It was a whole new story for the South Loup wrestlers this week, and they found plenty of success to smile about at the Arcadia-Loup City Rebel Invite on Friday, Feb. 6. Three of the five athletes that competed came home with a medal for their efforts, and the other two fell just short in some tough losses.

The meet ends the Bobcat’s regular season on a high note and gives them some momentum heading into district action this week. Medal winners for the ALC Invite included Paxton Bierman, Josiah Coleman and Jacob King.

Bierman led the way last Friday with a second-place finish in the 175-pound bracket. After a first-round bye, he advanced to the semifinals to face teammate Blake Robertson and won the match by fall at 1:49. Advancing to the final, Bierman faced Devin Carrell (Kearney Catholic). He quickly racked up a takedown and nearfall points, but then Carrell managed a heartbreaking reversal to pin Bierman at 1:34 to clinch the win and leave our Bobcat in second.

At 120 pounds, Josiah Coleman showcased his grit in a pool bracket and came away with a third-place medal. He had three rounds on the day and won the first easily against Angel Rodriguez (Wood River), pinning him at 1:43. The next two were scrappy, full-length bouts decided on points. In round two, Coleman fell to Holden Beel (Ainsworth) in an 11-6 decision. For his final match of the day, Coleman denied the fall to Hector Bonilla (Wood River) until the final seconds, but ultimately lost the match to Bonilla by decision, 7-1.

The final medalist of the day was Jacob King, wrestling at 157 pounds. In his 5-man bracket, King dropped the quarterfinal match to Austin Dethloff (Wood River) by decision 12-5. After a consolation round bye, he wound up facing Nacona Shurter (Ainsworth) in the 3rd place match. Shurter won the bout by fall at 1:00 against King, who took home the fourth-place medal on the day.

Ryan Lords, 150 pounds, ended his run just short of a medal. In the quarterfinal, he faced Emmet Grint, who pinned Lords at 1:18. Finding redemption in consolation round two, Lords won against Jeremy Fehringer (Wood River) by tech fall at 3:00 (19-1). Sam Titus (Ainsworth) shut Lords down in the consolation semifinal, winning by fall at 0:48.

Blake Robertson had a tough row to hoe at 175 pounds, in part due to his teammate’s good run. In the quarterfinal, Robertson lost by fall to Reed Ellermeier of North Central before advancing to the semifinals to face Bierman. Bierman pinned Robertson at 1:49, ending Robertson’s day on the mats.

District D-4 competition will get underway tomorrow and Saturday, Feb. 13-14, hosted by Southwest in Bartley. The lineup includes 32 teams from across Nebraska, with plenty of familiar faces and a few new ones. The Bobcats will be looking for a way to advance through to the final rounds, with the top four wrestlers in each weight class punching a ticket to the state meet. District action begins at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, and 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. The 2026 NSAA State Wrestling Championship is set for Feb. 19-21 at the CHI Health Center Arena in Omaha.