Sidney wrestlers stay undefeated

Zach Borges admittedly felt the pressure. It was a spot he said he didn't necessarily want to be in.

Borges, Sidney High's 160-pound wrestler, took to the mat in the last weight class of Thursday night's dual meet against Sedgwick County (Colo.) with the final result still hanging in the balance. He rose to the occasion, posting an impressive decision and propelling the undefeated Red Raiders to a 34-31 victory in front of a raucous crowd at Cabela's Athletic Facility.

"It was scary being in that spot," said Borges, who improved his season record to 22-9. "I'm not going to lie – I was nervous. I didn't necessarily want to be in that kind of situation, but I knew what we needed, and I just had to go do it."

Sidney, which had trailed by seven points with four matches remaining, was down 31-30 as the 160-pounders headed to the mat. And interestingly, Borges was taking on Sedgwick's Collin Casady, a foe he had just wrestled – and beaten – last weekend at the Chase County Invitational.

"I beat him 15-8 last weekend and we got into an argument," Borges said. "There's a little bad blood there between me and him. He told me after last week's match that he'd 'be coming to see me here tonight.' I'm glad I could come through for my team."

Borges was in control for his entire match, taking a 2-0 lead after the first period and then extending it to 5-0 after two. Borges, who said it was exciting to hear the crowd getting into the match, pushed the lead to 9-0 in the final two-minute period before settling for the 11-2 major decision that gave the Red Raider four team points – and the victory.

Sidney improved to a perfect 10-0 in dual matches this season. It has one remaining – on Feb. 6 at Gering.

"Being 10-0 is something to be very proud of," said Sidney head coach John Ganser. "This team has done some things very few Sidney wrestling teams have done in the past."

Ganser said the last time a Red Raider wrestling squad went undefeated was back in 1995 when that unit went 9-0. He said a Sidney team in the late 1970s went 11-1, but this year's group has a chance to make history in a couple of weeks.

"Tonight was real exciting," he said. "Our kids stepped up and pulled this one out. You have to give credit to a lot of the kids. There were plenty of hard-fought matches."

Prior to Borges pulling off his heroics, two Sidney wrestlers who've had phenomenal seasons so far quickly helped the team close the gap on the scoreboard.

With the Red Raiders trailing 25-18 in the match, freshman Derek Robb pinned his opponent in just 59 seconds at 138 pounds to earn a critical six team points. The win moved Robb's record to 30-0 this winter.

Now down just one at 25-24, Sidney's three-time state qualifier Michael Muggli was next up at 145. He took care of his foe even quicker, recording a pin in 53 seconds. Muggli is now 28-3 this season.

"Tonight, both of them (Robb and Muggli) needed to get us six points," Ganser said. "They knew it and I told them. They needed to go get us those points with pins."

Robb said it's a little more pressure wrestling later in a dual match.

"I did feel a little bit more pressure tonight," he said. "I knew I had to step it up and get a pin for the team.

"I'm not really focusing on my wins," he added. "I'm focused on districts and trying to get to state. I'd take the same approach even if I was 0-30."

Muggli also would have preferred to wrestle earlier in the evening, but he made the most of the extra time until his bout took place.

"I would have liked to go earlier and then win and cheer on the team, but it didn't work out that way," he said. "I got a chance to go upstairs in our wrestling room and really get warmed up and do some wrestling before it was my turn.

"After Derek pinned his guy, I knew I had to go do the same thing," he said. "The pin was there for me. Then it was great to see Zach take it to that kid."

Sidney took advantage of two forfeits on the night – Sedgwick didn't have wrestlers at 195 and 285 – and the accompanying 12 team points. All told, Sedgwick won seven of the contested matches to Sidney's five.

Patraic Hays posted a 9-3 decision for Sidney at 170 pounds in the night's first match. Kaden Vowers posted the other, winning an exciting 4-2 decision at 106.

The Red Raiders are back in action Saturday morning when they travel to the Lexington Tournament. They'll see several Class A and B teams in that field, and Ganser calls the event "a big test" for his wrestlers.

"From the quarterfinals on in that tournament, everything will be quality, tough matches," he said. "There's an incredible level of competition at that one."

THURSDAY'S RESULTS

Sidney 34, Sedgwick County 31

106 – Kaden Vowers (Sidney) dec. Kolton Dickinson, 4-2

113 – Levi Muller (Sedg.) dec. Colton Peckham, 6-3

120 – Luke Muller (Sedg.) maj. dec. Devan Schilz, 10-1

126 – Keith Graham (Sedg.) over Jack Feddersen, 7-5

132 – Kobryn Mann (Sedg.) dec. Bret Jaggers, 7-1

138 – Derek Robb (Sidney) pinned McCoy Sullivan, :59

145 – Michael Muggli (Sidney) pinned Cade Rober, :53

152 – Nick Duvall (Sedg.) pinned Coby Haas, 2:42

160 – Zach Borges (Sidney) maj. dec. Collin Casady, 11-2

170 – Patraic Hays (Sidney) dec. Zach Hamar, 9-3

182 – Brandon Anderson (Sedg.) pinned Colden Harrison, 2:47

195 – Kade Price (Sidney) won by forfeit

220 – Levi Davis (Sedg.) pinned Brandon Lulf, 3:02

285 – Dominic Beyer (Sidney) won by forfeit