The state of Nebraska flexed its collective muscle at one of the toughest regional tournaments in the country this past weekend – The Council Bluffs Classic. The CBC hosts top teams from Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Missouri and South Dakota.

Despite the impressive Midwest field, the state of Nebraska had six of the top-7 team finishers and 10 of the top 20 were teams were from the Cornhusker state. 

Leading the way was team champions Kearney who won with 482.5 team points – 84.5 points ahead of runner-up Grand Island’s 398. Columbus finished fourth with 392.5 points – just one point behind Brandon Valley out of South Dakota who took third.

Also out of Nebraska, Bennington took fifth with 357 points, Millard South finished sixth with 354.5, and Lincoln East placed seventh with 340. 

Kelley Leads Kearney Title Run

It’s no secret that the Nebraska high school wrestling product has been improving, but these results are still surprising.

Leading the way was Kearney, which placed an astonishing 10 wrestlers on the podium, led by individual champion Colton Kelley at 150 pounds and finalist Jameson Small at 120.

Kelley went 7-0 in Council Bluffs while winning four matches with bonus points. Kelley beat one of the best 150-pounders in Iowa, Ben Walsh of Sergeant Bluff-Luton, 9-5 in the final. A state finalist last year as a junior at 144 with a 55-1 record, Kelley raised his stock with this tournament.

Small went 6-1 in his finals run with five bonus-point wins, while Kaden Kowalek placed fourth at 126 with a 5-2 record. Victor Reyes (106), Jacob Weiler (132) and Sam Lungrin (190) all placed sixth at their weight classes for the Bearcats.

Kearney showed its depth up and down the lineup in this tournament. It will likely be Creighton Prep’s top team competition this year in Class A.

Runner-up Grand Island had six placers, led by finalist Kaden Harder at 165 pounds. Harder finished his tournament with a 6-1 record, losing only to Ryder Kruse of Lincoln East in the final — one of two Nebraska vs. Nebraska finals matchups at the CBC. 

Grand Island also had third-place finishers Riley Pedersen (106) and Rudy Rodriguez (120). 

Petersen Continues Bonus Tear

The only team at the tournament with multiple champions was Columbus — Carter Booze at 113 pounds and Mason Petersen at 157. 

A senior, Petersen is ranked #9 nationally at 150 pounds and has signed with Nebraska for the class of 2026. A two-time state champion in Class A, Petersen has been dominant this year. At the CBC, Petersen went 8-0 on the way to an individual title with seven pins and a major decision – he’s now 13-0 this year with 12 wins via fall. This fall, Petersen placed fifth at Super 32 while winning a title at Fall Brawl and placing third at Preseason Nationals.

Booze went 6-0 in Iowa with two pins and three wins via technical fall. He won both his semifinal and final matches via tech. 

More Standout Performances In Council Bluffs

Millard South — a traditional Nebraska high school power that has produced wrestlers like NCAA champion Antrell Taylor of Nebraska and All-American Isaac Trumble at NC State —  was led by 138-pound champion Kiernan Meink, who may have had the most impressive tournament of all. Meink went 7-0 on the way to his title with all seven wins coming via fall. He’s currently ranked #19 nationally at 138 pounds. 

Lincoln East’s Ryder Kruse went 7-0 on the weekend, winning a title at 165 with his victory over Harder, while Creighten Lassen went 7-0 at 132 to win an individual title for Millard West. Lassen won via 16-0 tech in the final. Lassen was dominant all weekend, earning five wins via tech while adding a pin and a major decision.

Fremont’s Preston Wagner (ranked #10 nationally) won a title at heavyweight. The Virginia signee had five pins on the way to his title. He won via 10-0 major decision in the final.

One of the most impressive performances of the tournament came from Waverly sophomore Dominic Olson at 126 pounds. A state finalist in Class B as a freshman with a 42-3 record, Olson went 7-0 with six wins coming with bonus points — a pin, four techs, and a major. After a 7-3 win over two-time Class D Nebraska State Champion Brody Jensen of Burwell (who ended up placing third) in the semis, Olson beat a top Iowa talent in 1-seed Weston Porter of Lewis Central via 24-12 major decision.

Olson was down 9-2 midway through the second period but scored four takedowns and eight near-fall points in the final three minutes for the win.

Nebraskans at Ironman

The state’s top Class A team, Creighton Prep, and its top Class B school, Omaha Skutt Catholic, both sent wrestlers to the nation’s premier in-season tournament, the Ironman.

Creighton Prep was represented by just Cruzer Dominguez at 120 pounds — the top sophomore in the state. A state champion as a freshman at 106, Dominguez lost his opening matchup 7-4 but wrestled back with four wins going into the blood round, where he fell to #10 Alex Rozas 8-4, falling one win short of placing.

Along the way, Dominguez scored a 10-3 win over Jamison Forrest of Bishop McCort and an 8-5 decision over Wyatt Spencer of Wyoming Seminary.

Skutt was led by Tyler Harrill and Riley Johnson. Harrill fell to eventual champion #1 Jayden James via fall in the round of 16, while Johnson lost in the quarters to #5 Jimmy Mastny 10-2 via major decision. Harrill (Air Force signee) and Johnson (SDSU) both finished 2-2.

A North Carolina commit, Ben Ziola went 1-2 at Ironman, winning via 16-3 major on the back side. A 2026 Husker signee, Niko Rotella went 0-2 at 175 with his first match a loss by fall to #2 Nicholas Singer of Faith Christian Academy.