Grand Island, Omaha Skutt, David City and Burwell earn top seeds for NSAA Dual Wrestling Championships
By Dru Kastler – For the Nebraska School Activities Association
The 11th NSAA State Dual Wrestling Championships will be held in Kearney at the Buffalo County Fairgrounds on Saturday. First round matches in Class A and D duals will begin at 9:00, classes B and C following at 10:30. Semifinals will be at 2:00 and finals at 6:00 in all classes.
Match day information can be found at the following links. NFHS Livestream | Live results | Brackets | Past Dual Champions
Class A: New Champs Set After Patriots Miss Qualifying
Class A will have a new state dual champion for the first time since 2018 when Kearney won, as Millard South failed to qualify this season. The Patriots had won every contested state dual championship from 2019-2024 (No championship in 2021 due to COVID).
Grand Island Senior High (10-1) has garnered the top seed. They matched up with their first round opponent North Platte once before, winning the dual 42-30.
The 4th-seeded Papillion-LaVista Monarchs and No. 5 Omaha Bryan Bears have clashed in tournaments the past few weeks. Last weekend, the Monarchs edged the Bears by a single point to win their home invitational. This should be a close one.
Unbeaten Lincoln East is the three-seed and is unbeaten in duals this season. They boast wins over their first round opponent Norfolk (44-24) and potential semifinal opponent Kearney (42-26, 38-35). The Spartans also own a 52-13 win over top-seeded Grand Island and at full strength, they are the frontrunners in Class A.
Kearney will have the home crowd fired up as they are looking to build on their near upset of Lincoln East in their second meeting this season. They’ll need to get past a tough group from Elkhorn South in the first round.
There are no teams making their first ever appearance, but both Omaha Bryan and Elkhorn South have qualified for the second time in school history.
Class A: Previous Matchups
Grand Island over North Platte 41-30
Grand Island over Kearney 34-32
Elkhorn South over Omaha Bryan 40-36
Lincoln East over Grand Island 52-13
Lincoln East over Elkhorn South 59-18
Lincoln East over Kearney 42-26
Lincoln East over Kearney 39-36
Lincoln East over Norfolk 44-24
Kearney over North Platte 55-18
Kearney over Norfolk 54-18
Papillion-La Vista over Norfolk 34-25
Papillion-La Vista over Elkhorn South 54-20
Class B: Skutt, Bennington Could Be Headed for Showdown
Top-seeded Omaha Skutt Catholic (6-0) and No. 2 Bennington (23-4) had an epic clash on the football field back in November. It’s possible fans could be treated to the same on Saturday evening on the mat in Kearney.
It’s something that Bennington coach Alan Pokorny is not really worrying about.
“Our focus is on Central City right now,” the Badger mentor said. “It looks like they will be favored in at least six weights, with one or two toss up matches. That makes for a very close dual. They are also a well coached team, so we need to wrestle our best to win the dual.”
Likewise, Skutt head coach Chas DeVetter said the duals will be one of the highlights of the year for his squad.
“We are looking forward to the State Duals,” DeVetter said. “There is a great energy and excitement at the State Duals that is unique to that event. Last year’s finals against Waverly came down to the final match and took everyone in the lineup giving a great effort to make it happen.”
If that championship match comes to fruition, expect some savvy lineup movement by both teams to help boost their chances of winning. Skutt has an astonishing seven wrestlers ranked in the top two in their weight class, while Bennington has only lost duals to Class A schools.
Skutt’s road will go through first time state dual qualifiers Ashland-Greenwood in the opening round, and then likely a rematch from last season’s title match against Waverly. The match between Skutt and Waverly last season came down to the final match – won by Omaha Skutt’s Cole Welte.
Waverly (20-3) will have the Thunderbolts of Lincoln Pius X in the first round. The ‘Bolts are making their first appearance in the state duals.
Bennington will face perennial dual contender Central City (17-6) in the opening round. Unbeaten York (18-0) will square off with first-time qualifier Elkhorn North in the first round.
Class B: Previous Matchups
Bennington Over Waverly 35-34
Elkhorn North over Ashland Greenwood 48-30
Waverly over Central City 48-27
Waverly over Ashland Greenwood 61-15
York over Central City 55-22
York over Central City 50-27
York over Waverly 50-28
York over Waverly 43-29
Class C: Dual Regular Battle Creek Looking for First Title
Battle Creek has been a mainstay in the State Duals over the years, as they’ve qualified for the 10th time in 12 NSAA State Dual Tournaments contested. They’ve finished runner-up three times, and in third place twice. This year they’re the favorite to capture what’s eluded them, the Class C State Dual Championship Trophy.
Battle Creek head coach Cody Wintz understands there’s work that needs to be done yet, but his squad is prepared for the moment.
“We’ve had a lot of intense duals over the years that have provided some big moments for our wrestlers,” Wintz said. “A state dual title is something that has eluded us, however. Our guys know and understand that, and are highly motivated to bring that hardware back to Battle Creek.
“It should be an exciting day of wrestling with eight great teams in Class C, and I know our guys and our fans are ready for it.”
It’s David City who has garnered the top seed as they have tallied up a 21-1 record this season. Their lone loss on the season is to Syracuse, who happens to be on their side of the bracket. David City will open up against first-time qualifier Gothenburg. Syracuse will open up against the Tri County Trojans, who they defeated earlier this season.
Battle Creek is on the bottom half of the bracket as the No. 3 seed. They open up against northeast Nebraska neighbor Pierce. They defeated the Bluejays 63-6 earlier this season.
Second-seeded Minden faces the Milford Eagles out of the gates, before a likely semifinal showdown against Battle Creek. Should both win their opening matches it would set up a rematch of their epic 2024 semifinal that ended in a 35-all tie that Minden won on criteria.
Class C: Previous Matchups
Battle Creek over Pierce 63-6
David City over Pierce 40-36
David City over Milford 37-36
Milford over Syracuse 43-34
Minden over Gothenburg 59-17
Minden over Gothenburg 57-21
Pierce over Syracuse 41-32
Syracuse over David City 39-30
Syracuse over Tri County 60-13
Class D: Perennial Power Monarchs Look for Fifth in a Row
Aquinas Catholic will be looking to bring home their fifth consecutive state dual championship after winning Class C in 2020 and 2022, and Class D in 2023 and 2024 (2021 was cancelled due to COVID). If they can navigate a tough field, they’ll join Millard South and Amherst as the only teams in history to win five straight dual titles.
This one is far from wrapped up this season as there are a number of teams that have a plausible chance of winning it all. The eight teams combined have a total record of 77-8. Aquinas actually has the most losses of the field, but those are all to Class C qualifying teams.
Sitting at 15-0, the Burwell Longhorns are the top seed in Class D. The Horns are after their first title since 2018. They open up against the Loomis Wolves – who have qualified for the second time in school history. Their only loss is to #2 Wilcox-Hildreth.
Aquinas is the 4th seed and they’ll have unbeaten Creighton in the first round. Creighton won ten duals in an eight-day stretch to vault into the Class D dual contender conversation.
You won’t want to miss Plainview and Central Valley in the opening round. Plainview has handed CV their only two losses, but Central Valley has moved their lineup around and should make this one come down to the wire. The winner of this one has a great shot at making the finals.
Wilcox-Hildreth and Weeping Water are both making their first ever trips to the state duals. In the battle of the W towns, only one can pick up the W in the first round and guarantee a top four finish. These two teams met just last week, with Wilcox-Hildreth winning an exciting 40-38 matchup.
Class D: Previous Matchups
Plainview over Central Valley 43-32
Plainview over Central Valley 46-33
Wilcox Hildreth over Loomis 42-40
Wilcox Hildreth over Weeping Water 40-38
Dru Kastler was a two-time state champion wrestler for Ord High School in 2004 and 2005. He was part of a group that founded NEWrestle in 2016. It has since become Nebraska’s most in-depth source for wrestling coverage in the state.
Editor Tony Chapman is a freelance writer based in Grand Island. He has written for multiple Nebraska daily and weekly newspapers. His weekly Harvest Sports Newsletter covers a wide variety of Nebraska prep sports.