malmberg claimed with a smile.
Belnog was smiling big, too, after her heartbreak round pin of Omaha North's Ivana Sagitteh. The 42-11 wrestler finished fourth at 130 pounds, securing her first state qualification at the end of just her second-ever wrestling season.
“Last year, I didn't even make it to subdistricts,” she said. “So, making it to state is a big accomplishment for me.”
Belnog notched a 64-second pin during the quarterfinal round, but needed another against Sagitteh to advance onto Omaha.
“I felt so tired during this match and I thought I was going to lose, but I just kept going,” she said. “I didn't lose.”
She stopped the consolation semifinals match in 3:55, eventually dropping her third-place match to Crete's Trinity Williamson — another 130-pound qualifier.
“I thought I was going to do a little better than I did today, but I'm not complaining,” Belnog said before her last match of the day. “I made it to state.”
The Class A championship tournament starts Feb. 18 at 4 p.m. at the CHI Health Center. Wrestling continues 9:30 a.m. Feb. 19 before the championship finals at 6:30 p.m.
7 Bears fall in heartbreak round
While Malmberg and Belnog advanced through the consolation semifinals Saturday, seven more Bears finished a single win short of the state tournament. Emma Himes (100 pounds), Katie Wheeler (120), Jaslyn Raymond (135), Jo Inget (140), Madi James (145), Kara Rodriguez (155) and Lily Warren (170) all reached the heartbreak round, but had their hearts broken.
Himes was 2-2 in district matches, while Katie Wheeler closed out a 28-9 season with a 1-2 showing. The latter wrestler led her consolation semifinals match against 39-4 Lincoln High wrestler Evenlyn Becher 13-0 before she was caught in a pinning predicament.
Raymond, meanwhile, closes out her senior season 15-13 after going 1-2 in Crete. Her classmate, team-leader Jo Inget, went 37-16 during her last prep campaign.
James, meanwhile, nearly came back to qualify for state after an upset loss in the quarterfinals. But, instead, she closes out a breakout 2024-25 season 38-6.
Rodriguez went 30-16 this winter and Warren was 14-23.
Another BHS senior, 105-pounder Siena Smith, battled through an injury during districts, but closed out her season with a 1-2 tournament showing and 33-19 overall. Bianca Moreno and Isabella Borges earned spots in the Blair varsity lineup in Crete as well, but fell short of state qualifications.
NSAA CLASS A-1 DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
Friday-Saturday at Crete High School
GIRLS
Top-10 team standings: Millard South 160 points, Omaha Westside 152, Adams Central 148.5, Omaha North 141, Crete 129, Lincoln High 121, Blair 96, Elkhorn 95, Waverly 63.5, Omaha Northwest 61.
Blair Results (top-4 qualify for state)
Weight, wrestler: Tourney record (overall record), place.
100 pounds, Emma Himes: 2-2 (30-20), NA.
105, Siena Smith: 1-2 (33-19), NA.
110, Bianca Moreno: 0-2 (6-11), NA.
115, Ali Wheeler: 3-1 (28-9), second.
120, Katie Wheeler: 1-2 (28-9), NA.
125, Isabella Borges: 0-2 (27-26), NA.
130, Emma Belnog: 2-2 (42-11), fourth.
135, Jaslyn Raymond: 1-2 (15-13), NA.
140, Jo Inget: 1-2 (37-16), NA.
145, Madi James: 2-2 (38-6), NA.
155, Kara Rodriguez: 1-2 (30-16), NA.
170, Lily Warren: 3-2 (14-23), NA.
190, Reata Malmberg: 2-1 (27-15), third.
