OMAHA — Wayne’s long dry spell at the top of the state wrestling medal stand is over.
Junior 285-pounder Mike Leatherdale avenged his only loss of the season, tossing Arlington senior Remington Gay to his back midway through the second period and pinning him in 3:08 to claim the Class B title at the 2020 Nebraska State Wrestling Championships.
Leatherdale lost to Gay 10-4 in the B-4 district final a week ago in Pierce, but learned from the experience and avenged his only loss of the season to win the school’s first state title since Matt Nelson won three in a row from 2002-2004.
Gay got the first takedown midway through the period, but Leatherdale escaped and then took Gay down and turned him for a two-point nearfall as time expired in the opening period.
Leatherdale (26-1) had the choice for the second period and chose neutral. After a couple of wild moves and countermoves, Leatherdale caught Gay and turned him, and the referee’s pin sent the Wayne fans seated at the opposite end of the arena into a frenzy when “Big Mike” pointed to the crowd as his hand was raised.
Leatherdale’s win was the second medal of the state tournament for Wayne, the most since winning two in 2004.
More state tournament coverage coming soon.
