Sometimes athletics can be exhilarating. At other times, heartbreaking.
The Boone Central/Newman Grove Cardinals had more than their share of disappointments in what is appropriately termed “the heartbreak round” of the 2016 Class B-3 District wrestling tournament at York High School Friday and Saturday.
Although Cardinal senior Jacob Krings was able to experience the joy and excitement of qualifying for the Nebraska State Wrestling Championships, Boone Central/Newman Grove had six wrestlers fall one win – and, at times, one point – shy of joining their 220-pound teammate.
Tyson Haddix, Steven Arreguin, Joel Meyer, Trey Schafer, Jesse Osantowski and Isaac Sullivan were all denied in matches that would have propelled them on the road to Omaha during an agonizing do-or-die round of competition.
Krings ended the day as Boone Central/Newman Grove’s lone medalist, placing second, and the Cardinals finished ninth in the 12-team B-3 field.
“Going into the meet, we were predicted to have two medalists, with six others to make it to the ‘heartbreak round’,” noted BC/NG Coach Dale Bonge. “Unfortunately, we ended up one medalist short of our seeds, but very close to having at least three more state qualifiers.
“Jacob did not have an easy road to his state tournament berth, as his three matches were against guys that placed first, third and fourth. He won his first match 3-1 with a takedown in overtime, won the semifinal 3-2, and lost 3-2 in the finals.
“Many of our guys came ‘oh-so-close’ in the heartbreak round,” Bonge added. “All had great efforts, but unkind results.
“Steven got beat 3-2. Joel got reversed to his back in the final 20 seconds to lose 6-5. Jesse had his opponent on his back and nearly pinned for about a minute before getting reversed and pinned himself. Isaac held a lead before getting taken down to his back and pinned.
“Trey was beaten by 10, but in one instance during the match, nearly had the guy in his deadly headlock. Tyson went the distance against a guy that had pinned him in short order earlier in the year.”
Boone Central/Newman Grove was also without two varsity competitors this past weekend.
“Levi (Krueger) was injured last week,” Bonge said. “Andy (King) caught strep throat and had a temperature of 103 earlier in the week. Neither was able to wrestle.
“The coaches and team are really disappointed in the overall results, but we’re proud of the team’s efforts and conduct in the district tournament.”
Complete results in Print & Online editions of Albion News
