Ralston's version of the Magnificent Seven will roll into the CenturyLink Center in downtown Omaha tomorrow, looking to settle some scores.
The Ram wrestling team came away from its District A-4 Meet in Kearney Saturday with seven berths to the State Meet this weekend and a fifth-place overall finish in what RHS coach Jason Fink said was by far his team's strongest performance in the season to date.
"We figured we'd have four or five guys for sure," Fink said. "Anything after that was going to be icing on the cake. I'm really excited about the way the kids stepped up. All 11 kids we took to Districts — even the ones who didn't get a shot at State — wrestled their best matches of the year and that's encouraging for me to see."
Shane Gray (120 pounds), Nick McGrath (126 pounds), Trevor Titus (145 pounds), Brandon Cswercko (160 pounds), Brandon Nabity (195 pounds), Trevor Limmer (220 pounds) and Brian Farley (heavyweight) will be the Ram representatives at State.
The relatively large complement was also striking after the Rams waited out two solid weeks off from competition when the River Cities Conference Duals were cancelled on Feb. 4 due to inclement weather.
"Sometimes two weeks off can work against you, sometimes it helps you," Fink said. "I guess you can say it paid off for us."
In Kearney, Ralston was led by second-place District finishes from a pair of seniors in McGrath and Nabity.
This will be McGrath's third trip to the State Meet and after a sixth-place finish in 2011 at the 112-pound weight class, Fink said his 126-pounder, with a record of 33-5, is in the hunt for a title.
"He's more focused than at any other time I've ever seen him," Fink said. "I'm excited to see what he'll do."
McGrath will face a familiar opponent in Millard South's Nathan Quandt in the first round of the State Meet on Thursday, set to begin at 4:30 p.m.
Nabity (24-9) is making his first appearance at State, having only begun his wrestling career as a sophomore and missing out on a State berth last year when he came up against a 189-pound District in which all four finalists were medalists at State.
"Brandon wrestles with the intangibles," Fink said. "He's smart, he's strong. He goes out and does his thing and I think he'll have a good shot."
Facing Nabity in the first round of the meet is Tyler Broadway of Bellevue East.
Joining McGrath in making a third appearance at State is 220-pound senior Limmer, who wrestled to a fourth-place District finish.
Limmer reached a medal match as a junior in 2011 but came up short in one of the tougher bracket draws of the meet.
"Trevor battles and battles and keeps on battling," Fink said. "He's wrestling as good now as he ever has. He's thinking smart on his feet and he's exciting to watch when he's doing this well."
With a record of 29-11, Limmer will face another tough draw at 220, ranging up against James Jones of Omaha North, with a 36-2 record.
The Rams also bring in a pair of two-time qualifiers in Gray and Farley, both of whom made appearances at State in 2011.
Gray and Farley both made early exits last year, but Fink said the experience will prove invaluable in the 2012 meet.
"The focus is there," he said. "Last year was an introduction for Shane and Brian. There's an expectation now that they're going to come in and win some matches."
As for newcomers to the mats at State, RHS has two in addition to Nabity — each coming from opposite ends of the spectrum.
Cswercko, a freshman, is arriving at the CenturyLink to do battle in the 160-pound class in his debut season, having come in fourth at the District Meet, while Titus, a senior 145-pounder, is making his first State appearance after a third-place finish in Kearney.
After having the No. 1-rated 160-pounder on his back in the consolation finals, Cswercko (12-15) came up just short in his first District action.
"He rolls around with the bigger kids in that class and has a knack for it," Fink said. "He had that No. 1 kid beat. But sometimes that's the way it goes. He's been sticking around all year and he'll have something to show."
Titus' berth, Fink said, is especially heartening, especially after seeing the senior work hard and come up just short in a number of matches throughout the season.
"Coming into the season, we thought Trevor would make the most strides," the coach said. "And in a lot of matches, he seemed like he was just a move away. We were just waiting for it to click for him."
Titus (10-25) came into the District Meet as the No. 6 seed, but quickly showed his mettle in moving through the bracket.
"He was by far wrestling his smartest matches," Fink said. "He did really well. We're all excited for him this weekend."
The Class A State Wrestling Championships open at the CenturyLink Center Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
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