Westside boys wrestling team finishes in top ten for the third year in a row

The Westside boys wrestling team finished seventh at the State Championships on Saturday, Feb. 18 at the CHI Health Center in Omaha. The Warriors ended up in the top ten for the third year in a row. Westside had eight qualifiers going into the tournament, with four finishing on the podium and one becoming a state champion. 

Westside head coach Michael Jernigan expressed what was expected of the team going into the final tournament.

“Our expectations every year are the same,” Jernigan said. “Go out and wrestle the best that you can. Winning the first match of the tournament is the most important.  Get off to a great start and see where it goes from there.”

Westside had four podium placers. Mikey Myers won the gold medal with the 160-pound state title. Logan Edwards finished in third place at 120-pounds. Kooper Brandle ended up in fourth place at 126-pounds. Cannon McCarty took fifth place at 152 pounds. 

Jernigan spoke about the team’s overall performance at the tournament as well.

 “I was blown away when we saw the final team stats on the board and we were 7th,” Jernigan said. “Going into the State Tournament, we had expectations of finishing close to the Top 10.  With Mikey’s win in the finals, that locked us into seventh. We finished better than a lot of the teams that we faced this year that beat us in duals or in tournaments.”

All the seniors that competed finished their high school wrestling career with great success individually and as a team. 

“Our seniors finished their careers with three Top 10 finishes at State. It might be one of the best stretches of team results Westside has ever had over the last 40 plus years,” Jernigan said.