The 2010 Nebraska State Tournament brought in 15 wrestlers from the Clipper-Herald coverage area.
At the end of the tournament, two area wrestlers came home with medals, with one coming home a state champion.
Michael Daake of Elwood fell one match short of the championship match, as he was pinned by eventual state champion Caleb Franklin of Oakland-Craig in the second period.
Dillon Tiede made a heroic run into the consolation tournament on Day 2, pinning Nathan Gamble of Maxwell at 4:35, then pinning Gus Peterson of Cambridge at 2:07 of the second period to advance to the consolation quarter-finals.
Colton Fales of Anselmo-Merna ended Tiede’s season, defeating Tiede 9-0 to end his season. Tiede should be solid for the Pirates next season at 189 pounds.
Mitch Kubert was winless for the tournament, but was not pinned, losing to Justin Romeo of Medicine Valley 15-2, then losing to Kevin Jacobsen of Oakland-Craig 5-2.
Will Rahjes saw his final wrestling season end in a short trip to the Qwest Center, as he lost to eventual state champion Clayton Moore of Friend 18-7, then lost in the first round of the consolation bracket if North Platte St. Pat’s 5-1.
Walter Flint also saw his tournament end early, losing his first two matches, losing a close one to Benjamin Fox of Dundy County-Stratton 5-4, then losing to Cody Florian of East Butler 10-2. Flint is only a sophomore so this will not be his last appearance in Omaha.
Overton’s Ethan Enochs  went 0-2 for his first trip to the state tournament. His first match was a 6-1 decision at the hands of Jesse Lammers of Greeley-Wolbach/Cedar Rapids, then losing to Jake Betzen of Stanton.
Enochs was the only Eagle appearing at the state tournament this season.
For Lexington, it was a rough weekend, as the three qualifiers combined for a record 1-6, with the lone win coming from Rolando Gonzalez, defeating Matthew Barker of Hastings.
Jesus Guererro put up a great fight in both matches in his first state tournament. Guerrero lost the first match to Taylor McAllistar of Plattsmouth by pin at 2:33. Guerrero saw his final wrestling season come to an end in the first round of the consolation bracket, losing to Kyle Burkhardt of Milford by pin at 4:03.
Bill Reynoso was eliminated after an 0-2 showing. Reynoso lost a close one to Aurora’s Andrew McDonald by a 6-4 decision, then losing to Alejandro Vergara of O’Neill by a 15-6 decision.
Gonzalez lost his second match to Nicholas Buchta of Omaha Gross Catholic by an 8-4 decision to move automatically into the consolation bracket’s second round. There Gonzalez was pinned by Bennington’s Aaron Hovey.
Cozad fared the best of the area teams, as they saw five of their six qualifiers advance to the second round.
Logan Hunke finished 2-2 for the tournament after losing in the championship second round to Christian Berry of Adams Central. He got past Nathan Wabs of O’Neill to make it to the consolation quarter-finals, where he lost to Nick Null of Plattsmouth by pin.
Colton Derr finished 1-2 after winning his opening match, then losing to Ryan Hartnett of Gretna by pin in the first period, then losing to Drae Swarthout of Beatrice 4-0.
Kyle Carlson got over the hump, winning his first state tournament match, then lost two straight to be eliminated, including an 8-3 overtime loss to rival Ryan Roach of Sidney.
Pedro Garcia will be a force going into next season, after a 1-2 showing in his first state tournament appearance. Garcia was eliminated after losing to Jorge Dunklau in the second round of the consolation bracket.
Caleb Lucero was eliminated in Day 2 of the tournament, losing to Scott Moody of Fairbury.
The highlight of the tournament was Cozad’s Tanner Sturgeon as he went a perfect 4-0 at the tournament to become state champion at 189 pounds. After his opening day wins, Sturgeon pinned third ranked Jake Nichelson of Ashland-Greenwood in the third period. Then in a thrilling final, defeated second-ranked and undefeated Ryan Randall of Blair to capture the state championship. Sturgeon becomes just the second Haymaker in school history to go undefeated and capture the state championship.

• Cozad Haymakers
• Cozad Wrestling
• Elwood Pirates
• Elwood Wrestling
• Lexington Minutemen
• Lexington Wrestling
• Overton Eagles
• Overton Wrestling

Support your favorite teams and athletes by leaving a comment below