Eight Washington County wrestlers including state finalists Ely Olberding and Hudson Loges will medal Saturday during the final day of the NSAA Championships in Omaha.
Olberding, a Fort Calhoun senior, earned his 138-pound Class B title bout with Friday's 6-4 win against Minden's Orrin Kuehn. The Pioneer — who won a state title as a freshman — is 46-3 this season and will face 36-2 Bennington wrestler Kyler Lauridsen in the finals.
Loges, a Blair 106-pounder, earned his championship bout against Omaha Skutt's Cole Welte, a former BHS wrestler, with a technical fall victory against Abel Flores of Gothenburg. The sophomore Bear is 3-0 at the state tournament and 53-1 overall after Friday's match.
His opponent, Welte, is 36-8 this season after his 36-second pin of Lexington's Garrett Kaiser.
Championship matches begin 3 p.m. Saturday at the CHI Health Center in Omaha
Before that, Blair's Luke Frost (120 pounds), Tyson Brown (132), Jesse Loges (138), Brock Templar (152), Yoan Camejo (160) and Kaden Sears (182) will contend for places 3-6 beginning at 9 a.m.
Templar and Sears earned state medal opportunities with elimination match victories Friday night, while Frost, Brown, Loges and Camejo earned their podium spots with 2-0 Thursdays. The four 2-0 starters dropped semifinals matches Friday and are 2-1 going into the final day of state competition.
Templar won his final elimination match by 3-0 decision, while Sears claimed his by 14-5 major decision.
Arlington's Trey Hill, meanwhile, fell one win shy of a state medal Friday. The 113-pounder closed out the state tournament 2-2 and his season 42-8. He pinned Yutan's Janson Pilkington and claimed a medical forfeit victory Friday afternoon.
Additionally, seven Washington County wrestlers were eliminated prior to the third consolation round Friday. Four of those wrestlers earned wins before their seasons came to a close, including Abigail James — Blair's first-ever state qualifier in the girls' tournament.
James (20-13 overall) was 1-2 in Omaha as were BHS' Jim Rasmussen (19-17) and Seagan Packett-Trisdale (34-22).
Fort Calhoun senior Lance Olberding also claimed one last state win despite an injury during Thursday's first round. He went 1-2 at the CHI Health Center and finished the season 39-5.
The Pioneers' Wesley Short, meanwhile, went 0-for-2 in state matches. The 170-pounder closes the season 18-15.
Arlington's Jake Flesner and Tanner Kyllo capped their freshman seasons with 0-2 state appearances, too. Flesner finishes his year 26-19, while Kyllo was 21-11.
For the full story from the NSAA State Championships, check out Tuesday's edition of the Washington County Pilot-Tribune. State championship updates will be posted online enterprisepub.com/sports late Saturday.
