Coming off of a third place finish at the District meet, the Millard West boys wrestling team traveled to Lincoln on February 17-19, to compete in the State Wrestling meet.

The meet started out slow for the Wildcats as sophomore Brian Davis dropped his first two matches in the 106 pound weight class, eliminating him from competition and scoring zero points for the Wildcats. Things didn’t get any better for the Wildcats as in the 113 pound weight class, sophomore Enrique Haynes forfeited both of his matches due to a medical reason.

Junior Avery Russell competed for the Wildcats in the 120 pound weight class. Russell won his first match via fall over Kale Vice of Gretna, however, he dropped his next two matches, both via fall, and scored four points for the Wildcats. The struggles continued for Millard West into the 138 pound weight class where freshman Casey Olson dropped his first two matches, both via major decision.

In the 152 pound weight class, the Wildcats had junior Jackson Jeanette competing. Jeanette dropped his first match via a 9-8 decision to Garrett Morgan of Lincoln Southwest. In round one of the consolation bracket, Jeanette won via fall over Jakob Ransdell of Kearney, sending him to the second round of consolation matches. In his second consolation match, Jeanette lost by fall to Luke Andres of Lincoln Pius X. Although he dropped this match, Jeanette scored three more points for Millard West.

“It is a big crowd you are being watched by, but you have to zone them out and get focused for the match you have,” Jeanette said. “I feel that I left everything out there on the mat but could have done better.”

Things finally picked up for the Wildcats as sophomore Noah Blair took to the mat to compete in the 182 pound weight class. In his first match, Blair faced off against Caleb Schwerdtfeger where Blair won by a 10-3 decision. In the quarterfinal match, Blair won via a 10-5 decision over Joe Andreasen of Lincoln Pius X, sending Blair to the semifinals. In his semifinal match Blair faced off against Cameron Cunningham of Gretna where he won a 8-4 decision, sending him to the title match. In the championship match, Blair faced off against an all too familiar opponent: Caeden Olin of Millard South who bested Blair in the District championship. However, it was a different story this time, as Blair wrestled a better match and won a narrow 2-1 decision to be crowned state champion and earned 22 points for Millard West.

 “I’ve been on stages bigger than the state tournament, in my opinion and I feel I have a grasp of how to compete in the spotlight and do well since I trust my training and the process,” Blair said. “I dont think it’s fully set in yet and I’m excited to get back to work and keep working towards the next goal.”

The final Wildcat competitor in the 195 pound weight class was an under the weather, senior Charlie Nosal. Nosal’s first two matches went smoothly as he won by decision in both matches. In the semifinal match Nosal was bested by Tyler Stewart of Omaha North. This sent Nosal to the consolation semifinal match where he faced off against Liam Blaser of Columbus. Nosal lost via a 10-6 decision which put him in the fifth place match. In the fifth place match, Nosal won via a 12-8 decision over Sawyer Schilke of Kearney. This secured Nosal a fifth place finish and ten points for the Wildcats.

“Going into the state tournament I was feeling a little bit healthier but not much, and was not expecting to medal at all,” Nosal said. “I thought I would lose because of how sick I was, so when things started to work out I was overjoyed. It was a crazy fun time.”

Overall, Millard West finished 18th in the meet with 39 total points. Millard South were the winners of the State meet with 217 points. Although the Wildcats did not get the finish they wanted overall, next year they will return their entire State lineup, minus Nosal, and hope to capture the title next season.