Koch earns medal at State wrestling tourney

OMAHA - With a record four wrestlers down at the State Tournament in Omaha, Cedar Catholic had a strong performance with representation through all three days.

Seniors Turner Korth and Ethan Koch both re- turned to State for their second appearance, while sophomore Kerby Hochstein and junior Eric Hoesing both made their debut.

Koch led the Trocats with a fifth pfinish nish at 152 pounds. The senior started his season battling a knee injury before starting his season in January.

“It was great to get Ethan back,” said Cedar coach Justin Bartling. “We all knew he was capable of doing what he did but that injury really set him back.”

Koch went into State with a record of 18-4, and of his four losses heading into State, two were against Battle Creek’s Ty Heimes. Koch and Heimes faced off for a third time in the consolation semifinals, with the winner advancing to the third-place match. “Both Ethan and Ty Heimes were getting tired of seeing each other, that’s for sure, but we didn’t approach it any differently,” said Bartling. “We knew we needed takedowns to win that match and we did our best but just couldn’t get him. It was a fun rivalry to watch.”

Koch lost in a 5-3 decision and was sent to the fifth place match. There, he had a milestone vic- tory to earn fifth place, and earn his 90th career win to finish his wrestling career atop the All-Time Wins List. The previous record was 89 wins by Sam Wortmann who wrestled from 2011-15.

“Breaking the wins record was awesome and really showed how much work he put in the last four years considering the injury and only winning six matches his entire freshman season,” sad Bartling. “The medal was just the icing on the cake.”

Koch was the sole Cedar wrestler to nd his way to the podium. Both Korth and Hoesing suffered losses in the third consolation round, a.k.a. the heartbreaker round, to fall just shy of medaling.

At 145 pounds, Korth went 2-2 on the weekend, and again would finish his season by breaking the single-season wins record. Korth joined the program as a junior, and in his first year earned 37 wins to etch his name in the record books. In his senior season, Korth went 41-10, bumping that record to 41 wins in a single season.

“Korth is truly a special kid,” said Bartling. “He came out as a junior but had youth wrestling ex- perience so with him it came naturally. He put in so much hard work and is just a great kid to have in your wrestling room.”

In the third consolation round, Korth suffered a loss by a 5-4 decision to Zach Rogers of Kearney Catholic. It was a close match, and according to Bartling, it just didn’t fall Korth’s way.

“We lost his last match on a terrible call by the official which was just a terrible way to end it, but that’s how it goes sometimes,” said Bartling. “In his two years, his career record is 78-20, so that was great and he was a two-time state qualifier. He will be missed next year.”

Korth’s 78 wins put him fifth in All-Time wins behind Koch, Sam Wortmann, Tyler Loberg who has 80 career wins, and Hoesing who is tied with Loberg at 80 career wins.

Hoesing also lost in the third consolation round, but as a junior, he has the opportunity to return next year. The Cedar junior was pinned in his first round matchup and had to work his way through the consolation rounds to hunt for a medal.

Earning his next two wins by decision, Hoesing was one win away from guaranteeing himself a place on the podium.

He would be pinned 15 seconds into the second period by Ord’s Jesse Ulrich to end his junior season at 31-11 on the year.

“Eric ended his state run just short of the podium and although that was not what we wanted, we made it there,” said Bartling. “We wrestled extremely well and just made little mistakes and we were a little nervous but that’s all gone now. He came off the mat and you could tell he is going to out work everyone else and he’s gonna be back next year and we will be on the podium.”

Hoesing will have a teammate to help keep him motivated through the offseason. Kerby Hochstein was the first sophomore in Cedar history to qualify for the State Tournament, and despite losing both of his matches in Omaha, the experience should help him over the next two years.

“Kerby wrestled really good but unfortunately we couldn’t get any wins,” said Bartling. He is the youngest state qualifier Cedar has ever had and this was a great experience for him. Going forward knowing what it takes to get to Omaha, I know Kerby will bust his butt the next two years and keep getting better and make his way to a state medal.”

After earning 24 wins his freshman season, Hochstein went 35-18 in his sophomore year, becoming the quickest Trocat to 50 wins in program history. Now sitting with 59 wins, Hochstein is behind Koch, Wortmann, Loberg and Hoesing, Korth, Chad Koch at 69, and Andrew Lorenz at 63.

“The big message to carry into the next season is we have two guys who know how hard you have to work to make it to state but also can be leaders
in the wrestling room for the younger kids,” said Bartling. “There is no doubt in my mind those two will be in Omaha next season and if the others follow their example we will have more joining them.”

It was a momentous season for Cedar wrestling. the team sent a record four athletes to Omaha for the State Tournament, Koch broke the All-Time wins record, Korth broke his own single-season wins record, Hochstein became the quickest to 50 wins, Hoesing broke his older brother’s record for quickest pin, and the team will return two state qualifiers next year.

Needless to say, this could be a new chapter for a program that’s making a name for itself.

“This season has been such a fun ride,” said Bartling. "Every one of the kids improved throughout the entire season, and getting four to Omaha was just awesome. These kids are truly laying a foundation for the future of this program, and they can be proud of that. I am proud of these kids and am looking forward to a better season next year.

Team Scores

Cedar Catholic tied for 32nd place out of 58 teams with 16 points

Cedar Catholic Individual Results

C126 Kerby Hochstein (35-18) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 - Martin Valencia (Logan View) 32-12 won by fall over Kerby Hochstein (Cedar Catholic) 35-18 (Fall 2:57)
• Cons. Round 1 - Quenton Ackley (Ravenna) 21-16 won by decision over Kerby Hochstein (Cedar Catholic) 35-18 (Dec 3-2)

C145 Turner Korth (41-10) place is unknown and scored 4.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 - Turner Korth (Cedar Catholic) 41-10 won by decision over Garret Kluthe (Ord) 35-11 (Dec 3-2)
• Quarterfinal - Josh Miller (Arlington) 40-5 won by decision over Turner Korth (Cedar Catholic) 41-10 (Dec 9-3)
• Cons. Round 2 - Turner Korth (Cedar Catholic) 41-10 won by major decision over Roberto Valdivia (Logan View) 32-15 (MD 11-2)
• Cons. Round 3 - Zach Rogers (Kearney Catholic) 41-8 won by decision over Turner Korth (Cedar Catholic) 41-10 (Dec 5-4)

C152 Ethan Koch (22-6) placed 5th and scored 10.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 - Ethan Koch (Cedar Catholic) 22-6 won by decision over Hayden Hoos (Gordon-Rushville) 39-11 (Dec 5-3)
• Quarterfinal - Noah Styskal (David City) 49-1 won by major decision over Ethan Koch (Cedar Catholic) 22-6 (MD 16-6)
• Cons. Round 2 - Ethan Koch ( Cedar Catholic) 22-6 won by major decision over Camden Thompson (Wood River) 37-11 (MD 10-2)
• Cons. Round 3 - Ethan Koch (Cedar Catholic) 22-6 won in sudden victory - 1 over Isaac Verzani (Wakefield-Allen) 39-5 (SV-1 3-1)
• Cons. Semi - Ty Heimes (Battle Creek) 51-4 won by decision over Ethan Koch (Cedar Catholic) 22-6 (Dec 5-3)
• 5th Place Match - Ethan Koch (Cedar Catholic) 22-6 won by decision over Kile Bentley (Centura) 42-9 (Dec 3-2)

C182 Eric Hoesing (31-11) place is unknown and scored 2.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 - Drew Sprinkle (Cambridge) 37-12 won by fall over Eric Hoesing (Cedar Catholic) 31-11 (Fall 1:09)
• Cons. Round 1 - Eric Hoesing (Cedar Catholic) 31-11 won by decision over Jeremy Marrero (Syracuse) 21-22 (Dec 3-2)
• Cons. Round 2 - Eric Hoesing (Cedar Catholic) 31-11 won by decision over Hunter Schwaninger (Lincoln Christian) 37-13 (Dec 7-1)
• Cons. Round 3 - Jesse Ulrich (Ord) 36-7 won by fall over Eric Hoesing (Cedar Catholic) 31-11 (Fall 2:15)

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