WHY?

Bellevue West High School opened in 1977 and the first wrestling team competed in the 1978 Nebraska School Activities Association State Wrestling Championships.  From that first team in the 1977-1978 school year through the 2023-2024 season, Bellevue West has fielded 47 varsity wrestling teams.  From 1977-1987 wrestlers competed in one of twelve weight classes: 98, 105, 112, 119, 126, 132, 138, 145, 155, 167, 185, & Unlimited.  From the 1987-88 season through the 1993-1994 season wrestlers competed in one of thirteen weight classes: 103, 112, 119, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 152, 160, 171, 189, & 275.  For the 1994-1995 season, weight classes were changed to: 100, 106, 112, 119, 126, 134, 142, 151, 160, 172, 185, 215, & 275.  For the 1995-1996 season through the 2010-2011 season, weight classes were expanded to fourteen: 103, 112, 119, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 152, 160, 171, 189, 215, & 275.  In 2011, the fourteen weight classes were changed to: 106, 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152, 160, 170, 182, 195, 220, & 285 for the 2011-2012 season and each season through the most recent season ('23-'24).

There have been 630 varsity opportunities for young men to compete on the mat for the Thunderbirds.  Twelve weight classes from'77-'78 through '86-'87. 12 weight classes x 10 seasons =120.  Thirteen weight classes from '87-'88 through '94-'95. 13 weight classes x 8 seasons = 104.  Fourteen weight classes from '95-'96 through '23-'24. 14 weight classes x 29 seasons = 406. 120 + 104 + 406 = 630.

There has been an effort over the past 47 seasons to keep track of the best record per weight class.  Unfortunately, when the weight classes changed for the 2011-2012 season, the "best records by weight class" category that previously listed the best and second best record per weight class was changed to eliminate the second-best season result.  A new listing was created using the new weight classes.  That new list only included those wrestlers that competed in the new weight classes, instead of grouping similar historical weight classes together.  For example, rather than grouping 98, 103, 105, and the new 106 together, a decision was made to start the individual season records over at 106 without regard for any past season performances at the logically, closely related, prior weight classes.  This resulted in wrestlers with records of 7-5, 27-17, 19-14, & 15-11 being listed under the heading "Best Records by Weight Class" and eliminated older records of 24-7, 25-9, 33-4, 22-7, 19-0, 28-7, 29-6, 24-8, & 33-7.  While being technically the "best records by weight class," because the weight classes had been in existence for only one season, to claim that they are the "best" records or even close to the best performances in over forty-seven years of varsity wrestling is a slap in the face to the hard work and dedication of all the wrestlers that came before the weight class changes in 2011.

To address this disparity, similar weight classes were initially grouped together.  That led to some illogical results, as well.  Some weight classes just haven't had many great performances and others have had some really tough Thunderbirds.  Also, the number of matches wrestled these days is significantly higher than 20-30 years ago.  When Doug Hassel won his state championships in 1980 and 1981, he was 26-0 each year.  When Preston Lauterbach won his state championship in 2013 he was 38-0.  The current crop of wrestlers has quite a few more matches (46% more matches in that example) per season to break season records that were set when winning 25 matches was a major accomplishment.

Given that there have been 630 uneven chances for glory, the only way to account for strength in some weight classes over others is to honor the top 10% of varsity wrestlers by win percentage (630 chances x 10% = 63). To be included on the list, the wrestler had to compete in a minimum of 25 matches and have a win percentage of at least 75%.  I've grouped together the top performances that I was able to assemble through various sources: newspapers, digital newspaper archives of the Omaha World-Herald, Bellevue West yearbooks, online yearbook websites, state tournament guides, results from the NSAA website, a now inactive Bellevue West Wrestling website, trackwrestling.com, digital images of the wrestling room record boards, digital images of the now removed display case in the North gym lobby, internet searches, and an NSAA archive review of medal winners.

There were a few mistakes and some conflicting information.  Some records just disappeared.  Tommy Aceret's season takedown record of 112 was listed on the record board for two decades before it was removed within the past few years.  Maybe there is a story there that I am not aware of?  I know there was some controversy related to his pursuit of the state takedown record, but why would his record disappear, unless it was eclipsed?  Another example is Chris Lind listed as earning the best record on the wrestling room wall at 171 pounds in 1995 at 31-4.  On the other side of the wrestling room, there is a board that lists wins of 29 or more per season.  On that board, he is listed as having 29 wins in 1995.  Lind won a Metro Conference Championship at 185 pounds that year (confirmed through the World-Herald).  He placed 3rd at 185 at the 1995 state tournament with a record of 31-4 according to the NSAA (https://nsaa-static.s3.amazonaws.com/textfile/wrest/alla95.pdf).  A reasonable explanation is that his season-best record was not better than Clester Johnson's state runner-up season of 33-1 at 189 in 1991, but he was shoehorned in at 171 because he deserves recognition for his outstanding season.

That highlights some of the problems with selecting one or two wrestlers per weight class.  The logjam of talent at 167, 170, and 171 emphasizes the downside of that approach.  Doug Hassel was 26-0 at 167 when he won his second state championship in 1981.  Preston Lauterbach was 38-0 on the way to his 170 state title in 2013.  Chris Luehring was 40-1 at 170 in his 2012 state championship season.  If only two wrestlers per weight class were listed, then Chris Luehring would be eliminated from consideration, along with Kyle Tobin's 32-4 record on his way to a 3rd place finish at 171 in 2008 and Keith Humphrey's 31-8 record and 3rd place finish at 171 in 1989.

Rather than divide wrestlers into each weight class over the past four decades or group them in weight ranges, the top 10% of individual season win-loss records that were confirmed with documentation are listed under "Top Performances by Season Record."  Some wrestlers may have been inadvertently left off.  If you know of a record that is missing, please email me and we will work to make sure that no deserving wrestler or performance worth recognition is omitted.

As a final note, you won’t find a list of “four-year letter winners" on this site. Bellevue has a long and proud history as a military town.  The success of the town is closely tied to Offutt Air Force Base.  Recognizing "four-year letter winners" neglects to consider the sacrifices that military families make moving from base to base and that many military dependents (Bellevue West student athletes) did not have the privilege of attending West all four years of high school.