The two Centennial wrestlers who competed at the state championships Feb. 16-18 had a good three days, Coach Phil Payne said.
Juniors Jarrett Dodson and Cyrus Songster each won at least one match, and Dodson finished sixth in Class C at 145 pounds.
Payne described the 145-pound competition as wicked.
“Kids were ducking that weight at districts,” he said.
Dodson stayed the course and reaped the rewards. In looking at his match-ups, Payne said they felt pretty confident with his first-round match against Brendan Boyce of Ord. Dodson won the match by pin, then defeated Jaxon Schaefer of Boone Central 8-5 in the quarterfinals, assuring himself of a medal.
He lost to eventual champion Phillip Carstens of Boys Town in the semifinals. Payne said the plan was to push the pace and try to wear Carstens out.
“It didn’t play in our favor. It was a wild match,” he said.
Dodson was 0-2 in matches Feb. 18, including an overtime loss to conference foe Aiden Hinrichs of Fillmore Central for fifth place.
“He stays pretty even-keeled,” Payne said of the CHS junior. “He doesn’t let too much rattle him. He did great. It was good to get on the podium.”
He said Dodson will be looked to as the leader on next year’s team.
“He’s the alpha in the room,” he said.
Songster was 1-2 at 170 pounds for the Broncos. His first-round opponent was Cayden Lamb of Valentine, and Songster was the only one of Lamb’s opponents he didn’t pin.
“The coaches even said he couldn’t pin him,” Payne said. “That’s a building block for next year.”
He said Songster knows now he can wrestle with and beat anyone.
Overall, he said, the two wrestlers represented the school well.
CHS will graduate three – Elijah Utter, Breckin Schoepf and Keenan Kosek.
