Nebraska's Top 10 bets to repeat as state wrestling champion

With three state titles to his name already, Millard South 138-pound senior Isaac DeLoa looks like a really good bet to become the 26th Nebraska prep wrestler to win four individual gold medals at the Nebraska state wrestling meet in February.

But, as anyone who follows wrestling knows, there are no guarantees when it comes to winning gold at a state championship-level meet, and DeLoa may have to face fellow 2015 champion Jonathan Killingsworth of Lincoln Southeast en route to championship win No. 4.

After producing impressive wrestling resumes over their first three seasons, Killingsworth, who moves up to 138 pounds after winning the Class A 132-pound title a year ago, and DeLoa have both been tabbed as two of MaxPreps' Nebraska Top 10 best bets to repeat as state wrestling champion.

Last February, 26 Cornhusker State underclassmen grappled their way atop the podium in Omaha. However, in order to qualify for this week's Top 10, a wrestler was required to have earned a medal in each of the seasons in which he/she wrestled in high school. Only 13 wrestlers fit that bill.

While DeLoa sits atop this week's poll and is poised to make rare history, Killingsworth finds himself in the Top 10 at No. 8. Christian Miller of Plainview and Omaha Skutt Catholic's Korbin Meink made it to the midway point of their prep careers with the opportunity of claiming the clean sweep still intact.

Friend's Zemua Baptista is just a 5-3 championship match loss to Oakland-Craig's Nick Arlt away from joining DeLoa in the run to join that elite company. Baptista will try to conclude his career with three individual championships later this winter after finishing as runner-up to Arlt in 2013 and winning back to back titles at 145 and 152 pounds as a sophomore and as a junior, respectively.

Of the 13 athletes who earned medals in each of their prep wrestling seasons, five were freshmen. Sidney's Derek Robb and Cameron Riggs of North Platte St. Patrick's edge out the other three thanks in large part to their unbeaten, state championship campaigns of a year ago.

While combing over the list below, remember this is not a ranking of the state's top wrestlers, but rather, a way of recognizing some of Nebraska's top grapplers for their amazing wrestling resumes. We recognize that there are some fantastic heavier-weight wrestlers in Nebraska this winter, unfortunately none of them earned a medal in each season in which they wrestled.

Baptista is the heaviest grappler in the Top 10 at 160n pounds. Trevor Nichelson of Ashland-Greenwood (170), Omaha Creighton Prep's Cade Brownlee (182) and Ben Stille of Ashland-Greenwood (220) are defending champions who wrestled at 170 or heavier.

The line below each listed wrestler displays the placing of each grappler beginning with their freshman campaign through the rest of their prep career. The classification and weight class in which the said wrestler earned the medal is listed in parentheses and the total number of state meet pins in a wrestler's career is listed as well.


1. Isaac DeLoa, Millard South (Omaha) 138-pound Sr., 153-3
State meet medals: 1st (A/113), 1st (A/138), 1st (A/138); state meet pins, 7

2. Christian Miller, Plainview 126-pound Jr., 87-1
State meet medals: 1st (D/113), 1st (C/113); state meet pins, 6

3. Korbin Meink, Skutt Catholic (Omaha) 120-pound Jr., 96-6
State meet medals: 1st (B/106), 1st (B/113); state meet pins, 3

4. Zemua Baptista, Friend 160-pound Sr., 144-5
State meet medals: 2nd (D/145), 1st (D/145), 1st (D/152); state meet pins, 3

5. Connor Fox, Burke (Omaha) 145-pound Sr., 138-31
State meet medals: 6th (A/120), 2nd (A/132), 1st (A/145); state meet pins, 1

6. William Bloom, Elm Creek 126-pound Sr., 123-31
State meet medals: 3rd (D/113), 4th (D/120), 1st (D/126); state meet pins, 1

7. Jaydon Elge, Nebraska Christian (Central City) 145-pound Jr., 84-8
State meet medals: 4th (D/138), 1st (D/138); state meet pins, 2

8. Jonathan Killingsworth, Lincoln Southeast 138-pound Sr., 135-18
State meet medals: 4th (A/106), 5th (A/120), 1st (A/132); state meet pins, 3

9. Derek Robb, Sidney 152-pound Soph., 49-0
State meet medals: 1st (B/138); state meet pins, 2

10. Cameron Riggs, St. Patrick's (North Platte) 132-pound Soph., 48-0
State meet medals: 1st (D/113); state meet pins, 2