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Bison breaks cradle, scores pin for big home highlight
McCOOK, Neb. — “Iron sharpens iron” and no amount of Hastings Tiger cradling could contain McCook wrestler Davien Hanson Tuesday night.
Not with grandpa watching, mom cheering and a big McCook home dual crowd just wanting one reason to roar.
“I was pretty caught on my back, which is never fun,” Hanson declared about his varsity match since the Valentine Invitational in December.
Hanson’s been battling Bison junior Quentin Terry and sophomore Gabe Roberts for a varsity spot all season.
“Iron sharpens iron,” coach Nick Umscheid said. “And Davien got a one-point win in wrestle-offs this week.”
“We had a great battle and I was lucky enough to get it,” Hanson confirmed about wrestling football front-line teammate Terry for that 215 varsity spot.
So one cradle wasn’t going to be the story for Hanson on this night under that big McCook High spotlight.
Instead, he broke free from Hastings’ Connor Wademan and then employed his own crushing strategy:
Get caught in a cradle again?
“I kind of lured him (Wademan) into another cradle, and then I was able to turn him on his back and get the ‘W’,” Hanson explained. “With all the Bison supporters out here, I didn’t want to let them down. I had that extra (adrenaline) going tonight.”
Hanson let out a happy scream which punctuated his memorable 93 seconds on the mat.
Mere moments later, sophomore heavyweight Spencer Steinbeck emerged with AC/DC’s “Hells Bells” playing as his walk-up song.
No way would Hastings heavyweight Blaine Hamik avoid damnation on this night.
“Spencer came out fired up. He wanted to put on a good show,” Umscheid proclaimed. “He wanted to end the dual on a high note, and he did that.”
Steinbeck’s 26-second pin meant McCook finished 2-0 in those final two matches — but only three victories overall.
Sophomore Tristan Campbell crushed his 144-pound foe, 15-4, and remains the top Bison wrestler this season at 28-3.
Otherwise, Umscheid admitted his young sophomore-freshman dominated team struggled against a Hastings dual squad “solid from top to bottom.”
Soph Tate Schafer wrestled a great first period in his first action since an early-season injury.
“Once Tate’s conditioning is back, that will be a tight match all the way through,” N.U. said.
Sophomore Gabe Roberts was tied late until one mistake cost him at 190. Otherwise, Hastings scored decisive victories.
“We’re young, we are who we are and we will get better,” Umscheid concluded. “I commend all out guys for going out and giving everything they had tonight.”
Hastings 56, McCook 16
All varsity wrestling results on the mat Tuesday:
113 pounds: T. Degodt, HAST, won 10-0 over Ethan Boner, MC; 120: E. Kelley, HAST, won 13-4 over Tyce Hammerlun, MC; 126: Z. Thomsen, HAST, pinned Wyatt Benes, MC, in 3:50; 132: D. Anderson, HAST, pinned Jack Siegfried, MC, in 5:53; 138: J. Meyer, HAST, pinned Jaime Samaniego, MC, in :49; 144: Tristan Campbell, MC, won 15-4 over B. Oschsner, HAST; 150: I. Kelley, HAST, pinned Tate Schafer, MC, in 2:51; 165: L. Clark, HAST, pinned Jackson Blomstedt, MC, in 3:04; 190: Z. Lockling, HAST, pinned Gabe Roberts, MC, in 1:49; 215: Davien Hanson, MC, pinned C. Wademan, HAST, in 1:33; 285: Spencer Steinbeck, MC, pinned B. Hamik, HAST, in :26.
Hastings also won by forfeits at 157 and 175 pounds while 106 was open for both teams.