Wrestler Ely Olberding doesn't remember his first-ever match win.
“That was so long ago,” he said.
But the Fort Calhoun senior does recall his first high school victory.
“I think it was against an Auburn kid at Bennington's tournament,” Olberding said. “I pinned him in, like, 30 seconds.”
The Pioneer's 150th prep win was much like the first. The 138-pounder topped Isaac Minchow of Lincoln Pius X in 29 seconds last Saturday during the Tom Dineen Invitational at Omaha Creighton Prep. The winningest wrestler in FCHS history later finished the Junior Jays' tourney first with 153 wins for his career.
Olberding's brother, Lance Olberding, added a second-place finish, while Levi Lasher was fourth and Gage Nixon was sixth. Overall, the Class B Pioneers earned 12th out of 18 teams at the predominantly Class A tournament.
Ely Olberding started the last day of 2022 with an immediate takedown of Minchow. From there, he scored three more first-period pins to claim his weight class. The final against 21-8 Omaha North wrestler Jaron Cannon Jr. took just 1:08.
Lance Olberding, meanwhile, went 3-1 at 132 pounds for Calhoun. He pinned two opponents and scored a technical fall before Papillion-La Vista's Cal Price topped him 7-3 in the finals.
Lasher won three matches in Omaha, too. The 126-pounder scored a 6-5 decision to start before a second-period pin against North's Hung Nguyen earned him a spot in the semifinals.
The Pioneer lost two of his next three matches, but goes into 2023 with a 9-7 overall record.
Nixon is 9-8 after a 1-3 showing last Saturday. His victory at 120 pounds was an 8-4 decision against Elkhorn's Eric Sutton.
FCHS' Michael Maxon, Tyler DeMilt, Wesley Short and Dane Jensen also competed at Creighton Prep, but were unable to pick up match victories. Their Pioneers team was to wrestle Louisville and Platteview on Thursday and next competes Saturday at Omaha Northwest. Matches start at 9 a.m.
TOM DINEEN INVITATIONAL
Saturday at Omaha Creighton Prep
Top 10 teams: Papillion-La Vista 206, Lincoln Southwest 168, Grand Island 159, Elkhorn North 153.5, Fremont 138, Creighton Prep 133, Omaha Westside 117, Omaha North 97, Lincoln Southeast 92, Lincoln North Star 91. Also: 12, Fort Calhoun 72.5.
Fort Calhoun Medalists: 1, Ely Olberding, 138 pounds. 2, Lance Olberding, 132. 4, Levi Lasher, 126. 6, Gage Nixon, 120.
