With the Nebraska State Championships just three weeks away, let’s take a look at the 10 most impressive freshmen in the state through nearly an entire regular season. 

As you’d expect, most of the best freshmen occupy the lighter weight classes, but there are a couple middleweights who have stood out as well.

Let’s jump right in.

Easton Weidner (Doniphan-Trumbull) – 113 pounds

Talk about a kid who has put the rest of the state on notice, Weidner is a perfect 41-0 on the year with 29 bonus-point wins – 21 pins, seven technical falls, and one major decision. Early in the year, Weidner staked his claim in Class C at 113 pounds with an 11-2 major over returning state finalist Tristan Davis of Aquinas Catholic in the Wood River Invite final. Weidner then pinned Twin River’s talented sophomore Cade Kunkel in 57 seconds in the Fillmore Central Invite final. At the Aquinas Invite, he beat fellow top freshman Tristan Davis of Aquinas 7-0 in the final. In his most recent match, Weidner handed two-time state finalist Jace Martin of Wood River his first loss of the year via 6-2 decision in the Lou Platte Invite final. Weidner has made it obvious that he’s going to be a problem for years to come.

Carsen Hanshaw (Beatrice) – 120 pounds

Not far off is Hanshaw, who is 29-2 on the year in Class B with a number of signature wins.

After falling to state finalist Cody Barton of Malcolm 4-3 early in the season at the York Invite, Hanshaw beat both Barton (5-3) and Class C state champion Brock Goebel of Syracuse (6-5 in sudden victory) at the Crete Invite, earning Outstanding Wrestler honors for his effort.

At the Blair Border Brawl, Hanshaw beat Iowa’s Crosby Yoder of Logan-Magnolia 9-7. Yoder is one of Iowa’s best with a 41-2 record this year. Hanshaw suffered his second loss of the season at the Jayhusker, where he fell to Cannon Terry (25-2) from Kansas 1-0 in the final. 

With 13 pins, six techs and four majors on the season, Hanshaw has earned bonus points in most of his matches and will likely challenge for a state title as a freshman.

Wyatt Hueftle (Cozad) – 106 pounds

After losing his first match of the season, 16-14 at 113 pounds, Hueftle has been nearly perfect. He’s 34-2 on the year with his only other loss by fall against undefeated Apollo Willuweit from South Dakota. Hueftle went 8-0 at the Colby Eagle Dual Invite with six pins and a tech before winning a title at the Norm Manstedt Invite in Columbus. Hueftle beat freshman Kael Stusse of Battle Creek by fall in the semis before downing Syracuse’s Caden Caudill (31-5) 8-2 in the final. Last time out, Hueftle pinned his way through the John Higgins Invite. On the season, he’s recorded 19 pins, six techs and two majors. Hueftle is right there in Class C as one of the true favorites to make the state final.

Jaydyn Schommer (Aquinas Catholic) – 106 pounds

Wrestling in Nebraska’s smallest class — Class D — Jaydeyn Schommer has been fairly dominant. A Nebraska USA Wrestling Triple Crown winner in 2025, Schommer is 31-2 on the year with his only losses coming to the two best 106-pounders in the state. He fell to Central City’s state champion Ace Schweitzer (27-0 with 26 pins) and Scottsbluff’s Anthony Shifflett (26-2) both by fall. Schommer has notable wins over Amherst freshman Wyatt Anderson (23-9) via 21-5 tech, and a 19-3 tech over Wayne’s Grady Maas (21-7).

Currently the top 106-pounder in Class D, Schommer is the favorite to win his first state title as a freshman.

Holden Townsley (Millard West) – 113 pounds

Our first Class A wrestler on this list, Townsley has been impressive for the Wildcats with a 37-5 record on the year. He’s put up a lot of bonus points as well with 24 pins, eight techs and one major to his name. Early in the season, Townsley beat a talented Isaiah Tuttle of Omaha Central 1-0 at the Fremont Invite before falling to Omaha Bryan’s Khy-ree Thomas-Calloway 20-5 by tech in the final. Thomas-Calloway, a junior with a 36-0 record, is one of the best wrestlers in the state. Townsley picked up another loss to Thomas-Calloway by fall in the Millard West Invite final. At the Council Bluffs Classic, Townsley went 7-1 and finished fifth, only dropping one match 7-5 to one of the state’s other best 113-pounders Carter Booze (40-0) of Columbus. 

Townsley won a title at the Blair Border Brawl and placed third at the Metro Conference Invite, dropping his semifinal match to Tuttle 10-4. He’s 5-0 with five pins in dual matches since.

Townsley could challenge for a spot in the Class A state final this year, although it seems Thomas-Calloway and Booze are on a collision course there. 

Colton Strange (Omaha Skutt) – 106 pounds

Out of Class B powerhouse Skutt Catholic, Strange has emerged as an immediate title threat.  He’s 23-4 on the year despite a grueling schedule. Strange finished fourth at the Gardner-Edgerton Invite before winning a title at the Blizzard Brawl with a 9-7 win over fellow stud freshman Terrence Crawford Jr. of Omaha North. The son of 5-division World Champion boxer Terrence Crawford, he’s 25-5 on the year and just missed the cut for this list. Strange then went 4-2 at the Reno Tournament of Champions, falling in the blood round. Since that tournament, he’s won 13 straight with 12 wins by pin. One of the top 106-pounders in Class B, Strange has 21 bonus-point wins with 17 coming via pin.

Kael Stusse (Battle Creek) – 106 pounds

Out of Class C, Stusse has put together an impressive opening season with his only two losses coming to two of the best in the state in Schweitzer and Hueftle, both by pin. Stusse is 26-2 on the year with 15 wins via pin.

Stusse fell to Schweitzer in the Logan View Invite final and fell to Hueftle in the Norm Manstedt semifinal before placing third. Stusse beat Seward’s Jack Langner (28-2) 9-2 by decision in the third-place match. Last time out, Stusse pinned Yutan freshman Eli Thompson in the final of the Battle Creek Invite. It was Stusse’s second win over Thompson (26-4), who nearly made this list. Stusse is one of the top contenders to make it to the Class C state final in February.

Paxton Morgan (Bennington) – 150 pounds

Despite wrestling at three different weight classes this season, Morgan has only lost to some of the best in the state. Morgan is 21-3 on the year with 16 bonus-point wins. He started his season at 138, where he went 8-3 with his only in-state losses to two of the best in Class A —  Sean Stanton of Lincoln East (7-0 decision) and Zaen Green of Kearney (15-4 major). He also picked up wins over impressive freshmen Chase Jenny of Columbus (4-1 decision) and Lincoln Unger of Lincoln Southeast (12-6). Morgan then went 2-0 at 144 with pin wins in duals against Class A powerhouses Millard South and Lincoln East. Now at 150, Morgan is 11-0 at the weight with some nice wins already under his belt. He’ll be in the conversation at 150 pounds in Class C.

Forrest Uhing (Blair) – 157 pounds

A boost for Blair in Class B, Uhing is 24-5 in his first year. He has 19 wins with bonus points, including 16 sticks on the year. After starting the year 7-0 in duals, Uhing placed fifth at the Council Bluffs Classic with a 6-2 record. Uhing fell to Plattsmouth’s Brenden Ging 10-4 on the front side but got his revenge on the back side where he beat Ging 6-5 before downing Ames’ Braxton Winkey 3-2 in the fifth-place match. Uhing is 11-3 since the CBC with one loss via injury and his two other losses coming to top wrestlers Grant Maas of Wayne (13-9 decision) and Noah Ingwersen of Lincoln East (8-0 major). Uhing pinned his way to the Plattsmouth Invite final where he fell to Ingwersen, a fourth-place finisher last year. Uhing should be considered a favorite to finish on the medal stand in Class B.

Wahab Unle (Omaha Bryan) – 106 pounds

Out of Class A, Unle hasn’t been the varsity starter the entire season, but he recently established himself with a Metro Conference title. He’s 13-0 on the year. After starting the season at 113 pounds, where he went 5-0 in duals, Unle made his debut at 106 at his conference tournament, where he beat Crawford in a 19-13 barn burner in the semifinal round. Unle then pinned Maverick Kidd of Papillion-LaVista — a junior with a 20-6 record — in the conference final. The younger brother of Husker freshman Abdi Unle, a two-time Class A state champion for Bryan, Wahab Unle is extremely talented and certainly has a chance to win a state title as a freshman.

Nebraska High School Premium Rankings

Check out the Nebraska High School Wrestling Premium Rankings, which are generated by using an athlete’s complete match history to predict a wrestler’s performance against others in their weight class by considering factors such as win-loss records, the quality of their victories (pins, technical falls, major decisions), the strength of their opponents, and overall historical performance patterns. 

The data is updated every Monday, sourced from the Trackwrestling season results. Since each team is responsible for maintaining its season results, any data discrepancies for a wrestler should be addressed by contacting their coach to manage the information within the season. This includes the weight class assigned. Wrestlers are eligible to be ranked after competing in five matches at a single weight.