Hayden Neeman takes his place in the second position of the podium at the state wrestling tournament. He took second in the 106 pound weight bracket for Superior.
Hayden Neeman took second place honors for Superior in the 106 pound weight bracket at the state wrestling tournament at Omaha's CHI Center Thursday.
The Class D state wrestling tournament took place Wednesday and Thursday, Feb.17 and 18 at CHI Health Center Event Center in Omaha. Superior's Hayden Neeman (40-2), a sophomore, won second place in the 106 lb. bracket. In Round 1, Hayden won by fall (Fall 0:49) over Dierks Nekoliczak (24-18) representing Central Valley. In the quarterfinal match, Hayden won by major decision (MD 11-3) over Layne Sturek (50-9) from Pender. In the semifinal match, Hayden won by major decision (MD 10-1) over Reece Kocian of East Butler. In the first place match, Eli Lanham (43-0) from Plainview beat Hayden by decision (Dec 4-1).
Payton Christiancy (38-9), a junior, wrestled at 285 lbs. Payton won his Round 1 match by decision (Dec 4-2) over IsaacWelch (35-19) from Mullen. In the quarterfinals, Payton lost by fall (Fall 2:49) to Brayton Branic (49-6) representing Sand Hills-Hedford. Payton won his Consolation Round match by fall (Fall 0:27) over George Fraser (38-17) of Guardian Angels Central Catholic. Payton lost in the Consolation Round 3 to Levi Kerner (37-2) from Arapaho.
Other SHS wrestlers who competed at state: Aaron Allgood (138 lbs.), Jordan Brown (182 lbs.), and Anders Webber (220 lbs.).
Head Coach Seth Going, summarized the 2020-2021 season:
"As the season closes, we coaches are extremely proud of our team. We have made strides and moved forward well, though we did not finish the season as well as we wanted. I love these guys for all their hard work."
"Hayden Neeman wrestled extremely well at the state tournament. His making finals is a huge accomplishment. He wrestled to the best of his ability and we coaches are extremely pleased with his efforts.
"This season has been marked by huge strides by the team as individuals and, in the long run, as a team. Though we started with many more wrestlers, we finished with a group that is solid. I would be remiss to say that I am extremely excited for the years to come. I would like to see some kids step up and finish the season. But I digress, the wrestlers that we had competing at the end of the year were an absolute joy to work with.
"The seven of them still wrestling after sub districts are a solid core of the future of our program. When we qualified five individuals for the state tournament, we were ecstatic but still not satisfied. We are now searching for championships, not just qualifications. "If the young men listen to their coaching, and more importantly, believe in themselves, then it will be so great! Look for some big things to happen in our next season."
The coaches want to thank all who supported the program. To the community of wrestlers out there, we will continue to carry on the tradition of this wonderful community.
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