Sidney youth invited to prestigious wrestling event 

 SIDNEY – Nine-year-old Liam Luyando likes to wrestle. His interest in the sport earned the attention of an invitation-only event in the state.  

Luyando said he was contacted recently by a prestigious wrestling organization. 

“There’s a guy that runs Roxa Rated Wrestling. He texted my mom to see if I was up to wrestle their heavyweights. And we thought about it and we were like what’s the weight and 130 to 200 in the third, fourth and fifth (grades),” Luyando said. 

He will be competing in the Huskerland Duals March 13 & 15 in Kearney. 

He has been wrestling for about five years. He says his love of football brought him to wrestling. He has earned several awards on his way to State competitions. 

“It was just kind of like, physical. I liked football, so I thought probably wrestling, and then I went to State all five years and I placed. That was probably a good feeling, too,” he said. 

He has been wrestling in the 140-145 lb. Class. He will be wrestling in the heavyweight division (130-200 lbs). 

Dan McMurtry with Beef Lab Wrestling Camp, said the program started about three years ago.  

“We started Beef Lab, I believe it was three years ago. Beef Lab originates in North Platte. Really what it was, was a group of us collaborating on how we’re going to compete with the metro area, the kids who hold advantages over kids who live in more rural areas,” McMurty said. 

When Luyando is not wrestling, he is busy with baseball and basketball.