It’s all about the numbers, but Centennial is not superstitious.
When the Broncos checked in to their hotel in Omaha for state wrestling, Room 613 was the only one available, Coach Phil Payne said. When they came back, 607 was also open. A black cat crossed in front of the van as they were arriving.
“You can’t make this up,” Payne said.
Bronco wrestlers won seven consecutive matches to close the tournament. Thirteen wrestlers pinned four opponents, and Carson Fehlhafer recorded the 13th-fastest pin.
Fehlhafer finished the tournament in the No. 1 position, pinning his way through the Class B 285-pound bracket to the championship.
Payne said the junior just does his job. That job included pinning Paxton Bartels of Crofton-Bloomfield, Zachary Burr of Syracuse, Gunner Bailey of Central City and Isaac Wilcox of Norfolk Catholic for the third time in three weeks.
Bailey, Fehlhafer’s semifinals opponent, had wrestled a great tournament to that point, Payne said.
“He had beaten Ingwersen from David City (ranked No. 1 most of the season), and that was huge for their team,” Payne said. “He had nothing to use.”
The game plan for Fehlhafer was to continue wrestling his style. Bailey, however, took Fehlhafer to his back early in the first period.
“Time stood still,” Payne said. “He fought like heck to get off his back.”
A reversal and nearfall later, Fehlhafer trailed 5-4. Bailey deferred the choice to start the second period, and Fehlhafer chose bottom. He got the escape, a takedown and nearfall points.
“It was like watching a pinball machine,” Payne said.
The win put Fehlhafer in his first state final.
Payne said when the Broncos arrived at the CHI Health Center before the tournament, they saw a Norfolk Catholic mat on the floor.
“We said how fun would it be if that mat is the finals one,” Payne said.
It was.
Trailing 3-2 and in the down position, Fehlhafer scored a reversal and put Wilcox on his back for a pin and his first state championship.
Fehlhafer wasn’t Centennial’s only medal winner. Senior Ryan Payne left Omaha with a bronze medal, going 5-1, avenging losses from earlier in the season on the way.
“It went about as good as it could’ve gone,” Payne said.
He said he was confident entering the tournament on a four-match winning streak. He hoped to get one more chance to wrestle Eli Vondra of Milford, ideally in the championship match.
Payne’s only loss came to Cameron Williams of Conestoga in overtime 9-7 in the quarterfinals.
“The game plan was to use our conditioning to get takedowns. I thought we wore him out,” Coach Payne said.
With about 30 seconds left, a stalling call tied the score at 7-7. In the overtime, Williams got one more good attempt and scored the takedown for the win.
Ryan Payne had to regroup quickly to wrestle Grant Wells of Lincoln Lutheran in the consolation quarterfinals. This time, Payne got the late takedown to win 3-1.
In the consolation semifinals Saturday morning, also known as the heartbreak round, Ryan Payne faced a familiar opponent – Noah Scott of Aquinas. The two had wrestled each other since junior high and faced off three times this season, including at subdistricts and in the district semifinals.
“It was a barnburner,” Coach Payne said.
“It was win or go home,” Ryan Payne said.
Although there wasn’t much scoring (the final was 2-1 in a tiebreak), it was a battle.
“It was well played,” Coach Payne said. “We had the guy with the knowledge and experience to manage the match. It was a tough one for Scott.”
The win put Ryan Payne in the consolation semifinals against another familiar foe – Eli Vondra of Milford. The two had wrestled five times this season, and Vondra had won all five. Payne pulled out a 3-2 win to move into the third-place match.
“Hats off to Vondra. He is very good,” Coach Payne said.
Ryan Payne held a lead late, and in a scramble near the end of the match, he held on for dear life, “like a leach,” Coach Payne said, so Vondra couldn’t get the escape.
“I knew I could do it. I just had to give myself a shot,” Ryan Payne said. “When he about took me down, that was a long 10 seconds. I held on – it was crazy.”
After the match, Ryan said he told Vondra to keep his head up and that it had been a good battle.
“Then the revenge tour was on,” Coach Payne said.
The third-place match was another grudge match. Ryan Payne lined up across from Williams, who’d beaten him the day before. Payne won the match 4-1 for third place.
“I was excited for it,” Ryan said. “I wanted to finish on a win.”
Ryan was able to ride Williams through part of the first period, most of the second period and the third period.
“We knew he had it in him,” Coach Payne said of the senior. “He did what was best for the team.”
Ryan Payne finished his high school career as a four-time state qualifier and three-time medalist. He won 156 matches over four years.
After the win over Williams, Ryan Payne took a moment to soak it all in, looking around the arena.
He reflected on some highlights in his career – as a sophomore beating three wrestlers he’d lost to multiple times, winning the district quarterfinals his freshman year.
“I’ve been proving people wrong all through,” he said.
Through his career, Ryan said, he’s learned to not take losses as losses.
“Take them as a learning experience,” he said. “I have a lot of wins, but there’s a lot of losses. I took a lot of lumps.”
Freshman Jarrett Dodson was Centennial’s third qualifier and wrestled two tough matches.
“We’re excited about the future for him,” Coach Payne said. “He handled himself well all year.”
The Broncos finished 12th in the team standings with just three wrestlers.
“We’ve had a lot more thirds than fourth through sixths,” the coach said. “That’s a tribute to the kids. They battle back.”
Centennial now has 99 state placers with Fehlhafer and Payne adding their names to the list this year.
“Who will be 100?” Coach Payne said.
