Golden

Trojans claim three state titles, third place team finish

OMAHA — Five wrestlers. Three finalists. Three state champions.

That was the formula for Cedar Catholic as the Trojans turned a small but mighty contingent into a thirdplace team finish at the 2026 NSAA Class C State Boys Individual Wrestling Championships on Feb. 21 at the CHI Health Center Arena in Omaha.

A few days earlier the Cedar Catholic girls team claimed its first-ever gold medal when Evie Freeman dominated the competition to win gold in the 120-pound weight class.

The Cedar boys crowned two individual champions and piled up 80 team points to finish third. The top three teams were all from the MidState Conference. Battle Creek racked up 105.5 team points to claim its second straight state title and Pierce finished with 92 points.

“We wrestled well down there,” Cedar coach Justin Bartling said. “You always feel like you leave something on the mat when you go down there, but honestly, we wrestled well.”

Three Hochsteins in the finals

All three Cedar finalists shared the same last name.

Brothers Bodie (144), Easton (150) and Brady Hochstein each punched a ticket to the championship round. For the second straight year, two of the three brothers brought home gold.

This time, it was Easton and Brady standing atop the podium. Easton’s win made him the first wrestler in school history to earn two state wrestling titles.

Brady climbs to the top

Senior Brady Hochstein capped his career with a state title after finishing sixth as a sophomore and runner-up last season.

“This is my last year and I’ve been climbing the ladder on the podium the last two years,” Brady said. “It was about time to be on top.”

Brady defeated familiar foe Daron Dozler of Boone Central in the finals by major decision, 13-3.

The two had met four times previously, with Dozler winning the first three matchups before Hochstein turned the tide with a 9-3 district win and then the decisive victory in Omaha.

Takedowns were the key to the win. Brady earned the first takedown and then cut Dozler loose so he could earn another. Eventually, one of his takedowns led to back points, which helped him expand his score to 13-3.

“I knew it was going to be a close match,” Brady said. “Once we hit districts and now state, my mindset really turned. If you make one mistake, you’re done. That’s what pushed me to the very end.”

With a football career ahead at Wayne State, Brady said finishing his wrestling career with a title allows him to “sleep well at night.”

He also earned bragging rights at home. After watching his younger siblings win titles last year, Brady made sure his name joined the list of champions this year.

“It’s a blessing,” he said. “Every single day we learn from each other at practice and we’re so competitive.”

Easton repeats

Easton Hochstein defended his 150-pound title in dominant fashion, finishing the season undefeated. He defeated Landon Sund of Bishop Neumann by major decision, 15-2, in the championship match.

“I just had to come out fast and aggressive,” Easton said. “Coming out on top is a bit of a relief because I accomplished my goals. At the same time, I’m shooting for another one next year.”

Bodie falls short

After winning a semifinal by ultimate tiebreaker, Bodie Hochstein suffered his first loss of the season in the finals. Drake Hasbrouck of Cozad claimed a 10-4 decision to deny him back-to-back State titles.

Heine battles through injury

Maverick Heine, wrestling all season with a torn ACL, finished one match shy of placing after taking second a year ago.

Heine opened with an 11-1 major decision over Keaton Kuchar of Battle Creek, then dropped a 7-2 decision to Cash Stanek of North Bend Central. He rebounded with a 16-0 technical fall over a Madison wrestler before falling 11-5 to Luke Farmen of Lincoln Christian.

“Mav was dealt a pretty bad hand this season,” said Bartling. “He was wrestling on one leg almost, but he never complained he just kept getting out there and doing what he could. I have a lot of gratitude for him and I am also very proud of him. Most people would have probably hung it up and went and had surgery but he stuck it out and had a darned good year.”

Wickre gains experience

Keyan Wickre lost his opening-round match by fall, then battled into the third period before falling to Teagan Rerucha of David City.

“The guys we expected to get to the finals got there,” Bartling said. “Maverick got as far as he could with his knee the way it was. Keyan got some experience at state which will only help him down the road. We had a good tournament.”

For a team that brought just five wrestlers to Omaha, the Trojans left with two gold medals and a third-place trophy — proof that quality can outweigh quantity when the lights shine brightest

2026 NSAA STATE BOYS INDIVIDUAL WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS Team Results: 1. Battle Creek 105.5; 2. Pierce 92; 3. Cedar Catholic 80; 4. David City

79.5; 5. Central City 79.5; 6. Doniphan-Trumbull 74; 7. St. Paul 71.5; 8. Valentine 59;

9. Scotus Central Catholic 57; 10. North Bend Central 51.5; 11. Cozad 50; 11. Mitchell 50; 13. Logan View 48.5; 14. Minden 45.5; 15. Madison 42.5; 16. Pender 41; 17. Broken Bow 40; 18. O’Neill 49; 18. Superior 49; 20. Bishop Neumann 37; 21. Johnson County Central 35; 22. Gibbon 33.5; 23. Boone Central 31; 23. Thayer Central 31;

25. Winnebago 29; 26. Chadron 28.5; 27. Kearney Catholic 26.5; 28. Conestoga 25;

29. Gothenburg 24.5; 30. Wilber-Clatonia 23.5; 31. Wood River 22.5; 32. Centura 22;

33. Lincoln Christian 21.5; 33. Tekamah-Herman 21.5; 35. Yutan 19.5; 36. West Holt

17; 37. Malcolm 15.5; 38. Ord 14.5; 39. Crofton/Bloomfield 13; 40. Raymond Central

12.5; 41. Louisville 11; 41. Ogallala 11; 41. West Point-Beemer 11; 44. Bridgeport 10;

45. Tri County 8; 46. Bergan Catholic 7; 46. Falls City 7; 48. Cross County/Osceola 5;

49. Adams Central 3; 49. Chase County 3; 49. Red Cloud/Blue Hill 3; 49. Summerland

3; 53. Norfolk Catholic 2; 54. Elkhorn Valley 1; 54. Wakefield 1; 56. Cedar Bluffs 0; 56. Centennial 0; 56. Fillmore Central 0; 56. Freeman 0; 56. Grand Island Central Catholic 0.

Cedar Catholic Individual Results:

126 - Keyan Wickre (0-2) was defeated by Tyan Thompson (BcCr) by fall, 1:09; was defeated by Teagan Rerucha (DACI) by fall, 4:14.

132 - Maverick Heine (2-2) defeated Keaton Kuchar (BaCr) by major decision, 11-1; was defeated by Cash Stanek (NBC) by decision, 7-2; defeated Ramon Villalobos (MAD) by technical fall-1.5, 16-0, 2:08; was defeated by Luke Farmen (LICH) by decision, 11-5.

144 - Bodie Hochstein (2nd) defeated Derek Baker (LOUI) by fall, 1:11; defeated Marcus Foust (LOGV) by technical fall-1.5, 17-1; defeated Marcus Foust (MITC) by ultimate tiebreaker decision, 4-4; was defeated by Drake Hasbrouck (COZA) by decision, 10-4.

150 - Easton Hochstein (1st) defeated Alex Ramponi (CRBL) by fall, 0:38; defeated Chaz Erickson (KECA) by decision, 8-4; defeated Kamden Boyles (SUPR) by major decision,

11-0; defeated Landon Sund (BISH) by major decision, 15-2.

165 - Brady Hochstein (1st) defeated Tyler Keiser (YUTN) by fall, 6:39; defeated Cole Kansteiner (CONE) by major decision 19-10; defeated Layne Davidson (CHAD) by major decision, 9-1; defeated Daron Dozler (BCEN) by major decision, 13-3.