Seward County Independent

    After the first day of the state wrestling tournament, Seward County saw one wrestler reach the century mark and has three wrestlers still in the hunt for state championships.
     Mark Fiala, a junior from Seward, kept his undefeated season intact with two dominating wins in the opening rounds at 152 pounds. In the first round, Fiala scored a 15-0 technical fall over Justin Shadle of Platteview just 11 seconds into the second period.
     In round two, Fiala continued his march with a 13-4 major decision over Tyson Martin of Boone Central, who finished fourth last season at 145 pounds. The win was the 100th in Fiala's career. Fiala will face Jacob Cardenas of Omaha Skutt Catholic, a senior, in the semifinals. Cardenas placed third at 152 pounds in last year's state tournament.
     Kevin Pedersen, Milford's only state qualifier, opened the 140-pound bracket with a come-from-behind overtime pin of Alex Arnold of Valentine. The match was tied 13-13 at the end of regulation, and with 18 seconds to go in the first overtime period, Pedersen took Arnold down and to his back for the victory.
     In the second round, Pedersen, a senior, pinned Isaac Roth of Platteview in 5:14 to earn a place in the semifinals. He will face Derek Rowe of Syracuse, also a senior, for a chance to wrestle for the Class B 140-pound championship match. Pedersen placed fifth at 140 pounds last year.
     Centennial 145-pounder Breckin Coffey is also in the semifinals. He defeated Josh Johnson of Sargent/Burwell 4-2 and James Droescher of Oakland-Craig 13-2 to earn a place in the semifinals. Coffey, a junior, will wrestle Kevin Barnard, a senior from Chase County, in the semifinal round.
     Other area wrestlers didn't fare as well. Only one-John Bader of Centennial-finished the opening round with a victory.
     Bader, 103 pounds, won his opening match 5-2 over Jon Curzon of Bennington but then lost 5-0 to Karl Bonner of Battle Creek. Bader, a sophomore, will face the winner of the Heath Teel of Southern/Kyle Krueger of Doniphan-Trumbull in the second round of consolation matches Friday, Feb. 15.
     Bader's three teammates did not have the same opening-round success.
     At 119 pounds, Shaey Kratochvil lost his first match to Matthew Klinginsmith of Kearney Catholic 8-1. Klinginsmith was fourth last year at 119 pounds. Kratochvil, a freshman, will meet Grant Potadle of Tekamah-Herman in the opening round of consolation matches.
     Tom Bader, wrestling at 135 pounds, also lost his opening match. He was pinned by Michael Sloboth of Ashland-Greenwood in 5:44. Bader, a junior, will wrestle Brady Wills of Plainview in the first consolation round.
     David Egger, a 171-pound senior, lost his opening match, as well, falling to Landon Hergott of Norfolk Catholic 10-4. Hergott placed fourth last year at 171 pounds. Egger will meet Logan Chesley of Ashland-Greenwood, another senior, in the first round of consolations.
     Malcolm's three wrestlers struggled in the opening matches.
     At 103 pounds, Tyler Guernsey, a freshman, was pinned by Zachary Stubbs of Wilber-Clatona in 3:27, dropping him to the consolation bracket. He will meet Wyatt Chapman of North Bend Central in the first round of consolations.
     Kris Jordan, a junior wrestling at 135 pounds, was pinned by Brett Rupprecht of Red Cloud/Blue Hill in 1:41. Jordan will face Mike Rohwer of Logan View in the first consolation round. Rohwer was sixth last year at 130 pounds.
     Gary Burruss, a 160-pound senior, lost his opening match to Joey Krotz of Gordon-Rushville 9-2. Krotz was the 160-pound runner up last season in Class B. Burruss will wrestle Keaton Buchholtz of Norfolk Catholic, a junior, in the consolation bracket.
     Seward senior Caleb Krenk, who qualified for state at 112 pounds, dislocated his shoulder again in practice Feb. 12 and was unable to compete at the state tournament. He missed most of the regular season after injuring his shoulder in the county triangular.
     The first round of consolation matches for Classes B and C will begin at 8:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 15, with the second round scheduled for 10 a.m. The championship semifinals and third round of consolation matches will begin at 6 p.m.
     Saturday, Feb. 16, the consolation semifinals start at 8:30 a.m., with the fifth- and third-place matches to follow at 10:15 a.m. The championship finals are scheduled to start at 2 p.m.