Best high school wrestlers in Nebraska: Meet the state’s top girls lightweights
The NSAA sanctioned girls wrestling just two years ago but the sport has already grown by leaps and bounds to the point that a state tournament for just the girls will soon become part of the winter sports landscape.
In the meantime, there’s no need to wait for the girls to have their own spotlight. Most of the tournaments in Nebraska now include a girls division and feature young ladies who are becoming stars in the state and the country.
Listed below are some of the best in Nebraska from 100 pounds up to 125.
Madelynn Bohnet – South Sioux City Sophomore
Bohnet didn’t need much of an adjustment period going from youth to the varsity level. She won 14 of her first 15 matches and went 35-5 overall. Her five losses came to two state champs and two state qualifiers.
As a freshman, she pinned her way through the state tournament until running into a rematch with Battle Creek’s Afftyn Stusse. Stusse was too much for Bohnet in a pair of meetings, pinning the Cardinal rookie twice including for the 105-pound state championship. But next to Stusse, 100-pound champion Jocelyn Prado and Johnson County Central’s Alejandra Reyes, Bohnet was rarely challenged in her first season – 28 of her wins came by pinfall.
She returns this winter as one of the favorites in the lightweight divisions with a skill set that’s sure to improve. Her natural abilities include winning an art contest in first grade, eight years of gymnastics and climbing a two-story rope when she was just four years old.
“Madelynn is an extremely hard worker in the wrestling room and outside of it. She maintains a great GPA, works hard in the weight room, and competes in three sports: golf, wrestling, and track,” South Sioux City coach Evan Bohnet said. “Madelynn enjoys wrestling kids who push her to be a better wrestler and doesn’t shy away from top competition.”
Ambie Custard – McCook Sophomore
Custard looks like a state title is the next step this winter after making trips to Omaha each of the past two Februarys and wrestling for the 125-pound title last season. Her gold medal match was among the most exciting and closest finishes of any weight class in the state and capped off a 21-3 season with a silver medal.
On her way to her first state championship bout, Custard won five tournaments and had 13 pins. As a freshman, she won the first tournament she was ever in and had three total gold medals. A tough 5-4 loss in the district tournament prevented her from qualifying to state for the first time. Oddly enough, that was the same score of the title match this past February when Alexis Pehrson of Yutan, now Skutt Catholic, held her off despite two stalling calls for points in the third period.
Disappointing as it was, Custard took the frustration from that loss and turned it into success over the next nine months. She won the AAU state tournament, was third at the Nebraska USA Wrestling meet, wrestled at the USA Girls Midwest Nationals, won the Kearney Klash Takedown Tournament and was the champ at the Heartland Havoc. Custard opened her junior year with a win at her home tournament on a pin and a close win over Kathie Chavez, a 2023 state qualifier from Colby.
"Ambie's work ethic, dedication and competitive nature make her an outstanding wrestler.
She puts in a great amount of time on the mats during the high school offseason to get better,” McCook coach Clint Hosick said. “Her family is passionate about the sport of wrestling, and it's great to watch them support each other.”
Lacy Lemburg – Twin River/Lakeview Junior
Lemburg is following in the footsteps of an older brother who had success as a Lakeview wrestler. However, she’s had to clear a few more hurdles and show a different commitment level than Joel Lemburg, a 2018 and 2019 Class B sixth-place medalist. Her brother was a Lakeview graduate while Lacy is at Twin River and comes into Columbus each day following a 20-25 minute drive. It’s not a great distance, but traveling daily while also balancing homework and other parts of teenage life can wear after several months. Lemburg endures that challenge and still finds a way to be at her best no matter what. There were early signs that she had the potential for a historic career when she won her first 15 matches. That continued into the latter part of the 2022 season and ended with a trip to state and a win in the third-place match. Last year, her only losses before state were to eventual champion Aubrie Pehrson. Corah Linnaus sent her to the consolation bracket where she went 3-1 and finished fourth. If you’re keeping track that means three of her four losses came to the two girls who met for the 120-pound state championship. Lemburg has finished first or second 18 times in the past two seasons.
“When Lacy decided that she was going to wrestle a couple of years ago, it was full speed ahead,” Lakeview coach Jeff Bargen said. “She started summer wrestling and has sought out many different opportunities to wrestle in the offseason. This has led to competing against some of the very best not only in Nebraska but the United States.
“She brings an enthusiasm for the sport that has helped grow our Lakeview girls wrestling program into what it is today. She is a fierce competitor who understands how much room she still has to grow in this sport. Lacy is a very supportive teammate and is willing to give back to the sport by helping many youth find their love for the sport.”
Corah Linnaus – Stanton Senior
Linnaus has more losses than any other wrestler on this list, but she’s never been afraid to challenge herself against the very best. The first varsity match of her career put her up against another member of this list and, arguably, the best in the state and she hasn’t shied away from top-level competition ever since.
That match was against two-time champion Alexis Pehrson and was followed by others that included Alexis’ two-time state champion twin Aubrie, state runner-up Madisen Petersen, state runner-up Kylee Plowman, state medalist Ella Reeves, state qualifier Brisa Figueroa and state qualifier Selena McCray. And all of that came in her sophomore year.
Linnaus has been tested, and more than often passed the test with 71 wins, two trips to state, a bronze medal, a silver medal and four tournament titles. As a sophomore, she came awfully close several times but settled for three tournament silvers. That drove motivation to her junior season where she had three of her four tournament wins.
As Linnaus continues to surge, she’ll see a lot of those same names again and set up entertaining tussles somewhere in a Nebraska gym every Saturday.
Leynn Luna – Boone Central Sophomore
Luna put together the best season for a growing Boone Central girls program that may soon grow into a powerhouse with wrestlers like her.
She came into her first varsity season with a solid youth history that continued into high school competition. By the time the year was over, she had earned four gold medals, a bronze at the state meet, gold at the Huskerland State Meet and a national championship at the AAU national meet in June. She was a perfect 6-0 at the AAU Disney Duals and will be among the favorites this winter regardless of which weight division she joins.
The only time Luna lost last season was when she faced unbeaten 110-pound state champ Maycee Peacher, a state champion wrestler from South Dakota, the 115-pound Nebraska state champ, the Nebraska bronze medalist at 115 and the runner-up at 110.
Luna dominated her competition to the tune of 34 pins during the varsity season.
Carsyn McBride – Amherst Sophomore
McBride started her varsity career off with a bang and has yet to slow down. Although she lost her first title match, she won 15 of her first 16 and was named a NEWrestle Freshman of the Week just a few weeks into last season.
McBride continued to pick up momentum, faced a tough district draw, and bounced back from a loss in the quarterfinals with four straight wins. She punched her ticket to Omaha in a pinfall victory. The lights and the stage can be too much for newcomers at the CHI Health Center but McBride remained focused and made a run to the semifinals.
Her third-place win over another member of this list was likely McBride’s best of the season. A reversal and nearfall points in the second period were enough to earn a 5-4 victory.
All in all, McBride’s first season included 36 wins, six gold-medal matches, three championship wins and just six total losses. Two of those losses came to 105-pound state champion Afftyn Stusse. The other three were all against state qualifiers who won at least one match in Omaha.
Mileena Notaro – Lincoln East Junior
There might not be a more motivated member of this list than Notrao. The East sophomore looked well on her way to joining elite company and becoming the sixth unbeaten champ in Nebraska history when she suffered a takedown early in the third period of last year’s 100-pound championship and was pinned moments later. Notaro led Jocelyn Prado 2-1 after two minutes but couldn’t escape the bottom in the second period. Prado was up and out right away, earning an escape nine seconds into the third, then scored a takedown five seconds later and converted it into a pin moments later. It was a heartbreaking end to a season that saw Notrao win 24 times by pin while picking up 34 total victories. She had beaten Prado for the district title just about a week earlier 10-3.
In the wake of that loss, Notaro took the disappointment and turned it into eight at USA Wrestling Nationals, runner-up at the NEUSAW Freestyle meet, runner-up at Midwest Nationals and two tournament wins to start the 2023/24 season.
Delayed success is something she’s dealt with before. Lincoln Public Schools didn’t sanction girls wrestling when it was first offered by the NSAA in 2022/23. She had to wait and found a place on the mat as a member of the Spartan boys junior varsity team. Notaro held her own and earned 19 wins over boys. Experienced and motivated, she’ll be a handful this winter.
Maycee Peacher – Bennington Junior
Peacher is a two-time state champion who looks like she’ll have the best chance of any wrestler to become the first four-time girls gold medalist in Nebraska history. Peacher has lost just once in the past two years and is on a 74-match winning streak as she enters her junior year.
As a freshman, she beat everyone across the mat except for a wrestler from Iowa who qualified for the Iowa State Meet later that year. Since then, Peacher has had 61 pins, four technical falls and two major decisions. The other seven wins not accounted for were all by forfeit. She’s yet to have an opponent come within fewer than eight points.
Peacher took the 100-pound 2022 title with two pins and a major at state in Omaha then bulked up to 110 and again ran through the state bracket – earning 2023 gold with three pins and a 16-0 technical fall.
Since she came first in the order at the lowest weight, Peacher will always have the honor of being the first Nebraska NHSAA girls champion in wrestling history.
She was named the Norm Mandstedt Girls Wrestler of the Year for 2022 and opens the 2023/24 season rated as the No. 21 wrestler in the country at 110 pounds according to TheMat.com.
Alexis Pehrson and Aubrie Pehrson – Skutt Catholic Juniors
Alexis Pehrson has always had a knack for physicality. From a young age, she was tackling and roughhousing with her brothers and sisters. Eventually, that led to trying wrestling at a club in Wahoo. Twin sister Aubrie joined in, and the rest is history. Alexis and Aubrie were the first and only two girls wrestlers at Yutan in 2022 before three more joined last season.
Alexis’ leadership was evident from the beginning. As a freshman, she added her name to the list of the first-ever girls state champs when she won the 120-pound weight class and completed a 46-3 season. Two of her losses were to a pair of wrestlers from Iowa. In her 46 wins, she had 40 pins. At state, Alexis won twice by fall then claimed victory 6-3 in her closest match of the year – a rematch with Crofton’s Madisen Petersen. Petersen pinned her at Battle Creek following a reversal midway through the third period. Just about a month later, Alexis scored two first-period takedowns and reversed Petersen for an eventual 6-3 championship win.
As a sophomore, she was 42-2 and again took state gold behind three pins and a 5-4 win in Omaha. Three nearfall points in the second period were key in the title match. Again it was two Iowa wrestlers who handed her defeats. She stands at 88 wins halfway through her varsity career.
Aubrie is the other half of the Yutan twin sisterhood that is blazing a trail for Chieftain girls wrestling. She may not have been the sister who first stepped on the mat, but Aubrie is making just as much of an illustrious name for herself.
In her first season of varsity competition, Aubrie was a perfect 51-0 with 43 pins and just five matches that were within seven points or less. After winning the Cedar Bluffs Invite 4-0 over a wrestler from Iowa, she closed the year with seven straight pins in districts and state.
As a sophomore, she was unable to maintain her perfect record but again took state gold as part of a 29-match winning streak to end the season. Her only loss was a 9-2 decision to a wrestler from South Dakota who finished the year as a runner-up.
Aubrie heads into her junior season with 103 wins and is among a few others on this list who have a chance to become one of the first three-time champs, and, if that happens, maybe one of the first four-time gold medalists. Her win total gives her the chance to become the first girl in Nebraska with 200 or more wins.
The Pehrsons have since moved on from Yutan to Skutt Catholic, but youth coach Jason Arlt said everyone in the Chieftains program will be rooting for them as they chase more history.
“Right away I could see they were serious about the sport and had a hunger to work hard and improve. I suggested extra workouts for them, and they were all about it. It quickly became apparent that their attention to detail was going to set them apart,” Arlt said. “They became excellent technicians. Their offseason coaches helped them improve very quickly, and by the time they were freshmen, I’d have them show some of our techniques at practices. Even though they had awesome offseason coaches, they were extremely coachable in high school practice and were always trying to improve. I enjoyed our strategy sessions talking about improving a technique or upcoming matches.
“They were both a joy to coach, not just because they were hard-working and respectful. They are fun kids who are earning their success and deserve the best.”
Tierra Pollard – Norfolk Junior
T-rae as she is affectionately referred to by friends, family and coaches, has been around wrestling since a young age thanks to family involvement. She started in gymnastics but gave that up after finding a love for being on the mat instead of above it.
Once she laced up her wrestling shoes and took the mat, Pollard brought a certain brand of toughness she had been carrying for years. She was born with tracheomalacia, a condition that made it difficult to breathe due to a collapsing or narrowing trachea. Facing that kind of battle as an infant installed a level of toughness that has always been a part of Pollard’s makeup.
She has gradually been improving each season to the point where she can now be considered as a state title contender. She opened her career with 20 wins and six losses including a runner-up finish at the district meet that qualified her for the first NSAA Girls Championship Tournament. Pollard picked up a win in the first round but then lost three in a row and settled for sixth place. She took the lessons learned from that tough finish and won the first 14 matches of the 2022/23 season and again went to state as a district runner-up.
In Omaha, Pollard was on the brink of elimination following a pinfall loss in the first round but bounced back with a pin, technical fall, major decision and 7-0 victory to get to the consolation championship. She led 4-3 until a takedown with six seconds left in the match forced her to settle for fourth.
It was another difficult ending to an overall good season. Pollard will come into her junior year with 55 career wins, two state medals, a silver from the AAU state tournament, third at the USAW state tournament, championship at the Huskerland state tournament, third at Midwest Classic Nationals and experience as a member of Team Nebraska at AAU Scholastic Duals.
On her current trajectory, Pollard looks like she’s destined for at least the semifinals this February in Omaha.
“She has always been a leader on the team through her focus and actions but has recently really opened up as a vocal leader in the room, and will play a huge role in our success on and off the mat this year,” Norfolk coach Andrew Stowe said. “The biggest thing that makes Tiearra special is her passion and love for the sport of wrestling. She has the desire to push herself to be the best wrestler that she can be. She has consistently put in the time and effort, year-round, to compete, learn more, and improve her skills.”
Jolyn Pozehl – Ainsworth Junior
Pozehl was one of just two Ainsworth girls to go out for varsity wrestling last winter. This year, there are nine Bulldog girls on the roster and two who return as state qualifiers from last February. Ainsworth added four freshmen and two others who were of varsity age but did not come out last year. The growth of the sport overall, but most especially the success of Pozehl, has made a difference.
Just like her classmates who witnessed her success and were inspired to try wrestling, Pozehl saw her brothers competing and soon joined them, wrestling on her middle school squad and for a club team. Prior to high school, she was a runner-up at USA State and Girls Huskerland. She advanced so rapidly that Pozehl was invited to be a part of the Nebraska girls dual team at the AAU Middle School National Duals.
Probably her best achievement was last season’s third-place finish at the state tournament. Pozehl had won 10 in a row and was coming off a district championship when she suffered just her third loss of the season to eventual state runner-up Sophia Shultz. The response was four straight wins for Pozehl, three by pin, and a 6-3 bronze-medal victory against an opponent who had beaten her just about a month earlier.
Overall, she has 12 tournament golds in two years and 58 total wins to go with just eight total losses.
“Jolyn has wanted to wrestle her whole life. She started club wrestling when she was a second grader. Up until three years ago, she was competing against boys. With her will and desire to wrestle, it was a dream come true when they started girls wrestling,” Ainsworth coach Todd Pollock said. “When things get tough, she handles pressure and disappointment with humor and a desire to improve. She has helped the youth in our community in both club wrestling and with our middle school girls wrestling team. Jo's determination and commitment to wrestling has pushed her athletic ability and competitiveness to allow her to compete at a higher level and be part of the Nebraska National traveling teams. It has been an honor and a privilege to be a part of Jolyn's wrestling career.”
Jocelyn Prado – Johnson County Central Junior
Prado hails from a wrestling family that is making waves all across Nebraska and the nation. Jocelyn was the 100-pound runner-up in 2022 during the first-ever NSAA-sanctioned girls championship. She missed out on becoming one of the first-ever gold medalists but bounced back from that first-period pinfall with a 29-4 season and another trip to the title match last February. This time she was the one with her hand raised following a fall when she bounced back from a 2-1 first-period deficit and won by pin early in the third.
She also went on to win the Nebraska USA Wrestling Folkstyle State Meet in April and represented Nebraska twice over the summer as a member of the team at the Virginia Beach Dual and the Disney Dual. Prado’s younger brother, Erick, was the Nebraska USAW champion for seventh and eighth grade while her little sister Karla won the kindergarten through second grade division.
“What makes Jocelyn so special is her belief in herself and her abilities,” JCC coach Neil Bowman said. “She is consistent with her training and is constantly working to improve. She sets realistic goals, surrounds herself with the right people and stays the course through tough times.”
Ella Reeves – Battle Creek Junior
Reeves was among the Nebraska leaders in wins as a freshman when she earned 43 victories en route to a sixth-place state medal. She followed that up with 33 more as a sophomore and will likely go over the 100-win mark this season – one of the first girls to do that in NSAA history.
Her talent was evident early on. Reeves was fifth at the AAU state meet as an eighth grader then went 4-0 the first time she stepped on a varsity mat and won the O’Neill Invite.
For the past two years, Reeves was part of a wrestling room at Battle Creek that also included Afftyn Stusse, a two-time state medalist who was the 105-pound runner-up last year. Going head-to-head with a quality practice partner each day during training was truly a case of iron sharpening iron.
Reeves is now the face of a program that was ninth at state earlier this year. The Bravettes have seven on the roster for 2023/24, fewer than last season, but all of the points at state were scored by Stusse and Reeves. With her still in the room for two more years, expect Battle Creek to produce more state qualifiers and get back into the top 10 in team points.
Sophia Shultz – Raymond Central Senior
Shultz is among the first girls wrestlers in Nebraska to earn an opportunity at the next level. The Raymond Central senior will compete at Fort Hays State, and it’s not hard to see why the Tigers wanted to add Shultz to the program.
In her varsity career, Shultz has already achieved 100 wins, qualified for state in the boys and girls tournaments and last year was the Nebraska girls state runner-up at 115 pounds. On the national level, Shultz has competed all over the country and made a name for herself by typically finishing inside the top three.
The one goal that has eluded her thus far is a state championship. Despite making it to Omaha twice, she had an early exit in the boys tournament in 2022 and then took two pins and a 10-5 win into the finals in 2023. She’s back this winter as one of the most experienced girls in Nebraska.
Her brother Cameron is also an excellent wrestler who made the finals this past February. One can only imagine how disputes are handled in the Shultz household.
Raymond Central girls wrestling coach Kayli Starr moved to the area nine years ago and has been witnessing Shultz’s rise ever since. As good as Shultz has been, and she’s a pioneer for her area of the state, Starr said the best is yet to come.
“She has a way about her walk that just radiates confidence! Her stature is nothing less than the description of one of the clubs she belongs to: The Best Wrestler,” Starr said. She exemplifies that name, in my opinion, and is no doubt being trained by some of the absolute best in that program.
“As a mom of four boys, if I had had a daughter, I would’ve wanted her to grow in that same warrior confidence that Sophia carries herself with.”
Payton Thiele – Louisville Junior
Thiele might be the best girls wrestler in Nebraska yet to win a title. She’s suffered early losses at state in each of the past two tournaments but recovered each time and took the bronze medal.
Last winter, she was unbeaten and a No. 1 seed but took a 5-1 loss to eventual 100-pound champion Jocelyn Prado of Johnson County Central, another athlete on this list. As a freshman, Thiele was 25-6 when she again went to state as a district winner and lost in the second round, again to Prado. A takedown with 1:16 in the match was the difference.
Her achievements also include runner-up at the USA Westling Nebraska State Meet, a championship at the USA Wrestling Nebraska Greco/Roman Wrestling State Meet, sixth at the AAU Junior Olympics and eighth at the Brian Keck Memorial Preseason Tournament just a few weeks ago. That most recent performance earned her All-American honors.
Thiele has twice been the team captain, has 83 career wins, tied the mark for wins in a season with 52 and broke the single-season takedown record with 83.
“Her background in gymnastics helped a tremendous deal in her ability to move and get into the difficult positions that a wrestler can be in. When she decided to start again in eighth grade it was very natural,” Louisville coach Rodney Jones said. “Payton has a good feel for finding the right positioning in matches to get the moves she wants. She loves bonding with teammates and other wrestlers at tournaments and on national teams.”
Bennington's Maycee Peacher looks to work a fireman's carry against an opponent during a tournament in her freshman season. Peacher is a two-time reigning state champion who enters the new season as the No. 21-rated wrestler in the country. Photo by @badgergirlswres on X.
--Nathan Charles
