The power of one decided Saturday’s Eastern Midlands Conference wrestling tournament.
Class B No. 5 Waverly did it with depth, getting golds from three as part of 13 that scored on the day, enough to slip past host Bennington by a single point for the team title in the top-ranked Badgers’ home gym.
“I think we’re kind of solid across the board,” Vikings coach Eric Dolezal said his lineup. “Never satisfied. We probably left some things out there. But we wrestled well.”
After runner-up finishes each of the last two years, it was the first EMC wrestling title in school history, Dolezal said.
“That’s pretty cool for the kids to be a part of that,” he said. “It’s a good measuring stick for us.”
Garrison Brehm (120 pounds), Brayden Canoyer (132), and Drew Moser (182) won brackets for the Vikings, combining for bonus points in five of their seven matches on the day.
The third-ranked Brehm beat No. 5 Luke Frost of Blair along the way to his crown. Canoyer, ranked No. 3 in Class B by Huskermat, took a road to gold that included a technical fall and pin before an 8-4 decision over Blair’s Tyson Brown in the title match.
Second-ranked Moser improved to 34-1 on the season with a pair of first-period falls, the second of which came against Blane Boehmer of Bennington in the 182-pound final.
“Canoyer just continues to impress,” Dolezal said. “Tough kid. (And) Moser, he just did what he does. He wrestled tough.”
Four others finished second at their weight for the Vikings, who had double-digit scoring from 11 of 14 wrestlers. Runner-up Bennington, Class B’s defending state team champion, had one less scorer and two fewer in double figures.
The Badgers had five bracket winners on the day, finishing 4.5 points ahead of third-ranked Blair. Both teams — along with Waverly — appear in line to see each other again next weekend as part of the state dual tournament. Official pairings of the eight-team tournament are expected Monday.
Seven individual winners led Blair to the team title in girls portion of the EMC tournament, ahead of runner-up Elkhorn.
Waverly 194, Bennington 193, Blair 188.5, Elkhorn North 110, Elkhorn 49, Norris 38, Lincoln Northwest 3.
106: Hudson Loges, Blair, maj dec James Ferguson, Elkhorn North, 13-3. 113: Cadyn Coyle, Bennington, pin Tannon Bellamy, Blair, 0:57. 120: Garrison Brehm, Waverly, wins pool. 126: Kael Lauridsen, Bennington, pin Josiah Bultman, Waverly, 0:46. 132: Brayden Canoyer, Waverly, dec Tyson Brown, Blair, 8-4. 138: Kyler Lauridsen, Bennington, maj dec Jesse Loges, Blair, 11-3. 145: AJ Parrish, Bennington, dec Kemper Reed, Waverly, 8-2. 152: Braxton Peacher, Bennington, dec Garrett Rine, Waverly, 7-3. 160: Yoan Camejo, Blair, dec Dalton Rhoten, Bennington, 7-1. 170: Sean Stara, Elkhorn, dec Blaise Bauhman, Blair, 2-1. 182: Drew Moser, Waverly, pin Blane Boehmer, Bennington, 1:47. 195: Mason Villwok, Elkhorn, wins pool. 220: Jadon Webster, Elkhorn North, pin Jack Jansen, Bennington, 1:13. 285: Zach Protaskey, Elkhorn North, pin Nate Leininger, Waverly, 1:21.
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