The South Loup Bobcats put on an impressive performance at the Central Valley Tournament, with three wrestlers battling tough competition and making strong runs in their weight classes. The tournament's highlight was senior Dawson Mason's (34-3) victory in the 132-pound bracket, where he captured the 1st place spot and contributed 25.0 team points.

In the 120-pound weight class, junior Josiah Coleman (30-12) had a tough outing, finishing with a record of 1-2 and earning 4.0 team points. In the championship round, Josiah fell to Seth Hlavac from Aquinas Catholic by fall (1:21). He bounced back in the consolation bracket with a win by fall over Kalen Weller from Palmer (2:34), but was eventually eliminated by Jhonny Matias Trejo from Wood River, who won by fall (3:42). Despite the tough losses, Josiah’s grit shone through, and he’ll look to improve in upcoming meets.

Mason had an impressive run. After receiving a first-round bye, he took control of the tournament with dominant performances. In the second round, he pinned Trevin Klein from Anselmo-Merna in just 49 seconds. He then cruised to a major decision victory (10-0) over Isaac Mendoza from Summerland in the quarterfinals. Mason continued his momentum with a solid 7-3 decision over Hector Bonilla from Wood River in the semifinals and capped off his championship run with a 1-0 victory over Owen Krafka from Shelby-Rising City in the 1st place match.

“Three South Loup wrestlers competed in an extremely tough Central Valley Tournament on Friday, Jan. 31. All three wrestled very well with CJ Quandt placing 4th and Dawson Mason 1st,” Head Coach Todd Phelps said.

Senior CJ Quandt (33-7) showed his skill in the 157-pound weight class, ultimately finishing 4th and contributing 14.0 team points. After a dominant win by fall (0:26) in the first round over Jinseok Huh from Grand Island Central Catholic, CJ cruised through his quarterfinal match with a 12-3 major decision victory over Jaydn Thomsen from St. Paul. However, he ran into a tough opponent in the semifinals, as Kelby Coufal from Aquinas Catholic pinned him in 1:16. In the consolation semi- finals, Quandt bounced back with a victory by fall (2:12) over Colton Perks from Cambridge. Unfortunately, he lost the 3rd place match by fall to Jason Kraus from Mullen (3:51), but his 4th place finish still earned valuable team points. Honorable mention: Quandt hit his 100-win mark just last week, which goes to show that if you work hard and dedicate yourself to your sport, you can conquer anything!

Overall, the South Loup Bobcats displayed resilience, with standout performances from Mason and Quandt leading the way. As the season progresses, the team continues to show signs of strength and potential, with the coaching staff confident that the experience gained at the Central Valley Tournament will help boost the team forward.

The wrestling team will be back in action on Friday, Feb. 7, when they travel to Loup City with matches beginning at 3 p.m. It will be their final meet before districts which begins on Friday, Feb. 14, at Shelton.