The 2024 NSAA state wrestling championships concluded Saturday at the CHI Health Center in Omaha. Broken Bow finished as the state runner-up in the Class C team standings. Battle Creek won the Class C team title with 127 points and Broken Bow was second with 98 points. Broken Bow advanced two wrestlers to the championship finals. Max Denson wrestled for the Class C 190 lb. championship against Trent Moudry of Bishop Neumann. The match went down to the wire with Moudry winning by a 4-3 decision. Denson was the state runner-up and ended his senior season with a record of 49-2. At 215 lbs. in Class C, Cal Wells of Broken Bow met Jaret Peterson of Chase County for the state championship. The two met a year ago for the 220 lb. championship with Wells winning. This year, the two wrestled each other twice leading into the tournament with Peterson winning both matches. The championship this year was another classic between the two. It went to overtime and in the tiebreaker Peterson of Chase County scored an escape which ended up being the difference in a 2-1 win. Wells is the state runner up at 215 and ends the season with a season record of 46-4.
Mullen’s Chase Gracey is a state champion. Gracey won the Class D 175 lb. title defeating Wyatt Urkoski of High Plains Community in the championship match by an 8-4 decision. It was Urkoski’s first loss of the season. Gracey ends the season with a record of 37-2.
Tyce Porter of Anselmo-Merna was the state runner-up in Class D at 165 lbs. Porter wrestled Taaron Lavicky of Axtell in the championship match. Lavicky would win the match by a 9-4 decision. Porter, a senior, concludes his season with a record of 40-3.
In other area notes, Brody Jensen of Burwell claimed the state title at 106 lbs. in Class D. Jensen, a freshman, defeated Beau Johnson of Plainview by an 8-4 decision. Jensen concludes the season at 45-2. Brock Malcolm of Cozad claimed the state championship in Class B at 157 lbs. Malcolm won by fall over Ty Bouaphakeo of Bennington. Malcolm concludes the season at 37-6.
Other state medalists from the KCNI/KBBN coverage area included:
Class C
Chauncey Watson of Broken Bow 3rd at 120 lbs.
Braxon Rynearson of Broken Bow 3rd at 138 lbs.
Brice Chaplin of Broken Bow 4th at 175 lbs.
Class D
Christopher Allen of Arcadia/Loup City 6th at 106 lbs.
Clayton Scoville of SEM 6th at 113 lbs.
Treu Atkins of SEM 4th at 120 lbs.
Dawson Mason of South Loup 4th at 132 lbs.
Keaton Dowse of Twin Loup 6th at 144 lbs.
Rhett McFadden of Sandhills/Thedford 6th at 175 lbs.
Maddox Jones of SEM 4th at 175 lbs.
Tayte Thornton of Anselmo-Merna 5th at 215 lbs.
Girls
Abby Negley of Gothenburg 5th at 105 lbs.
Saije Phelps of Sandhills Valley 5th at 120 lbs.
Class B
Aaron Wilson of Cozad 6th at 132 lbs.
Dreu White of Cozad 3rd at 144 lbs.
Kooper Pohl of Cozad 5th at 150 lbs.
Chris Ruano of Cozad 5th at 285 lbs.
