Aurora put five wrestlers into the semifinals while six of its seven participants are still alive after the first day of the Class B state wrestling championships Friday from the CHI Health Center in Omaha.
Caden Svoboda at 106, Trevor Kluck at 145, Mack Owens at 182, Brekyn Papineau at 195 and Aaron Jividen at 285 are guaranteed medals and will wrestle in Saturday morning's semifinals after two wins apiece in the early rounds.
Svoboda had two pinfall victories to secure a spot in his second semifinal in as many years. The Husky senior will wrestle Jesse Loges of Blair in the semis.
Kluck collected a pair of tech fall victories on his way to a semifinal appearance. The fellow Husky senior will take on Charlie Powers of Blair in the semis.
Owens had a fall win and a 9-3 decision win to make his first semifinal appearance. The Aurora junior will battle Beatrice's Deegan Nelson for a spot in the finals.
Papineau collected his 100th career win in the opening round before making his second trip to the semifinals. The Aurora junior will take on Lathan Duda of Broken Bow in the semis.
Jividen had two decision victories to start his tournament and make his first semifinal appearance. The Aurora junior will battle Waverly's Trevor Brown Saturday morning.
Jeremy Oswald also won his 100th career match to start the state wrestling championships. However, the Aurora junior would lose the next two as his season and career came to an end. Oswald finishes his career as a 100-match winner, a two time state qualifier and a 37-11 record.
Jack Allen had a tough start to his tournament, losing an ultimate tiebreaker in the opening round. From there, though, the Aurora sophomore won two matches -- one in overtime and the other a 1-0 decision -- to advance to Saturday's consolations and a medal opportunity still there.
The Huskies sit 4th in the Class B standings after the first day. Gering leads the pack with 63.5 points ahead of Hastings (53), Beatrice (52.5) and Aurora (52).
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