Two Washington County high school wrestlers competed in Class B state title matches Saturday in Omaha with Blair's Hudson Loges emerging as the 106-pound champion.
The sophomore claimed his title by 5-0 decision. The BHS sophomore led Omaha Skutt's Cole Welte — a former Blair Bear teammate — 2-0 after one period and by the final margin after two.
“I figured he was going to be pretty defensive the whole match,” Loges said. “So, I figured if I just stalked him down, stayed on my offense and stayed aggressive it was going to be good.”
Loges is the fifth Blair wrestler to win a state championship. His title was the school's eighth individual finals win overall. He went 4-0 during the state tournament with two pins, a technical fall and the final decision.
While in Omaha, the state champion broke Charlie Powers' school record for wins in a season. Loges finished the year 54-1 and has more than 100 career wins as a sophomore.
Fort Calhoun senior Ely Olberding, meanwhile, closed out his career with a second-place finish at 138 pounds. The Pioneer wrestled an even, 3-3, first period with Bennington's Kyler Lauridsen, but was outscored 9-1 from there.
The winningest wrestler in FCHS history, Olberding closed his final season 46-4 overall. He is a four-time state medalist, a two-time finalist and a 2020 state champion.
Prior to the championship finals session, six more Blair Bears earned Class B medals Saturday morning.
Tyson Brown and Yoan Camejo were third-place finishers at 132 and 160 pounds, respectively, while Luke Frost (120 pounds), Jesse Loges (138) and Brock Templar (152) were fourth.
Kaden Sears won his 182-pound fifth-place match by pin, too.
As a team, the Bears set a school record for team points at a state tournament — 119 — and medalists — seven. They finished fourth overall behind first-place Omaha Skutt, second-place Bennington and third-place Waverly.
For the full story from the NSAA Championships in Omaha, check out Tuesday's edition of the Washington County Pilot-Tribune. Coverage will appear online at enterprisepub.com/sports that same day.
