OMAHA -- Last year, Tony Palmer had to gut out a full six minutes to win a state title.
This year, he wasn’t about to mess around.
The top-ranked Class A 215-pounder went after Norfolk’s Jaeden Thompson early and was able to secure a pin in 82 seconds to claim his second state title and highlight the five-medal haul by area wrestlers at the 2025 Nebraska State Wrestling Championships that concluded Saturday at the CHI Center in Omaha.
Palmer went after the second-ranked Thompson early and secured a quick takedown and two-point nearfall at the edge of the mat before going out of bounds. He let Thompson up and then took him down a second time and put him to his back for the pin to claim a second straight state title.
Palmer’s championship led a run of five medals by Star-area wrestlers and was one of two won by the Cardinals.
Adrian Curiel ended his junior season with a fifth-place finish in the Class A 190-pound bracket. He bounced back from a second-period pin in the consolation semifinals and earned a sudden-victory win over Will Manning of Lincoln East to end the season with a 45-5 record.
In Class C competition, Bryan Isom became the first medalist for Tri County Northeast with a sixth-place finish in 157-pound action. He lost both of his matches on Saturday to end his senior season at 34-11.
Homer was 2-for-2 for the weekend as both of their qualifiers finished as state medalists.
Josue Munoz , who earned the school’s first medal last year, improved on last year’s sixth-place finish by claiming consolation honors at 138 pounds with two wins Saturday, ending his senior season with a 41-7 and a third-place medal.
Austin Pelster also finished in the consolation finals, but came up short with a fourth-place finish at 157 pounds to end his junior year with a 42-6 mark.
Complete coverage and highlights in next week’s edition of the Dakota County Star.
Day 3 Area Results
SOUTH SIOUX CITY
A190 — Adrian Curiel (45-5)
— pinned by Hudson Miron, Lincoln Southwest, 1:26.
— dec. Will Manning, Lincoln East, 11-8 (SV)
Fifth place.
A215 — Tony Palmer (52-1)
— pinned Jaeden Thompson, Norfolk, 1:23.
State champion.
TRI COUNTY NE
C157 — Bryan Isom (34-11)
— tech. fall by Rovert Gilkerson, Falls City, 16-1.
— pinned by Westyn Mendenhall, Chase County, 4:02.
Sixth place.
HOMER
D138 — Josue Munoz (41-7)
— maj. dec. Drake Arensdorf, South Platte, 12-2.
— def. Austin Mayfield, Burwell, 5-2.
Third place.
D157 — Austin Pelster (42-6)
— pinned Dominick Larraga, Shelton, 4:18.
— pinned by Trentin Brown, Burwell, 1:46.
Fourth place.
