Kimball High junior Shawn Nagel won his second consecutive State Wrestling title this past weekend to become Kimball Hi~h's first ever, two-time State Champion! In doing so, Nagel stretched his win streak to 79 dating back to last year when he completed a perfect 37-0 se~son while winning the Class C state title at 103 pounds, and continuing into the current year where he captured the 112 pound Class C Championship and completed another perfect season of 42 wins with no losses.
When the final stats are in and compiled, Nagel's accomplishments will put him at the top of several categories and he has one more year of high school wrestling remaining to build on his envious accomplishments. His second state title didn't come easy as he woke the morning of the finals to discover he had a severe head cold, was stuffy and had trouble breathing. "I got a little worried then" said Nagel. He was sick enough after arriving back home in Kimball tnat he had to stay home from school on Monday with a fever and aches and pains.
Shawn started the tournament in quick fashion with a :29 second pin of Doerr of Creighton Verdigree. In the quarter finals he decisioned Bader of Centennial 13-1 to set up the semi final match with Fowlkes of Newman Grove, an undefeated returning state champion who had won over 80 matches in·a row. It was a challenge that Shawn had prepared for all season according to coach Tom Perlinski.
The first period was scoreless as neither wrestler felt confident about taking a shot from the neutral position, but the second period was huge for Shawn as he got a deep win~ and turned Fowlkes to his back for a 3 point near fall, and then in the third period Nagel got an escape and takedown to seal the 6-1 victory. This was the way coach Perlinski described the win. In the finals Shawn faced Bonner of Battle Creek, last year's semi final opponent, so he felt very confident entering the match.
Coach Perlinski said ... "Unfortunately, Shawn developed a head and chest cold over night that made it difficult for him to breathe, taking away one of Shawn's advantages, his conditioning, but his opponent and the cold were not enough to defeat him as he got the early lead and never gave it up in winning 9-5". "There were some nervous moments as Bonner closed the score to 4-3 with a reversal in the first period, but choosin~ neutral and taking him down in the second period put Nagel ahead and confident enough to win" said Perlinski. The two reversals Shawn gave up in the match were the only four points scored against him, other than escapes, the entire season!
It is interesting to note that Nagel was ranked #1 in his class the entire season and he remains NUMBER ONE on paper and in the hearts of all wrestling fans. When the championship match ended, he still had enough spunk left to do a back flip on the mat before having his arm raised in victory by the official. When asked how this year's championship compared to last year's win, Nagel commented .•.. "Really no different. They both made me feel the same". When asked if he was 90in~ to take some time off now from wrestling Shawn told this reporter "If I am going to do a three-peat, I will need to work hard all summer and prepare myself to do it again". His immediate plans are to participate in track and field for the Longhorn boys, but he is already thinking about participating in a National Wrestling Tournament to represent Nebraska being held in Virginia some time in April.
While Nagel's championship was the highlight for the Kimball squad, there were other admirable accomplishments for the other five state qualifiers, especially for junior Trendon Hinton who brought home the 6th place medal at 130 pounds. Hinton had an awesome season taking an undefeated record into the state tournament like Nagel, and ending up with a season mark of 44-3 with the 44 wins establishing a new school record for most wins in a season, breaking the old mark of 42 set by Scott Noah last year, and matched by Nagel this season.
Trendon was possibly in the toughest bracket in Class C according to coach Perlinski, and to earn a medal was a great accomplishment. He started with a win by pin over Jordan of Malcolm in 5:11, won a hard fought battle over Albright of Ravenna with a 4-2 decision in overtime thus advancing him into the semifinals.
Coach Perlinski said, "The semifinal match on Friday did not go our way as Trendon lost by pin 5:50 to Pohlman of Raymond Central, but the pin occurred because Trendon was trying for a big move to win the match at the end. We knew this was going to be a tough task as Pohlman was also undefeated this season and was the 125 pound champion last season."
In the consolations Saturday morning Trendon lost to Mink of Fort Calhoun by pin in 4:03. This put him into the 5th place match where he lost in double overtime 2-3 to Fenske of Sargent-Burwell. "Trendon had a fantastic season, even though it did not end the way we wanted it to, he has a lot to be proud of. Trendon's lesson was that even after a loss we have to wrestle with confidence and determination," said coach Perlinski.
Senior Jordan Stahla a became a two time state qualifier and will be missed next year. He lost his first match to Olsen of Tekamah-Herman by pin in 5:05, and lost Friday in first round consolations 2-4 to Lemmers of Louisville.
Senior Ryan Gregory lost in the first round 2-10 to Starotska of Grand Island Central Catholic, won by pin in the first round of consolations in 3:43 over Dey of Centennial and lost in 2nd round consolations 2-4 to Hollenbeck of Ainsworth and will also be greatly missed next season. Returning next season with state tournament experience are Michael Robinson, a junior, who lost his first round match 1-9 to Broekemier of Central City and lost Friday in first round consolations 1-11 to Smutney of Madison.
Junior Matthew Merryfield lost his first round match to Harper of Arlington by pin in :53 seconds and his first round consolation match by pin in 1:33 to Roberson of Wood River.
Coach Perlinski said, "It was a week end of learning and improving at the state meet this year. Our Longhorn state qualifiers hopefully learned some valuable lessons at the state tournament. We learned that long hours of hard work does payoff as Shawn won his second state title and Trendon placed 6th. We learned that to become a state placer or state champion sometimes we have to overcome adversity that we have not faced during the regular season. We have to come back and get a takedown in overtime after losing a slim lead. We have to face opponents that are very talented and just as determined as we are, and that we can prevail."
Perlinski went on to say, "We learned that wrestling is a mental sport and we have to be prepared to face tough competition by being aggressive and not changing what we have done all year. We did not score first in six of seven matches we lost. We will be more aggressive next season when our returners get back to the state tournament. It was a great season with many highlights and moments when we wondered what direction we were headed, but ended on a positive note and we look forward to four returning state qualifiers and two returning state placers to guide our direction next season."
In the next week or two, when coach Perlinski has updated the school records, we will inform you readers as to what members of this year's team advanced into the top level groups and what new school records were established. It was a fantastic season for Coach Perlinski and coach Joe Culek and all of their Kimball High Wrestling Team, and one we will remember for years to come. Congratulations to all six state qualifiers as it is a tremendous honor to earn the right to wrestle at the state tournament as only 896 earn that right and only 112 wrestlers earn the right to wrestle in the championship matches.
