In a thrilling high school wrestling dual, #2 Lincoln East narrowly defeated #4 Kearney 38-35 on Thursday night. The meet was a back-and-forth battle, with standout performances from both teams keeping the outcome uncertain until the final match.
The dual began with a forfeit victory for Lincoln East’s Cayden Engel at 106 pounds, giving the Spartans an early lead. Kearney quickly responded at 113 pounds, where Jack Sponenburgh dominated Mathysin Marco with a 17-0 technical fall at 5:40.
At 120 pounds, Lincoln East’s Leland Sindel picked up a hard-fought 8-2 decision over Jameson Small, but Kearney’s Kaden Kowalek swung the momentum back in the Bearcats’ favor with a second-period pin over Zach Masek at 126 pounds.
The 132-pound match saw Lincoln East’s Chase Cole secure a 9-5 decision over Zaen Green, followed by a dominant technical fall at 138 pounds from Noah Ingwersen, who defeated Kearney’s Braxton Robinson 18-0 at 5:15. Sean Stanton and Scottie Meier Jr. added back-to-back first-period pins for Lincoln East at 144 and 150 pounds, respectively, giving the Spartans a commanding lead.
Kearney’s Taj Wilson halted Lincoln East’s run with an emphatic 1:17 pin over Cooper Junge at 165 pounds. The Bearcats continued their comeback effort with John Florell (175) and Kendall Kleen (190) adding pins of their own, cutting the deficit.
At 215 pounds East was able to stop the momentum, where Lincoln East’s Colton Tucker delivered a 16-0 technical fall over Alec Newell. Heading into the heavyweight match, Lincoln East held a narrow 38-29 lead.
Kearney’s Xavier Martinez stepped up in the final bout, pinning Elijah Gutz at 3:46 to bring the Bearcats within three points, but it wasn’t enough to close the gap.
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