Malcolm 152-pounder Gavin Zoucha earns back points against Cross County's Colton Nuttelman en route to a 10-0 major decision in the finals of the Class C-1 district wrestling meet Feb. 15.
Dylan Zoucha of Malcolm works to turn his competitor during the district tournament Feb. 15.
The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Over the two days of district wrestling, both are on display in abundance. On a Feb. 14-15 weekend in Malcolm that was filled with both ear-to-ear smiles and tears of sorrow, four Malcolm grapplers punched tickets to this week’s state championships in Omaha.
After a disappointing end to his season a year ago, Gavin Zoucha set his sights on the medal stand at state this year. The 152-pound sophomore took a step in that direction with a district title. Ranked No. 2 in Class C, Zoucha earned three pins on his way to the finals where he earned a major decision by beating Colton Nuttelman of Cross County/Osceola 10-0.
“All season we’ve talked about learning from last year,” Malcolm head coach Matt Coufal said. “Gavin has been focused and has beaten a lot of the best in the state this year.
“His goal is a state title and I think he has as good of chance as anyone in the field.”
Two Clippers are making return trips to Omaha, including Dylan Zoucha, who will make his third straight appearance at state. The 170-pound senior earned a quarterfinal round pin over Isaac Bittner of HTRS before winning a tough semifinal match against No. 6 ranked Eric Hoesing of Hartington Cedar Catholic.
In his title match, Zoucha – ranked No. 3 in Class C – was paired against No. 2 Burton Brandt of Syracuse.
“He got hurt in early January and hasn’t wrestled since, so our hope was to get to the third period and see if we could wear him out,” Coufal said of Brandt. “Dylan got in position to take him down in the second period and got into a scramble he didn’t need to get in. It didn’t work.
“Dylan set a goal early in the year to win the state title. That goal is still intact. He knows you don’t have to be a district champion to be a state champion.”
Kale Nordmeyer is joining Zoucha in returning to Omaha. The 285-pound sophomore came back after being pinned in the semifinals by Connor Asche of Fillmore Central to then pin Darion Earth of Winnebago to earn a spot in the bronze medal match.
“That semifinal match didn’t go well and we were frustrated,” Coufal said. “I wanted to see more in terms of just physical and mental toughness.
“Kale responded well in his next two matches and did what we know he’s capable of when his mind is right.”
It took just 38 seconds for Nordmeyer to pin Zachary Burr of Syracuse in the bronze medal match.
Riley Donahoo opened the tournament with an upset over the top-seed in the 195-pound division. The sophomore pinned Colin Hurley of Wood River in the second period to advance to the semifinal round.
“Riley set himself up well by beating him” Coufal said. “Without that win, he still could have made it, but it would’ve been a tough road.”
In the semifinals, Donahoo was pinned by Quran Cook of Yutan. Needing one win to get to state, Donahoo got it with a quick pin over Conner Shoup of CCO in the consolation semifinals. Aiden Worthey of HTRS outlasted Donahoo to get an 8-2 win in the third-place match.
“The last few weeks, Riley has wrestled really well,” Coufal said. “I think things are starting to click for him.”
Class C competition begins Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m. at CHI Center Omaha. The meet continues through Saturday afternoon.
“We have a solid chance to win some medals,” Coufal said. “I told the guys not to look at the whole bracket. Just look at that next match and do what is necessary to get to the next one.”
