DUNNING, Neb. – Seven Southeast Cyclone wrestlers placed Saturday at the Knights Invite on their way to a second-place finish as a team with 97 points, just behind Southwest who had 99 points.

Chase Lovercheck had the best finish for Southeast, going 4-0 on his way to a first-place finish at 152 pounds. He started his day with a pin over Mullen’s Justin Wiens in the second period, followed by a pin in the second over Allen McCumbers (Sioux County). In the semi-finals, Lovercheck pinned Jonathan Foster (Sutherland) at the 1:09 mark to advance to the first-place match, where he pinned Payten Bottorf (Twin Loup) in the first period.

Greg Logsdon was one of three Cyclones to finish second. At 106 pounds, Logsdon began the day with a pin in less than a minute over Alyssa Shaw (Hyannis). In the semi-final, the Cyclone pinned Thomas Klemesrud (North Central), before going the distance in the finals against Brett McAbee (Ansley Litchfield), falling by a 7-1 decision.

Brady Tosh (170) found himself in round robin action, where he went 3-1. He was pinned by Southwest’s Wyatt McConville in the first period, before recording pins in the first period over Mullen’s Riley Kessler and Hemingford’s Alex Neefe. Against Tren Danker (Ansleu Litchfield), Tosh picked up a 14-6 major decision.

At 195 pounds, Bryan Baker had a first-round bye, before taking on Mullen’s Ty Kvanvig in the semi-finals, where the Cyclone pinned his opponent at the 5:02 mark. In the title match, Baker was pinned in the first period against Seth Racicky (Ansley Litchfield).

At 182 pounds, Tate Carson snagged third. After a bye, he suffered an 8-7 decision loss against Bryce Running Hawk (Hay Springs), dropping him to the consolation semi-finals, where he pinned Cameron Neilsen (Elgin/Pope John) at the 0:41 mark. In the third-place match, Carson pinned Southwest’s Harley Remington in the first period.

Senior Hunter Woodruff was the second Cyclone to finish third. The heavyweight picked up an opening win over Mullen’s Ryan Jensen by pin 53 seconds into the match. In the semi-finals, Woodruff was pinned in the second period by Cambridge’s Tyler Schultz. In the lower bracket, Woodruff pinned Cambridge’s Eddie Jaeger in the first period to advance to the third-place match, where he pinned Zeke Abeyta (Ansley Litchfield) at the 4:43 mark.

Kaden Brothwell, another 106-pounder for the Cyclones, also reached the third-place match. He started the day with a win by pin late in the third period over Cambridge’s Shane Horwart, before losing to McAbee by pin in the first period. Once in the lower bracket, Brothwell pinned Landon Klasna (North Platte St. Patricks). In the third-place match, the Cyclone reached the third period, but was pinned by Thomas Klemesrud (North Central) to finish fourth.

Connor Smith and Ethan Steinhausen rounded out the Cyclones wrestlers, with both competing at 160 pounds. After a bye, Smith was pinned in the second period against Medicine Valley’s Justin Pendleton. In the lower bracket, he pinned fellow teammate Steinhausen in the first period, followed by a 3-2 decision win over Reed McFadden (Sandhills-Thedford). In the consolation semi-finals, Smith was pinned in the second against Ty Rowe (Hyannis). Rowe also handed Steinhausen a loss on the day by pin in the second period.

Southwest took the top spot, narrowly edging out Southeast’s 97 team points by two. Mullen (87.5), Cambridge (84) and North Central (79) rounded out the top five teams. The Cyclones improved from their ninth-place finish at the same invitational last winter.

Mullen, Neb. Quad

The Cyclones competed in a quad in Mullen on Friday, winning all three of their team duals.

At 120 pounds against Hemingford, Neb., Logsdon picked up a forfeit win, before the Cyclones gave up forfeit losses at 126, 132, 138 and 145. Lovercheck snagged a forfeit win at 152 pounds.

In the first actual match, Steinhausen pinned Hemingford’s Emma Gomez at the 1:00 mark. At 170 pounds, Tosh pinned Neefe in the second period.

Southeast snagged forfeit wins at 182, 195 and 285, while suffering forfeit losses at 220 and 113. Brothwell pinned Hemingford’s Tayson Ernesti at 106 pounds to cement the Cyclones’ 48-36 win.

Against Mullen, the action started at 113 pounds where Southeast suffered a forfeit loss. Logsdon again won by forfeit before Mullen racked up the points by forfeit in the lower weights to take a 30-6 lead.

Lovercheck got a forfeit win before Smith pinned Mullen’s Justin Wiens at the 2:37 mark. At 170 pounds, Tosh pinned Riley Kessler in the first period, followed by a win via pin by Carson over Kendal Neal in the third period. Baker pinned Kvanvig 14 seconds into the second period and Woodruff pinned Ryan Jensen in the first period. Southeast and Mullen traded forfeits at 220 and 106 pounds, giving the Cyclones the 48-36 win.

Southeast picked up a 48-12 win over Stapleton, Neb. at the quad. The teams double-fortfeited at 120, 126, 132 and 220, with the Cyclones winning by forfeit at 106, 152, 160, 170, 195 and 285, while giving up forfeits at 138 and 145.

In the weights where both teams had a wrestler, Southeast went undefeated. Logsdon pinned Daylon Weekly in the first period, while Carson had the same outcome against Tony Martinez.

Southeast returns to the mats Saturday at the Dogger Invite in Lingle. Action is set to kick off at 8 a.m.