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Wyatt Urkoski will put his undefeated record on the line one more time in Saturday's final after an 8-3 win in Friday's semifinal.
High Plains saw its share of successes in Friday night's emotional semifinal round.
Of its three semifinalists, two pushed through to the finals while all four of its boys qualifiers will leave Omaha with a medal.
Wyatt Urkoski's undefeated record remains, now at 53-0 after a grueling 8-3 decision victory over Bayard's Kolby Houchin. Urkoski returns to the state finals after finishing second a year ago. The Storm senior will battle Mullen's Chase Gracey in Saturday's final.
Lance Russell, much like he has all tournament, didn't waste any time becoming a state finalist, picking up a pinfall victory over Landon Hansen of Plainview after just 1:21 mat time. The Storm senior (40-4) will medal for the first time as a three-time state qualifier and go for gold Saturday afternoon. Russell will compete against Uriel Guzman of Palmer in Saturday's final.
Gage Friesen put on a heck of a show for the jam-packed crowd at the CHI Health Center, but came up a move short in a 7-5 decision defeat to Howells-Dodge's Dylan Brchacek. The Storm junior is set to battle back tomorrow morning for his medal placement.
Hudson Urkoski came up clutch in the heartbreak round, picking up a third period pinfall over Creighton's Joseph Barnell. Urkoski rallied from the second round of consolations to find a spot on the medalstand, which will be decided Saturday morning.
On the girls side, Dakota Gress had an eventful day, winning her first round consolation match by pinfall and nearly rallied from behind in the next round, but lost a 7-5 decision. Gress finished her sophomore campaign with a 30-13 record.
Currently, the Storm is in the thick of the Class D team battle, sitting fourth with 66 points.
For live updates from the sidelines follow us on Twitter @SportsANR and see next week's News-Register for full coverage.
