Five Qualify for District Wrestling; Higby Advances to State!
By: Sydney Reeves, a sophomore at Leigh High School
After a tough sub-district competition the week before, the Patriots were eager to get back on the mat for an even better day at the D1 District tournament.
On Saturday, February 13, the five Patriot wrestlers who advanced to the District tournament had a long drive to Weeping Water. With this being the last tournament of the year before the state tournament, the Patriots were ready to compete at their best.
This tournament consisted of 20 teams including the Patriots. The five wrestlers competing for the Patriots were Bryce Jurgensen, Isaac Baumert, Dylan Higby, Jackson Koehn, and Andrew Rivera. They competed against some opponents that they had at other times of their season and knew they were going to have to battle.
While Jurgensen’s, Baumert’s, Koehn’s, and Rivera’s seasons ended, freshman Dylan Higby was able to place fourth and earn his ticket to the state tournament!
Individual Records for the D1 District Tournament:
Bryce Jurgensen: 1-2; Isaac Baumert: 1-2; Dylan Higby: 2-2 (4th place); Jackson Koehn: 1-2; Andrew Rivera: 1-2
On Wednesday, February 17, Higby headed to state, knowing he was going to have to give it his all with some really tough competition from the best wrestlers in the state.
He wrestled in the 132-lb weight class. His first match wasn’t in his favor, as he lost with a score of 0-5 to Brock Kester from Neligh-Oakdale.
His second match of the night went better for him, as he pinned his opponent Mason Tilford from Maxwell.
The third match against Mullen’s Kyle Durfee was a great match, but Higby unfortunately wasn’t able to pull off the win, losing 5-7, and ending his season. He finished the state tournament with a record of 1-2 and his season record was 43-16, a Patriot program best.
“Going into districts, we were going to go in and wrestle our hardest and try to qualify as many as we could for state. State was a great experience for me and has left me with bigger and better goals for next year,” Higby said.
Head Coach Tyler Reeves said, “We had a good showing at districts with Dylan finishing fourth and Jackson, Bryce, Isaac, and Andrew finishing one win from being qualifiers also. The boys wrestled tough and finished the season strong. I am very happy with how this young team has come along this year, and I am excited for next year.”
Congratulations to Dylan Higby for competing at the state tournament and the rest of the team for having a great season!