James Biship didn’t want overtime.

The 145-pound senior wrestler was in the second round of the consolation bracket Friday in the Class 3 state wrestling tournament, and he found himself tied 2-2 with Ethan Locke of Kearney.

After the wrestlers were pushed out of bounds, the match was restarted with nine seconds left in the third period.

“He turns into me and his whole right side is looking at me,” Biship said. “So I lock up an inside cradle and start trying to drive him over.”

Biship said he struggled with Locke’s size advantage most of the match, but didn’t want his potentially final high school wrestling match decided in overtime.

“He’s so long that he locked up a cradle with my cradle and rolled through and I was on my back,” he said.

Locke scored four points on a reversal and near-fall, winning the match, 6-2.

“Losing your last match in the last second or two is tough,” Warrenton Head Coach Kevin Fowler said. “You can’t give up a reversal at that time.”

Fowler said it’s generally the wrestler’s call whether to hold for overtime in those situations or go for the win.

“I just thought it was an awkward position, and he went for it instead of holding for overtime,” Fowler said. “I think he rushed things.”

Fowler thought the match could have been nearly over in the first period.

Biship missed on a take-down early in the match and went down 2-0.

He was in the same spot in his first-round match, a bout he won, 5-3.

“It wasn’t like I was in a hole I couldn’t get out of,” Biship said. “I was trying to push the pace and felt like I kind of did, but I felt like he was trying to do the same. It was hard to work on him because he was such a tall and lengthy kid.”

While Biship was comfortable wrestling from behind in that situation, Fowler knew that anything can happen late in a tight match.

“We wanted to get the match over in the first period, but we never went back on the attack,” he said. “Then it’s tied in the second period and the kid thinks he can win”

Biship said he prepared for a grind after trading blows in the first period.

Not wanting the grind to continue against a bigger opponent, he saw an opportunity and went for it.

“It happens so fast and it takes you a minute to realize what’s going on,” he said. 

Biship has replayed the match in his head following the loss, and doesn’t think he would take the risk again.

“The more I think about it, the more I believe I could have scored early in overtime and held out for the win,” he said. “But there is nothing I can do about it now.”

Locke won his next match, 13-5.

“I realized that could have been me finally getting a state medal that I’ve been working four years for,” he said.

Biship finished his season 45-9.

“He has nothing to be ashamed of,” Fowler said.