The Milford wrestlers split their senior night triangular with Aurora and York Jan. 22 and finished fourth at the David City Invite Jan. 23.
Coach Jonah Peterson said Jan. 22 was a fun night for the Eagles, with the seniors wrestling in front of the home crowd and seeing the club wrestlers recognized, as well.
The Eagles were “firing on all cylinders” against Aurora and defeated the Huskies 49-27. Milford won nine of the 14 matches, with bonus points in eight of those wins.
The dual against York did not go as well, with Milford losing 55-18.
“Things did not go our way,” Peterson said. “While we were missing a few pieces in our lineup, I still thought we didn’t compete as well as we should have.”
He said the Dukes exposed some weaknesses which the Eagles will work on correcting.
On the bright side, freshmen Teagan Zegers (150) and Tobias Schweitzer (113) won their matches by pin, with Caleb Kempf’s win by forfeit adding the other six team points.
That concludes the dual season for the Eagles, which are 11-2 and fifth in the Class B power points. Peterson said it looks like Milford may qualify for the state duals for the third time in school history and the third consecutive season but the first in Class B.
“I’m extremely proud of our team’s performance in duals all season. The fact that we are in the running again, while also moving up a class, speaks volumes to the trajectory of our program. It has been a true team effort, where multiple guys have stepped up and delivered in the biggest of moments. If we get the opportunity to compete at State Duals once again, we will be eager to showcase our talent,” Peterson said.
The Eagles were still missing wrestlers at the David City meet, but the team battled hard, Peterson said. Although the day didn’t start well, it ended better, he said.
Milford had three finalists – Garrett Schoen, who won the 285-pound bracket pinning all four of his opponents, and Quinn Zegers (138) and Cory Langenberg (165) who both finished second. Schoen’s gold was his fifth of the season.
Next up for Milford is the Southern Nebraska Conference tournament Saturday, Jan. 31, at Tri County. Matches start at 10 a.m.
