Raider Program Produces Two Champions At 2026 State Wrestling Tournament

Skill, will and drive gave Wyatt Forney and Drake Troxel of Southern state championships in Class D on Saturday. Forney, a junior, faced off against Bentley Reimers of Randolph after a first-round bye, and won in 5:51.In the semi-finals, Forney dispatched Tate Olsen of Banner County in 3:01 to reach the finals.Tristan Davis of Aquinas Catholic stood in the way of gold for Forney and with calm resolve, he handled every attack by Davis, getting an escape and takedown to have the score tied at 4-all after one period. In the second period Forney had a takedown and escape to go up 8-4 going into the final frame. A takedown gave Forney an 11-4 advantage and Davis picked up an escape when Forney let him up to celebrate his victory.F or Troxel, a sophomore, he started off the 150-pound bracket against Samuel Hare of Hitchcock County and won in 1:09 before getting a 10-4 decision over Calvin Carraher of Franklin.Sawyer Gillming of Pleasanton was in the way of Troxel reaching the finals and it was a back-and-forth ordeal with Troxel up 6-1 after one period but two nearfalls by Gillming and a reversal gave the Pleasanton wrestler eight points in the period. Troxel gained six points off of a reversal and nearfall in the second period himself. Troxel outscored Gillming 8-5 in the final period, including two takedowns, to get the 20-14 win and get into the finals. In the finals, Troxel faced Cooper Arehart, who had a takedown late in the first period to go up 3-0. Undaunted, Troxel had two takedowns in the second period and was up 6-5 going into the final period. A takedown and nearfall gave Troxel seven points. A takedown and two escapes were not enough to get Arehart back into it and Troxel won 13-11.Southern wrestling coach Preston Jurgens noted it was a great feeling for him as a coach, the entire team and the Forney and Troxel to come home with championships.“Any time you have an individual bring home a state championship you feel great for the individual and the program. For Wyatt to overcome losing in last year’s finals and to come out and perform the way he did just shows the work he has put in. Drake continues on a historic path for this program, there were a lot of doubts on if the pressure would get to him to repeat on another title. You add in the shoulder injury along with it, just shows how bad he wants it.”The ‘X’ factor for Forney and Troxel, according to Jurgens is their mental game.“I would say their consistent mentality. We have so many guys that put in a lot of work throughout the offseason that accomplished so much through their careers. But the consistency with their mindset coming into each match puts them apart.” The seniors at Wymore Southern will have an impact far beyond this season, Jurgens noted.“This group of seniors get to leave a legacy of putting Southern back on the map. These guys do such a great job supporting and pushing each other on and off the mat. This year we were a heavy feed off of each other’s energy type of team and it really helped mature and develop our younger kids that didn’t make it to state, but also set the standard of what is expected in the future.”Next season for the Raiders?“(We will have the) same expectations as any previous year, which is to continue focusing on what you can control, which is your performance, scoring points, and getting better in the practice room each day. We have a solid core to build around with Drake and Wyatt as defending champs, and Dominic Renderos who had a great freshman year. We lose a lot of seniors but we have some solid kids in the club program and junior high program coming up over the next few years. This group of seniors just set the foundation and we’ll do our best to grow from here.” Cole Vorderstrasse finished second at 215-pounds in Class C for Thayer Central.Vorderstrasse started off with a 2:39 win over Lamberto Campuzano of Scotus Central Catholic before he had a tough 3-5 win over Nathan Vaquez of Kearney Catholic to reach the semi-finals.It only took Vorderstrasse 1:28 to down Colbyn Peters of Central City before dropping a very close finals, 4-1 to Grady Welke of O’Neill in overtime.There were several other medal winners from area squads as well. Meridian’s Kyan Sones finished third in Class D 285-pounds with a complete dismantling of Jayden Loghry of Hitchcock County in :35.In the third place match-up at 138-pounds of Class C, Logan Zimmerman of Wilber-Clatonia held off Ashton Kuchar of Battle Creek, 3-0 to bring home the medal.Fairbury’s Konrad Kuzelka finished sixth in the Class B 175-pound division.

Prellwitz To Play For Wesleyan Next Year

State Receiving Over $7 Million In Grants For Waste Reduction

Related Articles

Lopers Face Mo West Wednesday in MIAA Tourney; Aschoff & Weers to Set New Records

Area Boys Basketball Action

Wymore Southern Wrestling Team Continues To Gain Momentum

FHS To Hire New Activities Director