Sports

Coming off of their commanding 73-48 sub-district title win over Doniphan-Trumbull, the Sutton Mustangs had one last hurdle to get over to gain their second straight bid for the state tournament, a win over the 17-8 Oakland-Craig Knights, the same program that upended the Mustangs in the 2019 Class C-2 state football championship 19-0 back in late November.

The same athletic team that despite their eight losses, was perhaps the most challenging draw in Class C-2’s district final round in the class.

The trip to Columbus High School carried a heavy dose of reality for both teams, win and you advance to the state tournament, a loss ends successful seasons for both teams.

For the Mustangs, the evening unveiled several key factors that could have very well left Sutton short of a tournament berth.

There proved to be no breathing room in the first round of the Class C2-9 Sub-District tournament for the Sutton Mustangs, as Sutton entered the game with an impressive 20-2 record, while their opening round opponent Hastings St. Cecilia came in with nothing to lose, owners of an 11-13 record.

Both teams battled evenly in the first eight minutes of the game as the first quarter ended in a 12-12 tie.

The second quarter, however, began the pressure point of the game, as for the first time in the 2019-20 basketball season, Sutton was held scoreless. The Bluehawks held a 5-0 scoring edge in the quarter, with St. Cecilia hitting a two-point bucket at the 2:59 mark of the quarter and adding a three-point shot with 49 seconds left on the first half clock to post a 17-12 halftime lead.

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Sutton’s wrestling season took many twists and turns this past season, thanks in large part to Mother Nature. Despite that, the Sutton Mustang wrestling team would see one of their own cap the 2019-20 season on top of the mountain.

This past Saturday afternoon, Joe Hinrichs, the Mustangs top-ranked Class C 152-pound wrestler lived up to the top billing by winning his first-ever state championship with a 10-4 win over Raymond Central’s Conner Kreikmier, to put a stamp of approval on the season.

Hinrichs, when after the match was asked to talk about what it took to get to the top of the medal stand, simply said, “lots of work, dedication and being smart.”

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Sutton junior Joe Hinrichs became the fifth state wrestling champion in Sutton history Saturday, winning the Class C 152-pound weight class in the 2020 Nebraska State High School Wrestling Championships in Omaha. Hinrichs defeated Connor Kreikemier of Raymond Central 10-4, to gain the gold and finish his junior season with a 38-1 record. Hinrichs owns a 124-18 career record as a Mustang. TORY DUNCAN | CLAY COUNTY NEWS

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Harvard senior Oscar Medina has punched his first-ever ticket to the Nebraska High School state wrestling championships in Omaha, as Medina claimed third-place honors in the D-3 District meet this past Friday and Saturday at Southern Valley High School near Oxford.

Medina’s track to the state meet didn’t come without a few tense moments, however, as three of his five matches in the tournament were decided by one point, with two of those three one point fracases being key wins to gain the trip to Omaha.

Medina opened the 120-pound class with a 5:10 pinfall win over Nebraska Christian’s Danile Musgrave, before being paired up against Pleasanton’s Riley Hadwiger for the first of two matches against Hadwiger.

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The Sutton boys basketball team ran their season record to an impressive 19-2 after winning their 13th and 14th straight games, but keeping their win streak alive didn’t come easy in the first of two games last week. The Mustangs had to hold off the Wilber-Clatonia Wolverines in overtime to gain a 41-38 win, before rolling past Fillmore Central, 62-22, this past Friday.

Just five days after an 18-point win over the Wolverines in the Southern Nebraska Conference tournament, a second half push by the visiting Wolverines nearly handed the Mustangs their first loss since Dec. 30.

The Sandy Creek boys basketball team, coming off of a much needed win over Superior in the consolation bracket of the Southern Nebraska Conference tournament, kept their winning ways intact this past week, gaining a pair of SNC regular season wins. The Cougars claimed a 49-41 road win over Fillmore Central, before returning to the Cougars Den for the final time this season and gaining a nerve wracking one-point, 38-37 win over the Milford Eagles to improve to 13-8 overall.

The road test in Geneva would give Fillmore Central a 7-6 first quarter edge over the Cougars, but a 17-10 second quarter run gained control for Sandy Creek as the Cougars held a 23-17 halftime lead.

The Panthers trimmed the six-point lead for SC to three after the third, 31-29, before the Cougars regrouped and outscored the Panthers 17-12 in the fourth to chart the 49-41 win.

Josh Shaw led the scoring charts with 17 points, while Micah Biltoft added 10 and Wyatt Mach, nine.

A pair of returning state qualifiers will take another crack at state meet hardware for the Sutton Mustangs wrestling team, as junior Joe Hinrichs and senior Jarvis Smith will return the CHI Health Center in Omaha for the 2020 state wrestling championships this week.

Hinrichs gained the 152-pound district title with a trio of wins, while Smith placed fourth overall in the 285-pound class, while winning three of five matches at Oakland-Craig High School this past Friday and Saturday.

Hinrichs advances to state for the third straight season, after winning one of two matches in the 126-pound class as a freshman in 2018, and placing third in 2019 in the 145-pound class. Hinrichs won four of five matches in Omaha last year to finish his sophomore season with a 46-5 record. Hinrichs was 40-12 as a freshman, taking his career record to 120-18.

Sutton’s second ever trip to the Southwest Nebraska community of Bartley earned the Mustangs a fourth-place team finish and gained the Mustangs five individual medalists on Saturday, Feb. 8. Sutton tallied 77 team points at the Southwest High School Invite.

Republic County, KS ran away with the team title, outscoring the second-place host team 183-117.5, while Oberlin, KS finished ahead of the Mustangs, 95-77, to take third place in the final team standings.

Joe Hinrichs and Adrian Avilia returned from Bartley as champions, with Hinrichs winning the 152-pound class and Avila the 220-pound weight class.

Hinrichs was 4-0 on the day to improve to 31-1 on the year. In the process, Hinrichs also gained the top ranking in Class C in his weight class as Nebraska wrestling teams head into district competition throughout the state this Friday and Saturday.

The Sutton Mustangs survived what could have very well been their toughest opening quarter of action all season this past Saturday night, to win their second straight Southern Nebraska Conference basketball tournament title with their 12th straight win, a 43-27 win over Centennial. Sutton took the SNC title from the Broncos for the second straight year, as Sutton downed the Broncos for the 2019 title 62-47.

Sutton shot just over 15 percent from the floor in the first quarter, making just 2-13, and trailed at one point, 7-1, but the Mustangs’ way would change, and change in a big way in the second quarter.

Sutton closed the gap late in the first quarter to trail 7-6 at the end of the first and then went on an 18-6 second quarter run, to take full control of the title game and claim a 24-13 halftime lead.

Both teams hit for eight points in the third stanza, setting the game at a 32-21 Sutton lead heading into the final period.