First off - congratulations to Central City on ending 13 years of collective frustration for thousands of wrestling fans across the state who had grown tired of seeing Omaha Skutt win, year after year, in the Class B team race.

It was going to take a special team, a special year and a special set of circumstances to beat the best wrestling program in the state, and coach Garfield and his kids got the job done. I talked to a number of CC fans Friday afternoon during the break, and they were hopeful that this day would come and, I'm sure, they're thrilled for their kids for the job they've done. Now comes the tough part...defending the title. But for now, enjoy being the new kings of Class B.

And speaking of the kings -- you've got to give huge kudos to Brad Hildebrandt and the Omaha Skutt Skyhawks for more than a decade of dominance. I don't think people truly appreciate what this program has done to elevate our sport in our state. Never (at least in recent memory) has a team simply steamrolled the competition time after time on the sport's biggest stage. Winning one is tough. Defending the title once is even harder. But to do it for more than a decade??? Wow...that's a level of excellence that will not be replicated soon, if ever.

I don't care what you think of the program, the coach or the kids...that was some outstanding effort that this program has put together. I remember seeing Skutt's kids get beat down time after time during the program's first year, and the growth of that program has been beyond belief.

The kings of wrestling have been knocked from their crown, and a new king has taken over the Class B kingdom. Congratulations to Central City on a state title, and to Omaha Skutt for their outstanding run of excellence.

Excellence is to respected. 13 years is exceptional in ANY state! Skutt has set a very high bar that may never see anyone go over. Congrats. CC deserves what they earned this weekend and they should be commended on a great season.

Nice commentary NWI by the way...

Skutt had an amazing run of state wrestling titles! Looking over recent NSAA stats showed they scored over 200 pts at the 2006-2008 tournaments having 8-9 wrestlers making the finals those years!

I, too, tip my hat to Skutt. They have set the bar high and all have benefited from their program. It's unbelievable that CC (one of the smallest in Class B - if not THE smallest) was able to win the State Championship, but don't take anything away from Skutt. They still have an outstanding program.

I was one of many that stood and clapped/cheered the Skutt wrestlers when they received their runner-up trophy. Unfortunately, they looked disappointed and I didn't see very many of the Skutt parent's/fans stay to congratulate them. These boy have had a tremendous run and still placed 2nd to an extremely talented CC team. They have much to be proud of.

I think next year will even be closer, both CC and Skutt return a lot of points plus you factor in Randall.

If you look back, HB did call this as a likely outcome (CC winning class B this year)-- one year ago (Feb 14, 2010 I believe). So I have to give props there -- HB had a handle on this pretty early.

Well no one could have predicted Randal being hurt. Not sure of how many points he would have scored but it sure would have made it even more interesting. If he would have made the finals or placed third, I believe that would have put him over 19 points. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

But that's the way it goes in sports sometimes so hats off to CC. Great job.

Will Central City be Class B next year? I don't know if they are on the bubble or not, someone smarter could enlighten me......

Here is a list of the Classifications for 2010-2011: http://www.nsaahome.org/textfile/wrest/wrclass.pdf

CC is/was the 5th smallest Class B school this year. There can be consolidations and cooperatives that can change this, but if everything remains the same, CC will be Class B again next year.

Thanks arm drag.

Yep sometimes having a healthy team becomes part of the equation. In the past, if Skutt had someone out or even two, it wouldn't have mattered. I believe 2 years ago, Andy Hollins had to drop out of tournament for skin infection. That was big points. There was a small margin of error this year.

But Central City really put it together this year.

I was one that predicted Skutt to win several weeks ago on another thread. Of course, no one ever takes into account injuries, just possible points scored.

You never know with them. Unlike other sports that determine class every other year, you have wrestling based on year-to-year numbers. 5th smallest may seem like CC has breathing room, but that might mean a difference of about 2 or 3 students.

All it could take is for that one family with 2 or 3 kids to move into/out of a town to totally scramble up the hierarchy, not counting the possibility of new co-ops and consolidations. Two years ago the town I lived in ended up in class C because the head count at the time was 1 too many, (ironic because the extra kid that pushed them from D to C never ended up attending).

That one number kid would have attended because the number the NSAA uses is from your enrollment on the last Friday in September. Unless this has changed?

You might see come coops next year, but probably not any consolidations because next year is in the middle of the football cycle.

Does anybody know of any schools starting a new coop for wrestling next year or discontinuing one from this year?