Titans hold annual wrestling meet

For photos of the regular 2012-13 wrestling season and the Thayer Central Invitational, click on the photos prompt at the top of the page.

Team Finishes
1-Fairbury (173); 2-Shelton/Kenesaw (162); 3-South Central (118.5); 4-Meridian (116); 5-Thayer Central (109); 6-Freeman (101.5); 7-Fillmore Central (97.5); 8-Minden (83); 9-Unattached (80); 10-Southern (39); 11-Superior (36); 12-McCool Junction (18); 13-Dorchester (17).

The Thayer Central Titans hosted 12 teams to its annual wrestling invitational Friday evening where fans filled the gymnasium seating.

The black and gold team finished fifth in the contest with 109 points; Fairbury won the meet with 173 points.

Thayer Central was led by seniors Dalton Kenning and Clayton Hintz who both took championships in their respective divisions. Sixteen wrestlers represented the team.

“I thought the guys looked much better this weekend,” said Titans coach Brett Larson. Our ‘mat-sense’ was also much better. We were much more physical in our matches and that helped us get eight of our wrestlers to medal.”

Kenning, wrestling at 145, defeated Jake Corbin of Fairbury, 7-5, in the final bout to claim the championship. Kenning went 4-0 on the day lifting his personal record to 23-8.

Clayton Hintz, wrestling at 138, defeated Tyler Fisbeck of Fairbury by a major decision, 9-1, in the final match. Hintz went 2-0 on the day to lift his personal record 23-7 on the season.

Earning silver medals were Cody Krula and Adam Hellbusch.

Krula, wrestling at 152, fell to Riley Noel of Meridian, 10-3, after going 2-1 on the day. The second place win lifts his personal record to 22-6 on the season.

Hellbusch secured a spot in the final match of the 132 weight division after winning three competitions. In the final round, Hellbusch was pinned by Kyler Pfingsten of Fairbury. He lifts his record to 14-7 on the season.

Finishing third on the day, Jamie Lange, wrestling at 132, pinned Austen Bailey of South Central in the consolation bout. Lange went 4-1 on the day to advance his personal record to 24-14 on the season.

Three Titans finished fourth to round out the team’s scoring including Jayden Dightman, Tyler Hergott and Cole Harris.

Dightman, wrestling at 113, fell to Micah Magnuson of Shelton/Kenesaw in the consolation final after going 2-2 on the day. Dightman currently carries an 8-12 personal record.

Hergott, wrestling at 160, fell to Chris Gillming of Shelton/Kenesaw in the consolation final after going 1-2 on the day. Hergott’s season record is currently 15-11.

And in the 182 weight division, Cole Harris fell to Garritt Van Engen of Freeman in the consolation final to place fourth. Harris, who went 2-2 on the day, currently carries an 11-6 record.

Coach Larson also commended the junior varsity wrestlers stating the young athletes are coming along nicely this year and getting better every time they step on the mats.

Others wrestling for the Titans (all went 0-2 at the home meet) and their current weight divisions and personal records include:
106-Kylea Hintz (7-9); 126-Justin Criner (12-13); 132-Ali Ashmore (0-8); 138-Tyler Edwards (2-9); 145-Zach Mumm (2-11); 182-Judd Holtzclaw (0-9); 195-Brian Kovacs (4-17); 220-Colton Fangmeier (4-13).

The Thayer Central Titans will head to the Red Cloud/Blue Hill tourney this Saturday, Jan. 26, at Red Cloud. The meet rounds out the regular season for the wrestlers and sets the stage for the Southern Nebraska Conference tournament on Feb. 1 at Centennial in Utica.

The district competition is scheduled for Feb. 8-9 at Central Community College – Columbus Campus, with the state tournament scheduled the following week, Feb. 14-16 at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha.