Muggli still in medal contention

Sidney's Michael Muggli remains in the hunt for a medal at the 2014 NSAA State Wrestling Championships in Omaha's CenturyLink Center.

The Sidney 145 lb. competitor defeated Chase Nelson of Beatrice 7-3 on Friday morning to move on in his bid for third place. If he wins one more match he will be at least assured of a medal.

Shortly after eliminating Nelson, he quickly moved to an adjacent match to watch Cory Washburn of Ashland-Greenland eliminate Brad Lenz of Blair 4-1.

Muggli and Washburn will face off Friday night at about 6:30 p.m. Omaha time.

Getting past Nelson was the first concern on Friday, however. Muggli had faced Nelson earlier in the year and won 4-0. He was confident he could keep the Beatrice wrestler from scoring too many points.

"I just wanted to try and take him down," said Muggli moments after his bout. 

Muggli grabbed a quick 3-0 lead after a take down and an escape. At one point in the match, with the score 5-2 in his favor, Muggli intentionally surrendered an escape point so that the wrestlers would both be in a standing position.

"I didn't think I could turn him from there," Muggli said. "From my feet I knew I could take him down."

He did, in fact, take Nelson down, earning an additional two points to earn the 7-3 victory.

"It was a hard fought match," said Raiders Head Coach John Ganser. "I'm hopeful we can win tonight and get that medal."

Should Muggli win his match tonight he is guaranteed a medal.  If he secures a medal, he will next set his sights on winning the consolation bracket, which would earn him third place.

As for his next match Muggli is looking forward to the possibility of wrestling on Saturday.

"I'm confident I can move on, but I'm not looking past anybody," said Muggli after watching Washburn's match. "He (Washburn) likes to ride legs a lot, but I think he gets sloppy and I'm going to try and exploit that."

The Sidney senior wrestled twice on the opening day and came away with a 1-1 record. His state tournament began with a dramatic 4-2 win in overtime. In his afternoon match he was felled by defending state champion Vince Thatcher of Crete by a technical fall 18-3 late in the third period.

Muggli, who wrestles at 145 lbs. in Class B, will continue his quest for the podium from the consolation bracket.

"I can still win a medal and that's been my goal from the start," said Muggli after his second match.

In Friday's opening round Muggli faced off with Tyler Berner of Syracuse. Berner was the third-place finisher at the Class B1 tournament last week. It was a closely contested match where neither wrestler could score early. Muggli drew first blood when he earned a pair of reversal points.

The Sidney wrestler held his 2-0 lead until the latter stages, when Berner was also able to get a two-point reversal. After 1:14 seconds had elapsed in the overtime period, Muggli scored the sudden victory with a hard take down.

From his feet, a confident position for Muggli, he threw Berner down on his back from a firm hold just above his knees for the win.

In the second round Muggli had a difficult time against the defending champion from Crete. Thatcher was able to consistently force Muggli into defensive positions from the start. The match ended on a technical fall 49 seconds into the third period.

After the loss, Sidney's lone qualifier turned his attention toward Nelson, who he had beaten earlier in the season.

"It doesn't mean much now," said Ganser, referring to the previous encounter. "They all want it real bad."

On Thursday Nelson was stopped by three-time Nebraska State Champion Colton Adams of Scottsbluff with a pin at 2:59. It was Adams who defeated Muggli in the district championship match last week in Cozad.

From now on, Muggli will likely square off against wrestlers he can only scout.

"There's not much I will be able to tell Michael at this point. He's pretty aware of what he's looking for," said Ganser.

He is an old hand at facing unknown competition. As a three-time state qualifier, he's developed a tried-and-true method when it comes to the unfamiliar.

"You have to get them to try and wrestle your match," said Muggli. "If you can do that successfully it doesn't matter who you're wrestling."

One of the challenges faced by the Sidney wrestler is a slight injury he suffered at districts last week. He sustained high ankle sprain, according to Ganser.

"I'm not thinking about that now, I'm thinking I have to win two matches (Friday)," said Muggli. "I was hurting all week and during practice on Sunday I just stopped. But it's fine now. It's just a matter of making sure I warm up well."

The four wrestlers remaining in competition for gold at 145 lbs. are Adams, Quinten Dawes of Gretna, Layne Laaker of Bennington and Thatcher.

"The 145 class is very tough," said Ganser. "You have Dawes who set the state pin record, a three time state champion in Adams and the defending champion at 145 is Thatcher."

Muggli stepped up to 145 lbs. this season after previously qualifying for state at 132 and 138.