The Bobcat grapplers fought their way through the District D-4 tournament in Bartley last weekend, Feb. 13-14, and came away with two state qualifiers for their efforts. Paxton Bierman and Josiah Coleman each triumphed over some tough opponents, ending the day on the podium.

At 120 pounds Coleman showed his stamina, going nearly full rounds in most of his five matches, and kept persistently grinding away to collect third place. In championship round one, he won against Dylan Davis (Garden County) by fall at 1:44. In the quarterfinal, he won by tech fall against Wilbur Reichenberg (Banner County) before dropping the semifinal to Haydn Helms (Arapahoe) by major decision, 10-2.

Now on the back side of the bracket, Coleman won the consolation semifinal against Cartar Kelly (Hi-Line) by fall at 4:32. Ending his day in the 3rd place match, he hammered away at Colter Grant (Hyannis) to collect the win by technical fall in the second period, 15-0.

Bierman, in the 175-pound bracket, put away two matches before a loss forced him to wrestle back to garner the fourth place slot overall. After a first-round bye, Bierman won by fall over South Platte’s John Nation in just 0:22. He followed quickly with a win by major decision over Colt Roberson (Garden County) in the quarterfinal, racking up 20 points to Roberson’s nine.

In the semifinal, Bierman ran into some trouble against David Bryner from Wauneta-Palisade. Bryner managed to pin Bierman at 1:33 to take the win. That loss flipped him over to the back side, facing Jaret Neben (Hitchcock County) for the consolation semifinals. Bierman took control early and won by fall at 0:38. In his final bout of the tournament, Bierman challenged Cooper Walker from Mullen for third place, and they fought through one whole period before any points were scored. In the second period, Walker started on bottom and managed an escape and takedown to pin Bierman at 2:21.

The remaining South Loup team showed up with plenty of grit and try on the mats, but all came home short of a medal to end their season at districts. The full results of their matches are as follows.

Noah Hiatt, 126 pounds

Championship round one v. Nolan Dueker (Bayard), loss by fall at 1:45 Consolation round one v. Quinton Meyers (Cambridge), won by fall at 2:36 Consolation round two v. Chase Beitler (Hi-Line), loss by major decision 15-7 Ben Linden, 132 pounds

Championship round one v. Ty Davis (Maxwell), loss by fall at 0:38 Consolation round three v. Solomon Hare (Hitchcock County), loss by fall at 0:58 Ryan Lords, 150 pounds Championship round one v. Solomon Hare (Hi. Co.), loss by fall at 1:29 Consolation round one v. Mason Albrecht (Hay Springs), won by fall at 1:48 Consolation round two v. Pierce Phelps (Sandhills Valley), loss by technical fall at 2:22 (15-0) Jacob King, 157 pounds

Championship round one v. Gage Hammond (Southwest), loss by fall at 1:37 Consolation round two v. Danny Taylor (Hyannis), loss by major decision 9-0 Blake Robertson, 175 pounds

Championship round one v. Brayden Kendall (South Platte), loss by fall at 0:49 Consolation round two v. Theron Erickson (Hi. Co.), loss by fall at 1:33 Bierman and Coleman are headed to the 2026 NSAA State Wrestling Championship, starting today, Feb. 19 at the CHI Health Center Arena in Omaha. The two senior leaders for the Bobcats will finish their final year on a high note as they represent South Loup and cap off successful seasons. You can stream the matches online (with subscription) at nfhsnetwork.com. Best of luck to our Bobcats at state!