Wrestlers Place 8th at Districts
Nieveen, Weyers, and Buss Qualify for State
February 14, 2010
The Freeman wrestling team traveled to Sutton on Friday morning to compete in the D-1 Districts. The Falcons had a strong showing on the first day of competition by advancing nine out of the ten wrestlers to day two. Freeman had 40-points and was in 4th place after the first day. Brian Nieveen (103) went 1-0 winning by pin, Kevin Weyers (171) went 2-0 winning both matches by pin, and Evan Buss (215) went 1-0 and recorded a pin.
Both Austin Ruskamp (140) and Mitch Hesseltine (152) went 2-1. Ruskamp recorded two pins, while Hesseltine recorded one pin and one major decision. Chase Heble (130), Chandler Brandert (140), and Nate Milke (160) all went 1-1 and recorded a pin. Joel Gronewold (112) went 0-1 and advance by having a bye. Logan Schoneweis, wrestling a weight class up, lost both matches and was eliminated from the tournament.
The second day of districts found some very intense competition. Ruskamp and Hesseltine won in the quarterfinal consolation matches. Nieveen, Weyers, and Buss all lost in their championship semi-final match.
Freeman had five wrestlers left in the “heartbreak” round. Three wrestlers were able to win against their opponents in this round. Nieveen, Weyers, and Buss all advance to consolation finals, which automatically qualified them for the State Tournament. Nieveen won by decision, Weyers by major decision, and Buss by pin. Ruskamp and Hesseltine were both eliminated from the tournament.
Nieveen won his last match with a 6-2 decision. Weyers lost a close match by a score of 1-3, and Buss was pinned in the final match.
“I thought the wrestlers did a fabulous job this season,” stated Coach Troxel. “We lost quite a few matches by 2 points or less, which showed that we competed well even when we didn’t win. The team broke many school records this season including most points at Districts, most state qualifiers, most wins and most pins in a season.
Class “A” and “D” are the late session this year at the State Tournament located at the Qwest Center in Omaha. First round starts at 4:30 p.m. and the quarterfinal start at 8:00 p.m. Nieveen will face Troy Fields from Sandhills/Thedford, Weyers will compete against Spencer Trampe from Amherst, and Buss will face Joshua Watchorn from Ponca.
(Photos provided by Elizabeth Nieveen and Loren Ruskamp)
