By Marisa Dawson
Bennington High School’s boys wrestling team dominated the Class B-2 District Tournament held Saturday at Fort Calhoun, securing the team title and qualifying a program-tying second-highest number of wrestlers for the state championships.
The Bennington Badgers amassed 245.5 points to claim first place, well ahead of runner-up York (210.0), Syracuse (174.0), Hastings (126.0), and host Fort Calhoun (106.5).
Coach Alan Pokorny praised his team’s resilience despite facing challenging bracket draws. “As a team I felt that we received some tough draws. I believe that the 3 guys that got 3rd would have been in the finals had they been on the other side of the bracket that would have given us 10 finalists instead of 7. However, our kids overcame those and earned their way to state. I was proud of how our guys battled through tough matches and competed.”
Bennington crowned four individual district champions: Brodee Scobee, Brayden Kreikemeier, Ty Bouaphakeo, and Ty Thomsen. Earning runner-up finishes were Colton Archer, Evan Warner, and Kellen Mann. Placing third were Lane Welchert, Elijah McCrery, and Mason Mostek, while Paxton Morgan and Dominic Gillett took fourth.
Several wrestlers delivered memorable performances to secure state berths. Dominic Gillett, seeded 12th in his bracket, produced one of the tournament’s most exciting moments. Coach Pokorny described it: “In the heartbreak round, down by 2 points Dominic got the takedown with less than 5 seconds left to get the win and punch his ticket to state. Equally as impressive is that Dominic was drawn into the 12 seeded position in the bracket, he pinned the 4th and 5th seeded wrestlers to put him in position to make it to state.”
Elijah McCrery also prevailed in a dramatic finish: “Elijah McCrery also had an exciting finish to earn his trip to the state tournament,” Coach Pokorny said. “At the very end of regulation Elijah’s opponent got an escape, but the official determined that it was after time was out. After some consultation with the assistant referee, he reversed his call that would have sent the match into overtime. Then further consultation the official reversed the call again to his original call giving Elijah the one point win and trip to the state tournament.”
Mason Mostek overcame an early setback: “Mason Mostek took an unexpected route to earn a spot in the state tournament. Mason was up 6-1 in his quarterfinals match and seemed to be in control when he got cradled and pinned. Mason fought back and pinned the 3rd seeded wrestler to make it to state.”
The 12 state qualifiers match the second-highest single-year total in program history. Coach Pokorny expressed mixed emotions about the two wrestlers who fell short, Easton Anderson and Knox Naughton: “I was heartbroken but still proud of how our two guys battled that did not make it to state. Both are undersized but always gave their best effort but never complained or made excuses.”
Bennington’s state qualifiers will join individuals from the girls wrestling team at the NSAA State Wrestling Championships at the CHI Health Center in Omaha. The girls compete Tuesday and Wednesday (February 17-18, 2026), while the boys take the mats Thursday and Friday (February 19-20, 2026).
The Badgers head into state riding momentum from a strong district showing and aim to build on their recent successes.
