The Bluejays Battle at Districts
By Natalie Kosch
Pierce’s Bluejays headed to Norfolk Catholic, the host site for Class C District 2 wrestling, on February 10-11 to test their skills, to earn their way to state. The Bluejays had five boys qualify for the state tournament in Omaha, including three district champions.
District champions for Pierce include seniors Jayden Coulter (152), Blake Bolling (170), and Dawson Raabe (285).
Also qualifying for the state wrestling tournament were Brenden Bolling (132) with a second place finish and Clayton Carlson (195) with a fourth place finish.
In addition to qualifying for the state tournament in the 152 bracket, Coulter now holds the career pin record at Pierce High School, notching his 100th career pin by qualifying for state. In the quarterfinals he won over Josh Mace of Archbishop Bergan by fall in 1:15. Later in the semifinals Coulter was able to gain another win over Conner Neuhalfen of Battle Creek by fall in :44. This was the match that beat the career pin record previously held by Michael Kruntorad. After that in Coulter’s first place match, he won over Carter Plowman of Conestoga, pinning him in just :13. This incredible performance earned Coulter first place and a solid spot in the state tournament.
Bl. Bolling (170) also earned a spot at state by claiming first place. In round one he secured a win over David Hodges of Superior by fall in 1:18. Following that, Bl. Bolling defeated Ronnie Ramirez of Wakefield by fall in 1:31. Then in the semifinals he overthrew Nate Kaup of West Point-Beemer by fall in :29. In the end at Bl. Bolling’s first place match he swept Jackson Cooley of Lincoln Christian by fall in 2:59.
He comments, “I feel that it went well and I can't wait to show what we have worked the whole season for down at state.”
In addition Dawson Raabe, wrestling the heavyweight division, fought and won a spot in the state tournament by earning first place at districts. First in the quarterfinals he defeated Garrett Schoen of Milford by fall in 1:56. Later in the semifinals Raabe won over Aiden Gubbels of Quad County Northeast by fall in 1:10. Finally in Raabe’s first place match he triumphed over Elijah Hintz of Battle Creek by a 7-1 decision.
Earning second was Br. Bolling at 132 who defeated Orion Cattrel of Falls City by fall in 1:20, and in the semifinals Br. Bolling won over Sean Stanton of Milford by a 2-0 decision. In the end Br. Bolling lost in his first place match to Hayden Neeman of Superior by decision in 6-2, this fate still securing him second place, and a spot in the state tournament.
Wrestling at 195, Clayton Carlson also battled his way to the state tournament by getting fourth place. First off in round one he defeated Zane Ebel of Falls City by fall in 3:42. In quarterfinals Carlson took down Nicholas Coleman of Cedar Catholic by fall in 1:10. After that in the semifinals Carlson took a loss from Hunter Oborny of Milford by fall in 3:40. Then in the consolation semifinals Carlson won over Ebel again by sudden victory 8-6. Later in his third place match he fell to Dahkota Zlomke of Battle Creek in 3:25.
Other Bluejays who wrestled at districts who fought hard but did not make it to state were Corbin Pfeil at 113, who lost by technical fall, 20-3, in the quarterfinals to Aiden Wintz of Battle Creek. Then in consolation round two, Pfeil won over Caleb Kempf of Milford by major decision, 12-1. Next in consolation round three Pfeil fell in 3:06 by Keegan Carl of Cedar Catholic.
At 120 Elijah Streff fought hard but was not able to secure a spot at state, he lost in a major decision, 10-2, in round one to Holden McDonald of Superior. During consolation rounds one, two, and three he won over Tavious Pinkelman of Cedar Catholic by fall in 4:00, Dominick Roth of Lincoln Christian by fall in 3:58, and Brenyn Ames of Lutheran High Northeast by fall in 2:06. Then in the consolation semifinals Streff lost in a 5-3 decision to Landon Sund of Bishop Neumann.
Also, Draydin Gossman (126) put up a good fight but in the end fell short, in round one he won by fall in 1:08 over Gavin Harrison of Conestoga. Then in the quarterfinals lost by a 12-4 major decision to Jaxson Hassler of Battle Creek. After that in consolation round two Gossman defeated Cole Rughe of Superior by fall in 1:57, and later in consolation round three he fell in :30 to Oliver Daniel of Norfolk Catholic.
Chase Rasmussen at 138, also put in a great effort but was not able to secure a chance at state. In round one he fell in 2:39 to Asa Wegrzyn of Lincoln Christian. Then in his first two consolation rounds Rasmussen pinned Preston Buckminster of Falls City in :59 and Justus Searight of Lutheran High Northeast in 2:25. Later on in the third round of consolation, Rasmussen defeated Caleb Chase of Wakefield by major decision, 9-1, and then in the consolation semifinals he fell in 1:25 to Hunter Dickinson of Miliford.
Jackson Fisher at 145 was also unable to lock in his position at state. In round one he won over Zain Ericksen of Archbishop Bergan by fall in 3:48. Following that in the quarterfinals Fischer fell in 1:45 to Wyatt Olberding of Falls City. Then in consolation round two Fischer pinned Justin Dixon of Milford in 1:34, and after that in consolation round three Fischer lost to Scott Dufault of Conestoga by fall in 1:13.
In addition Karter Wolfe (160) came up short and was not able to qualify for state. Starting in his round one he fell to Gage Jensen of Quad County Northeast in 1:32. Thereafter, he received a bye for the first round of consolation. Then, in consolation round two Wolfe fell to Kale Korth by fall in 1:47.
Furthermore, Zavien Buol (182) unfortunately was not able to get a spot in the state tournament either. In round one Buol fell to Jared Doxey of Winnebago by a 5-0 decision. After, in consolation round one, he received a bye, and then in consolation round two he put up a good fight but fell in 2:31 to Kellen McAfee of Falls City.
Freshman Boston Krueger, wrestling at 220, also was unable to secure a spot at state. In round one he received a bye, and then in quarterfinals fell to Clay Hedges of Archbishop Bergan in 1:00. In consolation round two Krueger received another bye, and later in consolation round three he lost to Chase Simpson of Falls City by fall in 1:40.
Head coach Tyler Legate comments, “I thought we battled hard, and I was really proud of all of their effort.”
The 2023 boys state wrestling tournament will be February 16, 17, and 18 in Omaha to try their hand for a state title.
