Senior Night went successfully.
The Blair boys and girls wrestling teams went 3-0 Tuesday, besting dual lineups from Millard West and Elkhorn South. The boys topped the Wildcats 52-22 and the Storm 58-21, while the girls beat their visitors from Millard 60-9.
The results matched the Class of 2023's influence.
“Extremely impactful to our program,” Bears head coach Erich Warner said.
The boys celebrated the careers of Nathan Boswell, Eli Bush, Yoan Camejo, Luke Frost, Corban Landauer, Jesse Loges, Seagan Packett-Trisdale, Jim Rasmussen, Kaden Sears and manager Cailey Anderson on Tuesday.
“All of them have had an impact on our program one way or another,” Warner said, citing some of their work in varsity competition and others' leading the junior varsity group.
BHS, meanwhile, also recognized the pioneers of their first girls team — 12th-graders Najmina Ahmadzada, Josie Biffar, Lizzy Flynn, Abigail James and Shelby Kain.
“Their effort and attitude has been amazing,” coach Terry Bellamy said.
Just Biffar and Kain wrestled matches during a brief, four-bout dual with the Wildcats, going 1-1. Biffar pinned 135-pounder Lola Voss in 32 seconds, while Kain lost her 190-pound match to Brooklyn Vaughn.
Bellamy, though, has been proud of his senior group as a whole. Its wrestling experience was minimal at best coming into the debut season.
“Each of them came in with a different purpose and a different reason,” he said. “But almost always, the common thread was, 'personal challenge.'”
The Bears have answered that challenge.
“Their expectations for themselves have grown,” Bellamy said. “Their self-confidence has increased and they're tougher than they were three months ago.”
Underclassman Jaysie Garcia-Abalos added a pin at 140 pounds in the girls' dual, while Josie Tilson lost an 8-3 decision at 105.
The Blair boys, meanwhile, dominated their Class A competition with far more match wins than losses during the home triangular. The Bears earned their victories in an attempt to improve their wild card standing in hopes of qualifying for the eight-team NSAA State Dual Championships on Feb. 4. Coach Warner's team — which earned runner-up honors in 2022 — entered ninth in Class B, but beat the Nebraska Scholastic Wrestling Coaches Association's eighth-ranked A team in Millard West.
Atticus Dick, Brock Templar, Camejo, Sears, Packett-Trisdale, Hudson Loges, Tyson Brown and Jesse Loges all earned contested victories against the Wildcats. Dick, Templar, Packett-Trisdale and Jesse Loges won by pin, while Camejo and Sears earned technical falls. Hudson Loges' 9-4 decision win came against Class A No. 3 Creighton Lassen at 106 pounds, too.
Against Elkhorn South, Camejo, Rasmussen, Packett-Trisdale, Tannon Bellamy, Hudson Loges, Frost, Brown, Jesse Loges, Dick and Templar added contested-match victories. Bellamy, a freshman, notched the quickest pin in 45 seconds.
The winning effort was typical of BHS' senior class, which has more dual victories than any other class in school history.
“Great class,” Warner said. “We're going to miss them, for sure.”
