Svoboda rallies for bronze medal finish Saturday

Logan Svoboda did something over the weekend no one else in his family or those who wore the Husky singlet can claim.
The Aurora freshman picked up a third place finish at the NSAA state wrestling championships from the CHI Health Center in Omaha. With a bronze, Svoboda became Aurora’s highest finishing freshman in school history.
“This is great,” a smiling, out-of-breath Svoboda said after placing third. “It kept me going to have by brother and whole family here. I had a lot of drive to finish third so I could beat my brother.”
That’s a reference to Caden Svoboda, who finished fourth as a freshman, eventually winning a state title as a senior in 2020. 
Aurora coach Derek Keasling was as happy as ever for a third place finish, noting Svoboda’s ability to battle back after a tough Friday night.
“It’s never easy losing in the semis and he was tore up about it,” Keasling said. “I told him all that would go away if we came back and finish the job to finish third. It’s pretty impressive.”
Svoboda bounced back after a tough semifinal loss to eventual state champion Cadyn Coyle of Bennington against some familiar competition.
The Aurora talent started Saturday morning with a rivalry victory over Kaleb Keiper of Northwest to earn a spot in the third place match.
“There’s a rivalry there with Northwest so that’s always an exciting win for all of us,” Keasling said. “He knew when he stepped on the mat what the job was.”
That win set up a rematch with Lakeview’s Jack Glendy, who Svoboda defeated for a district title just the week prior.
This one went the distance but Svoboda still came out on top, 4-1. He finished the season with a 39-11 record. 
“We felt pretty good because we’ve beaten those kids this year,” Keasling said. “It was about getting the right Logan to show up after a disappointing night.”
Svoboda mentioned he was pretty confident Saturday morning, knowing he had wins earlier this season over Keiper and Glendy. But, the work had to be done.
Halfway through the interview, coach Keasling and Chad Svoboda hand delivered a glass bottle of soda to the bronze medalist, taking a big swig to celebrate.
“This is great,” he said. “No other freshman at Aurora has ever done that. I want to show the younger kids that this is possible to get there.”
Svoboda mentioned one of the things he’s most proud of, besides a third place finish at state was the district championship two weeks ago. 
“I looked at it as my goal coming into the season was to get third,” Svoboda said. “I achieved that.”
Svoboda is no stranger to the state wrestling championships. He came down last season as a manager, watching from the side as Jack Allen won a state title at heavyweight. 
Logan also watched as his brother, Caden, won his own title four years ago, although even he said that was not quite a dedicated superfan just yet. 
“I was younger when my brother was in high school so I was more running around and screwing around,” Svoboda mentioned. “When I started to take wrestling more seriously, I watched him win state and that was really cool.”
The smiles coach Keasling and Svoboda wore in the back hallway Saturday morning reflected some relief, too, after all the road time over the years to prepare for this moment.
“We’ve put in a lot of time,” Keasling said. “Chad and I have been taking him and my kids around tournaments and training. We want to put kids in that atmosphere and the environment didn’t scare him at all. He has high expectations of himself and wanted to live up to those.”
For Logan, having Keasling in his corner is great. Having his dad in the other chair is something he doesn’t take for granted. 
“It’s great. He helps me on and off the mat,” Svoboda said. “He helps me get through life and I love him for that.”

Hohm falls short of medal
It wasn’t all positive for the Huskies during the weekend as Karsten Hohm and Carson Krejci fell short of the medal stand.
Hohm won his opening round match Thursday before a quarterfinal loss to eventual state champion Hunter Jacobsen of Waverly. The junior bounced back with a win Friday afternoon for a spot in Friday’s heartbreak round.
There, Hohm lost a narrow 2-0 decision to have his season come to a close after a 32-14 campaign. 
“Karsten is such a hard worker and has gotten so much better,” Keasling said. “He puts in the work, does extra training. It’s a tough weight class and he was one of the final eight. It’s a gut-wrenching loss but he’ll be rewarded for everything he does. I fully believe that.
“He will want it even more because of this. He’s a great teammate. He made sure Logan was ready to go and made weight this morning. He’s a great leader for our team.”
Keasling mentioned there aren’t many who work harder than Hohm. The Aurora coach shared that Hohm pulled tassels over the summer just to pay for extra wrestling training. 
“He’s just a much better wrestler,” Keasling said. “His heart and work ethic has always been there. The next level of commitment for him was going to Lincoln for more training. It made a big difference.
“That’s how much he wanted it. He walked through hot corn fields for hours just to pay for what would make him a better wrestler.”
As for Krejci, the freshman was unable to win a match at the state meet. After a first-round loss, Krejci was leading by points in the consolation round before being pinned late in the match. 
“He had a great experience here,” Keasling noted. “He’s a great wrestler. He’s just not very big. The goal for him is to be a full 106-pounder next year. He has the skills  to do it.”