Southern Valley's Becker pulls off upset, advances to Class C 160 semifinals

Southern Valley’s Chase Becker (top) wrestlers David City Aquinas’ Kyle Petree during the first period of Thursday’s Class C 160 quarterfinal match at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha. Becker pinned Petree in the second period to advance to today’s (Friday’s) semifinal round.

Gabe Gauthier/McCook Gazette

OMAHA, Neb. -- Kalin Koch let out a roar that could be heard across the street at TD Ameritrade Park.

The second-year Southern Valley head coach had good reason to do so.

Eagle senior Chase Becker ended the first day of the 2018 State Wrestling Championships by upsetting returning state champion Kyle Petree of David City Aquinas in a Class C 160 quarterfinal match. The win moves Becker into a semifinal bout against Tekamah-Herman’s Blake Moore, which will be played tonight (Friday night) at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha.

“It feels awesome,” Becker said of his quarterfinal win. “I’ve had a tough time getting down here (to state) and to be moving on is an awesome feeling.”

In the second period, Becker locked with Petree in a neutral position before taking him to the mat and pinning him at the 3:41 mark.

“I felt him go up and I hit my move,” Becker explained.

Koch responded to the win by jumping in his assistant’s arms and raising his fist towards a Southern Valley cheering section.

“Honestly, I was just super excited,” Koch coach explained. “We came into state with the attitude that we’re gonna give it our all and enjoy the moment. For Chase to get into the semifinals is a surreal feeling.”

Becker added to his memorable day by winning his 150th career match in the first round by pinning Kobe Wilkins of Arlington.

Shawn Anderson, Becker’s teammate, suffered a first round loss to North Bend Central’s Jacob Ray. He went on to lose a consolation match this (Friday) morning to Sebastian Montenegro of Madison.

Hinojosa advances to Class C 220 semifinals

Also in Class C was Chase County’s Aaron Hinojosa, who won both his Thursday matches by pin fall. The Longhorn senior, currently 46-0 this season and ranked No. 1 in the Class C 220 state polls, is on to tonight's 220 semifinal round against Matthew Eilers of David City.