By GREG SCELLIN, Signal Editor

Panther Davis Jacobson earned a victory at the 2012 NSAA Class C Wrestling Championships, while Fillmore Central heavyweight Zach Ekeler was unable to garner a win in his second trip to Omaha.

After an opening-round loss to top-ranked Bart Miller of Valentine, Jacobson earned a 7-3 decision over Dex Jensen of Fort Calhoun. Crusader Kaleb Puncochar pinned the Panther 113-pounder in the first round in Jacobson's third match at State.

Jacobson ended his freshman campaign with a season mark of 33-16.

"Davis had a great season," Panther head coach Ryan Komenda said. "To win a match at State is great. We bumped him up at Districts and to come up here and win a match—that's huge."

Ekeler was pinned half-way through his first match in Omaha by eventual State Champion Clayton Lange of Ord. The FC 285-pounder was unable to get a victory in his second match. The Panther junior ended his season at 41-8.

Komenda was disappointed his two-time State qualifier couldn't get things rolling in Omaha this year.

"Zach's got another chance for another year down here," Komenda said. "We've got to look at that and focus on getting back here."

Komenda said he is very excited in the direction in which the Panther wrestling program is currently moving.

"We've definitely got a lot of things going on in our wrestling program," he said. "We've got several freshmen who have had some very promising years. Now, with Luke (DeLong) becoming our first State Champion... You've got to say we're moving forward in a positive direction."