Grebin takes route to title one match at a time

Foresight.

Summerland senior Rafe Grebin relied on it prior to Friday's Central Valley Invite.

"I knew I needed to pick up at least three wins without any losses to even up my record so that I am seed-able for subdistricts," he said.

Once he saw the bracket for the 126-pound division, he realized he wasn't going to get as many matches.

He looked at the eight-man bracket and that's when he knew what he needed to do.

"At that moment, I realized that I needed to win the tournament. I had to go 3-0 on the day. I was fourth seed going into Friday's meet."

Grebin brought home a gold medal.

The route to get there included a few thrills.

In the quarterfinal, Grebin pinned Cambridge's Matt Morgan, in 1:45.

"After the first round, I advanced to the semifinals' match against the first seed," Grebin said.

Then, time to ride or die.

Grebin explained the match went into an ultimate tiebreaker, or "fourth overtime, called ride or die."

Grebin won a 6-6 UTB over Chase Gracey, Mullen, in the semifinal.

In the match for first, Grebin won a 4-0 decision over Central Valley's Bo Pokorny.

It's been a bit of an unconventional season for Grebin, who qualified for the 2020 state championships.

COVID has added several obstacles.

He said, "One of the biggest things for me is not having a full crowd all the time. Only a limited number of people can come to cheer you on."

In December, he tested positive for the coronavirus and prior to Christmas break, the entire Bobcat program took a break to slow the spread.

"It took me a while to get my conditioning back, I was losing a lot of matches that I should not have," Grebin said.

For now, he's setting his sights on Friday's subdistrict meet at Central Valley.

"Subdistricts, I think, adds a lot of stress to some," he said. "Now it's do or die for a whole other week. This is only going to make district finals all the more exciting."

Three other Bobcat wrestlers earned medals, spurring Summerland to a fifth-place team finish at the Jan 29 Central Valley Invite.

Neligh-Oakdale scored 187 points to claim the team title. Mullen finished second with 143, followed by Palmer, 107 and Tri-County, 64.

The Bobcats finished with 64 points.

Alex Thiele picked up a bronze medal in the 126-division. Following a bye, Pokorny, CV, claimed an 8-3 decision.

Thiele responded with a win, by fall, in 3:13, over Morgan, from Cambridge, and won the third-place match, by fall, in 4:40, over Gracey, of Mullen.

Alex Arroyo contributed 16 team points with a third-place win in the 160-division.

Arroyo downed Grant Lewandowski, TC, in 2:40 before losing by fall, in 2:45, to Aiden Kuester, of NO.

In the consolation semi, Arroyo made short work of Cambridge's Gabe Huntley, winning by fall, in :46. Arroyo pinned Hunter Gress, HPC, in 3:38 in the final match.

Logan Mueller finished 2-2 and earned 13 team points and a fourth-place finish in the 285 class.

Following a bye, Mueller downed Keithen Huntley, of Cambridge, by fall, in 5:03.

Isaac Welch, Mullen, earned a semifnal win, by fall, in 2:11. Mueller responded by pinning Beau Hrbek, of Niobrara/Verdigre, in 1:53.

In the match for third, Palmer's Jacob Stromberg, won, by fall, in 1:59.

Daley Bearinger earned four team points after being eliminated in the third consolation round of the 106 class.

Navarre Plagmann, Sumner-Eddyville Miller pinned Bearinger in 5:30. Following a bye, Bearinger won, by fall, in :21, over Carter Haesler, of Mullen.

In the 120-division, Jesse Thiele secured four team points. He earned a bye in the first round and claimed a 7-3 decision over Overton's Dominic Kyle in the quarterfinal.

Riley Waddington, Wood River, pinned Thiele, in :43, in the semifinal and Kegan Payne, NO, downed Thiele, by fall, in :36, in the consolation semifinal.

Eli Thiele scored six team points in the 132 class, finishing 2-2.

Mullen's Kyle Durfee earned a quarterfinal win, by pin, in 1:29. Thiele responded with back-to-back wins by pin. In round two, he pinned Allex Wagner, WR, in 1:48 and defeated Carson Mason, South Loup, in 1:47.

In the consolation semifinal, Javier Marino, HPC, won, 8-1.

Spencer Kester finished 0-2 in the 138 class, after losses to Cinch Kiger, Overton, by fall, in 2:31 and Reece Jones, SEM, by fall, in 1:47.

Colton Thiele, wrestling in the 195 class, secured three team points. In the quarterfinal, Sid Miller, Anselmo-Merna, downed the Bobcat junior, 11-5. Thiele defeated Blake Williams, WR, by fall, in 1:32 in the first consolation round.

Eli English, WR, defeated Thiele, by fall, in 4:46, in the consolation semifinal.

Wrestling at 220, Wyatt Chipps earned six team points and finished 2-2. Following a bye, Syrus Snow, Hi-Line, downed Chipps, 9-2.

He earned two wins by fall, over Aaron Hernandez, SEM, in 2:41 and James Zkerns, TC, in 1:28.

In the consolation semifinal, Julien Grindle, of Cambridge, downed Chipps, 11-5.