Kearney High School wrestlers claimed their first tournament championship of the season at the Holdrege Invitational on Saturday. The Bearcats finished 50 points ahead of Broken Bow to win the 8 team competition.
Perry Swarm (132 pounds), Beau Hostler (145 pounds), Gage Ferguson (152 pounds), Tate Kuchera (170 pounds) and Carter Abels (182 pounds) all were champions in their respective weight classes.
“This was a step in the right direction for this year’s varsity team”, said head coach Ty Swarm, “we are starting to compete at a higher level and our leadership and team cohesiveness is starting to evolve. These are important things for us to see at this point in the season”.
Perry Swarm was unseeded in the tournament and upset both the 1st and 3rd seed to claim the tournament championship at 132 pounds. Beau Hostler (145 pounds) and Gage Ferguson (152 pounds) both went 4-0 in a 5 person round-robin tournament to win their individual championships. Tate Kuchera (170 pounds) and Carter Abels (182 pounds) accumulated 5 pins out of 6 wins between the two of them to win their individual brackets.
Haydon Arrants (113 pounds) and Dario Rodriguez (220 pounds) both finished 3-1 on the day and finished as tournament runners-up. Archer Heelan (120 pounds), Ethan Lawrence (132 pounds), Nick Sutton (160 pounds), and Caden Johnson (Heavyweight) all finished in third place, helping the Bearcats to the individual team title.
Kearney High is back on the mats on Saturday, December 19th at the Flatwater Fracas. This is a one-day event this year and it will be hosted at Grand Island High School. Wrestling starts at 10am.