Following a dominating 56-22 win over Elkhorn on Feb. 6, the varsity boys wrestling team has been preparing for tomorrow which will determine their fate for the remainder of the season.
At 9 a.m. the boys will find out who they will compete against in the Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) B-1 District Wrestling Tournament, starting at 9:30 a.m. at Crete High School. It’s now or never for the Griffins as the top four wrestlers in each weight class will punch their ticket to the NSAA State Boys Wrestling Championships while the others will hang up their singlets for the season.
“Everyone has been great,” Head Coach Sean Cunningham said. “Around this time last year, my confidence level was a five or a six. Right now, it’s an eight or a nine.”
Those feelings stem from the knowledge that junior Ryder Higdon was the only Griffin wrestler to go to State in 2024, and that this year’s team has seen a lot of growth on the mat.
Leading up to now, there have been several indicators that they just might have more than one wrestler who makes it to compete at the CHI Health Center Arena on Feb. 20. Eight wrestlers have each contributed 130 or more team points throughout the season for a combined total of 1,275 points out of the team’s total 2,013 for the season.
“It’s a great feeling to score points in general,” Higdon said. “To have all of those points as a team shows that we have improved a lot in the last year.”
Those eight, including Higdon (37-9), are senior Kaehle Toledo (37-11); juniors Gabriel Campos (37-9), Jace Larchick (33-8) and Max Brummer (29-15); and freshmen Ryan Arkle (35-14), Dominic Campos (30-19) and Kannen Kopetzky (26-21).
Besides their contributions to the team’s total points and their winning records, Brummer and G. Campos earned 2nd place in the Eastern Midlands Conference Individual Tournament on Feb. 1, while Toledo and Arkle placed 3rd and Kopetzky, D. Campos, and Higdon placed 4th.
“We placed higher than some great teams,” Higdon said. “Everyone wrestled to their full potential.”
Even with their individual and team successes so far this season, looking towards tomorrow, the boys know how much is on the line.
“We all want to win,” Toledo said. “We are all going to have to wrestle our absolute best.”
Cunningham has similar sentiments and is optimistic about tomorrow.
“The boys have put together a really good week of practice,” head coach Sean Cunningham said. “We put together a really good season and the boys are peaking right now.”
And while the whole team seems to be locked in on the opportunity to punch their ticket to State tomorrow, Higdon has redemption on his mind.
“Losing without a placement definitely made me want to come back this year,” Higdon said. “I kept working every day so that I can place this year.”
For those wishing to follow the team’s District matches, the brackets will be available on Trackwrestling in the morning.
