Menu
Bison fight No. 1 Tigers to finish, pin last two
McCOOK, Neb. — The 4-1 score didn’t bother Reid Steinbeck any more than that bright spotlight or brand-new Bison Vison scoreboard.
“I didn’t even look at it,” the 220-pounder said about trailing Class B No. 4 Blake Davis through two full periods. “I thought heck, we’re almost at the end of the season. I’m just out here to have some fun.”
Within seconds, every McCook fan was enjoying this match just as much as Steinbeck.
Even coach Nick Umscheid admitted he had no idea how Steinbeck flipped Davis on his back.
“We call this group the ‘Bison Brawlers’. We’re not always the prettiest wrestlers to watch,” he declared. “But we end up on top more times than not it seems.”
Indeed. Steinbeck had Davis stuck while Bison fans and teammates jumped to their feet.
“When I got him to his back, I thought ‘thank you, lord!’,” Steinbeck proclaimed. “Then I held on and enjoyed the ride.”
The pin became official 15 seconds into that final period, and Steinbeck had his finest 220-pound win of this season.
The Bison weren’t finished against Class B’s No. 1-ranked dual team.
Junior Adrian Manzanares — who only wrestles heavyweight during duals — didn’t mind the challenge as he “stuck” Hastings’ Nick Tullis in 85 seconds.
Manzanares soon donned the Bison “pin chain” and championship belt for post-dual fan photos.
Sure, visiting Hastings had still triumphed 47-27 over a Bison lineup featuring five freshmen.
The Tigers impressively scored five first-period pins and led 35-9 at one point.
Yet even McCook’s coach was thrilled about his team competed, pinning three of those last four Hastings foes.
The Bison remained strong even though top wrestler Alec Langan (26-2 at 195) missed this home dual because of stomach flu.
“Win or lose, we wanted to let Hastings know they were in a dogfight. And I think for the most part, we did that,” Umscheid said.
“Some guys got caught up in the home atmosphere,” he added about McCook’s first home dual all season featuring the big spotlight, dancing youth wrestlers and intro music for every Bison wrestler. “But some of them used it to their advantage.”
Freshman Alex Anthony at 170 certainly lit up the home gym when he pinned Jackson Phelps in 3:08.
Much like Steinbeck, Anthony fought through some early struggles and suddenly took charge.
“That’s how Alex often wins. It often comes down to he just wants it (the win) more,” Umscheid observed.
Sophomore Nathan Renner controlled his match throughout an 11-7 decision against Austin Yohe at 138.
“Nathan grew six inches in the last year, so he’s still figuring out to wrestle in his body,” the coach revealed. “But he knows what he’s doing out there. Sometimes, it’s tough to remember he’s just a sophomore.”
Junior Talyn Campbell raced out to his Darth Vader/Empire theme and scored McCook’s fastest pin in 25 seconds.
“Older” Bison like senior Landon Towne at 152 put on a great show against yet another highly-rated Tiger: Class B No. 3 Mason Brumbaugh.
Towne took a 2-1 lead, then caught Brumbaugh at 3-3 thanks to two “stalling” calls in the final period.
Mere seconds later, Towne appeared to make a winning two-point move just as those final seconds of regulation expired. Bison coaches said the ref ruled time ran out before Towne completed this move.
Brumbaugh escaped, 5-3, in that OT period.
“Landon showed he can wrestle with the best in the state at his weight,” Umscheid concluded.
Hastings 47,
McCook 27
106 - Markus Miller (Hastings) over Tristen Krueger (McCook) Fall 2:12
113 - Hunter Anderson (Hastings) over Julian Stiver (McCook) TF 16-1
120 - Talyn Campbell (McCook) over Dalton Hansen (Hastings) Fall 0:25
126 - Landon Weidner (Hastings) over Wyatt Meyers (McCook) Fall 0:10
132 - Bryce Brown (Hastings) over Teagan Jones (McCook) Fall 1:43
138 - Nathan Renner (McCook) over Austin Yohe (Hastings) Dec 11-7
145 - Jett Samuelson (Hastings) over Tate Felber (McCook) Dec 9-6
152 - Mason Brumbaugh (Hastings) over Landon Towne (McCook) SV-1 5-3
160 - Izaak Hunsley (Hastings) over Dominic Gomez (McCook) Fall 3:53
170 - Alex Anthony (McCook) over Jackson Phelps (Hastings) Fall 3:08
182 - Jacob Lopez (Hastings) over Gunther Spry (McCook) Fall 0:20
220 - Reid Steinbeck (McCook) over Blake Davis (Hastings) Fall 4:15
285 - Adrian Manzanares (McCook) over Nick Tullis (Hastings) Fall 1:25