St. Mary's Wrestling

08/08/2026

07/24/2026

What a week for SMH wrestling. Along with OHS, we were the first stop on the Nebraska/Maine exchange all-star dual tour. We put together a group of girls from Nebraska to wrestle some of the top girls from Maine. On Tuesday, Coach Kliment from OHS, Coach Lavicky from SMH, and their crew met the girls and coaches as they flew into Omaha. They then traveled back to O’Neill. Their first stop was the Boyle cabin, where Karla Herley planned a feast; Bob Atkeson grilled burgers, and Kelcey Shoemaker helped feed 17 girls, 2 coaches, and a manager. Some of the girls stayed overnight at the Boyle cabin, while others were hosted by Wyn and Teresa Johnson. The next morning, they had breakfast, and Zac and Jen took them to Ashfall Fossil Beds, bowling, and an open mat practice. Afterwards, they enjoyed a meal cooked by Tyler and Rachel Hilger. Today they got to sleep in a little, then had breakfast prepared by Zac and Jen, followed by a treat at Douglas Street Coffee. Then it was off to OHS, where we set up the gym and prepared for the dual. Afterward, they headed to Pierce to do it all over again before finishing their journey at Millard South in Omaha. I can't say enough about how polite and respectful these girls were, and their coaches were top-notch. This was a great group, and they were amazed by the little things we take for granted—like unlocked houses, cows, corn and soybeans, fresh sweet corn (not out of a can), and many other everyday things for us. SMH was scheduled to have girls wrestle in this dual, but due to Laney being sick and Jaiya and Jaelyn being 10 hours away at a two-week Purler Dream Season camp, no one from SMH wrestled in the dual. That said, I had a lot of fun helping Zac coach some local girls and others from out of town, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I can't thank everyone enough who pitched in and helped us in any way—especially our SMH crew: Karla, Bob, Teresa, Brian, and Kelcey. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. When I was panicked about details, you all stepped up and took charge. Zac, Jen, and everyone at OHS, thank you for everything you took over and helped with. Most importantly, thank you, Kelly—you were 100% behind the scenes, and no one will ever see how much you did just putting up with my panic when things didn't go as planned. This dual started 30-plus years ago with the boys, and now the girls have been added in. It’s cool to think we were a small part of that history. Who knows—we may get to do this again in the future.

07/20/2026

St. Mary's/OHS are the first stop for the Maine/Nebraska exchange. Come out and support these girls. It should be a fun afternoon of wrestling.

Let’s get out and support these young ladies!

07/04/2026

Happy 4th to all of you!

It's time for the announcement of our 2nd annual fundraiser. Get a team together and come have some fun!

06/26/2026

Dalton competed at Disney Duals this weekend, and his team was National Champs in their division. He went 10-1 personally and was named an All-American. His only loss was to a kid he had already beaten earlier in the week. We are so proud of him and his hard work! This is a pretty big deal considering he comes from one of the smallest wrestling teams in Nebraska and was wrestling against kids from all over the nation.

04/04/2026

What a couple of days for Dalton! He was 9-0, an All-American, and his team won their division at the 2026 Midwest National Duals in Iowa! He had 3 falls, 4 major decisions, and 2 decisions. Absolute dominance. I'm so proud of this kid and what he's accomplishing! He's on pace to be the best wrestler to walk the halls at St. Mary’s!

04/03/2026

Dalton was an absolute BEAST today in Des Moines!!! 5-0!! Looked so good on his feet!!!

03/15/2026

Oh, where to start! All I know is that God is good always, and He sure does answer prayer. Yesterday might easily get lost in all the craziness of this time of year, but it was truly a historic day for SMH wrestling. We traveled to Kearney for AAU State, a grueling tournament where kids from all classes battle for spots on traveling dual teams without the usual NSAA class separation. Although we missed Jaelyn due to injury and a few elementary kids to sickness, Benton kicked things off by wrestling hard all day for a 6th-place finish, showing steady improvement every match.
Next up were our high schoolers, who all faced absolutely brutal brackets packed with NSAA State qualifiers and medalists. Jaiya wrestled her heart out to reach the round of 12, falling just one match short of wrestling to get a medal. Laney finished in 5th place after a heartbreaker in the consolation semifinals, getting caught in a last-second Hail Mary throw while leading, but she still had a fantastic day to build on. Dalton finished the night by making SMH history, placing 3rd and becoming our first wrestler to qualify for the coveted Disney Duals in Fort Lauderdale this June. His journey was incredible, surviving a sudden-victory loss in the semis before wrestling three grueling bouts—including another sudden victory match—in just 30 minutes, an insane feat considering the standard NSAA 30-minute rest rule that we are used to during the high school season!
I am so incredibly proud of this group and everything they are accomplishing right now. The heavy sacrifices they make to chase this dream are the pieces no one else sees, but the unbreakable bond they build with each other makes it all worth it. Next up is Huskerland in two weeks! After that, we get to take a short break before gearing up for the freestyle season. Also, I would be lost without the incredible people who stepped up yesterday to help me coach these kids. Kelly, Paisley, and Mitch—you don’t know how much I appreciate you helping out and standing next to me as we mostly just watched these kids do their thing. We had a front-row seat to a pretty cool day!!

02/19/2026

As we get ready for the boys session, I finally had a minute to breathe and reflect on the last few days. We started this girls program in 2023. Paisley was the trailblazer who got it all going. Then Jaiya took the reins last year as the only high school girl in the room and just went to work, with Laney there every day to push her to get better.

This year, Jaelyn and Alyx joined in and we had an amazing season. We went from not having a single wrestler on the team under a 65% winning percentage to celebrating the first freshman state medalist in SMH history. What these girls – and their support system of families, teammates, practice partners, and coaches – have built in such a short time is pretty special.

This girls tournament was the best top-to-bottom tournament I’ve been to in a long time. The format alone is murder: two classes and only two days. What Laney did here is nothing short of mind-blowing. She lost in the first round, then had to win three straight matches just to reach the medal rounds. That alone is a huge feat. To then battle through two more medal matches and finish 4th is something the casual fan may never fully appreciate—but everyone in our program knows exactly how much grit, heart, and belief that took.
This is just the beginning for SMH girls wrestling, and I couldn’t be more proud of this group and the standard they’re setting.

Now we switch our focus to the boys tournament and celebrate the accomplishments that this half of our wrestling family is chasing. The goals are the same: step on the line, compete with courage, and leave Omaha with nothing left in the tank. Our boys have watched what the girls just did, and now it’s their turn to write their own chapter. Different brackets, different paths, same standard: effort, attitude, and fighting for every point for each other.

02/18/2026

Let’s go!!! Laney is SMH’s first-ever freshman state MEDALIST!!!