Bison wrestling quartet ready for state meet trip
(High School Sports ~ 02/16/11)
There won't be too many McCook High School representatives at the 2011 Class B state wrestling meet, but the four Bison headed to state are all capable of placing in the top six of their respective weight classes.
The three-day state meet at the Qwest Center in downtown Omaha opens with first-round and quarterfinal matches all day Thursday. Wrestling continues all day Friday, leading up to the important semifinal round Friday starting at 5 p.m. Championship finals, third-place and fifth-place finals in all classes will begin Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
The McCook quartet heading to state includes seniors Keldon Osterman and Rusty Sullivant, junior Skyler Kalinski and sophomore Clayton Korus.
Sullivant, Kalinski and Korus all have prior state meet experience. Osterman will be competing at state for the first time in his high school career.
First-round Class B action will begin Thursday at 4:30 p.m., with 10 mats packed onto the Qwest Center floor.
Long winning streak
Kalinski probably has the best shot for a finals berth Saturday. The 145-pound junior takes a 37-1 record to state, including a gold medal in the B-4 District meet at Scottsbluff last weekend. Skyler has not lost since the season-opening Cozad Invitational last December.
Kalinski opens his state meet quest against Schyler Shanahan of Wahoo/Cedar Bluffs, a junior with a 22-11 season record. Ironically, Kalinski's only loss of the year came to Joel Gensler of Wahoo/Cedar Bluffs (senior, 27-4). Gensler dropped to 140 pounds, opening a spot in the Wahoo lineup for Shanahan.
Kalinski has competed at state both of the last two seasons, but he has never earned a state medal.
"Like I've told Skyler, anybody in the top six in his weight class, on any given day, can beat each other," said McCook head coach Nick Umscheid. "We've got to make sure we're wrestling our best on Thursday. Because if you win those first two matches, it puts you in the driver's seat the rest of the tournament. You know you've at least placed in top six.
"He's been a state qualifier two years, he knows it's time to take that next step. He's done everything that needs to be done -- we've just got to go out there and perform on the mat."
Three-year wait
Sullivant qualified for state as a freshman, then missed a state meet berth as a sophomore, and he was injured last year and could not compete at districts. Sullivant placed second at 152 pounds at districts last weekend. The senior with a 26-5 record will face Central City sophomore Kyle Sutton (21-11) in the opening round Thursday.
Korus earned a state meet berth last season as a freshman. Clayton has a 23-12 record at 119 pounds this year, including a runner-up finish in the B-4 District meet. Korus is set to meet Tye Shallenberger of Nebraska City (junior, 28-13) in Thursday's opening round.
Osterman has a 26-16 record at 140 pounds. Keldon will meet Boys Town senior Taylor Lueck (32-7) in opening-round action Thursday.
Coach Umscheid said Osterman probably has the toughest draw of the Bison state participants after he placed fourth in the B-4 District and his Boys Town opponent won a district title.
"Keldon knows the challenge ahead of him," Umscheid said. "If he's able to defeat that kid, that puts him in a good position for the rest of his bracket. He just knows that his toughest match is his first match rather than his second or third match. I know he's going to go out there and give it his best shot, and whatever happens, happens."
State meet experience
Umscheid feels the prior state meet experience will help his three Bison competitors in their return trip to Omaha this weekend.
"Being down there once as a wrestler, that does a lot for your mental psyche," Umscheid said. "You could really see it last year with Clayton Korus. It was his first state tournament. He went out there that first match, those are some pretty big lights on that mat. Some guys, they thrive in that atmosphere, some guys freeze up. I think it kind of overwhelmed Clayton a little bit.
"This is his second time down there. It's always a little intimidating, no matter how many times you've been down there. But he knows what to expect now. We always tell the guys when they're warming up on that first day, 'Take a look up now, take a look at the lights now and take it all in now, because you don't want to be looking at the lights during a match (as is on your back getting pinned) -- that's never a good situation to be in. Get it out of your system now.' Hopefully that breaks up the mood and breaks up the tension, loosens them up a little bit."
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