Sutton sophomore brings home silver during his 2nd trip to the state meet, ends year at 42-5
Sutton’s Griffin Bergen, who entered the 2025 state wrestling championships a year removed from qualifying for the state meet as a freshman, was looking to make a vast improvement on his 0-2 run a year ago.
Bergen accomplished that improvement in a big way, as the 175-pound sophomore returned home with a silver medal in his grasp, after winning three of four matches in Omaha and claiming the runner-up title after a 3:06 pinfall loss to Maddox Jones of Sumner-Eddyville-Miller (SEM) in the title bout Saturday, Feb. 22.
OPENING ROUND
Bergen started his run to the title match with a convincing 1:37 pinfall win over Jacob Hanvey of Creighton. Bergen led the match 6-1 at the time of the pin, as Bergen gave up just one escape point while recording a pair of three-point takedowns of Hanvey before locking down the pin and advancing to the quarterfinal round.
QUARTERFINALS
Bergen’s quarterfinal match with Crawford’s Cody Holmgren lasted into the third period before the Mustang
TORY DUNCAN | CLAY COUNTY NEWS sophomore registered his second pinfall win, coming in 4:23, just 23 seconds into the third period.
Bergen led 7-0 after the first period with a takedown and four-point near fall. He added another takedown and had a three-point near fall in the second period, while giving up a penalty point, an escape point, and having Holmgren takedown Bergen to set the match at a 13-5 Bergen lead.
As the match entered the third period, Bergen gained the early takedown to gain a 16-5 lead, which ultimately led to Bergen’s pinfall win to ultimately secure a state meet medal and a trip to the semifinal round.
SEMIFINALS
Bergen’s semifinal match was a classic brute force test for not only Bergen, but his opponent, JD Adam of Meridian.
Adam came into the match with a 55-2 record, while Bergen stood with a 42-4 record. As the match began, Adam claimed a 4-2 first-period lead. Bergen then outscored Adam 9-2 in the second period to take an 11-6 lead into the final two-minute period.
In the third, both Bergen and Adam scored five points each as Bergen earned a tough 16-11 victory to punch his ticket into the state championship finals.
CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
SEM’s Jones proved to be a tough task to handle in Bergen’s title bout, as the battle between the two Mustangs gained Jones a 3:06 pinfall win over Bergen, landing the Sutton sophomore in the runner-up spot of the 175-pound weight class, as he closed out his sophomore season with an impressive 42-5 record.
TORY DUNCAN | CLAY COUNTY NEWS
Sutton’s Griffin Bergen opens his state title match with Maddox Jones of SEM Saturday, Feb. 22. Jones would gain a 3:06 pinfall win to give Bergen the Class D 175-pound state runner-up title.
Sutton head coach Ron Gerber and assistant coach Jason Majors congratulate Griffin Bergen for his state tournament run following his championship match loss to SEM’s Maddox Jones Saturday afternoon at the CHI Center in Omaha. Bergen finished his sophomore season with an impressive 42-5 record. TORY DUNCAN | CLAY COUNTY NEWS
