BROOKINGS – Aberdeen Central earned a third place finish at the Class A boys’ wrestling state dual tournament Saturday, defeating second-seeded Pierre 31-30 in the final match to claim that third place trophy.
“Not too shabby,” said Central coach Donnie Bowden. “We were seeded as the four, so we out-placed our seed, which is good.”
Central opened the day with a 40-32 win over Brandon Valley, but dropped to the third place round after falling 40-15 to top-seeded and eventual champion Sturgis in the semifinals.
Bowden said his squad was disappointed with that semifinal match, but was happy about the way the Golden Eagles bounced back against a Pierre squad that had beaten them earlier in the season.
“Being able to flip that result was a good thing,” he said, adding that being able to put the loss out of mind and focus on a new opponent was key to the victory.
“That’s what you have to be able to do,” Bowden said. “That says a lot about your character as a team.”
Central certainly needed a full team effort against the Governors. The Golden Eagles won seven of the first nine matches, including one fall, one major decision and more than a handful of tightly contested matches.
That cushion allowed the Golden Eagles to withstand three straight pins by the Governors to end the match.
“Ridley Waldo went out and beat one of the best kids in the state,” Bowden said. “He handed him, I think, just his second loss of the season. Esten Foss was able to flip that result at 106. We haven’t been able to beat that kid, and he got over that hump today. Rayden (Zens) goes out and does what he does and handles his business. It was pretty much a team effort.”
Waldo’s win at 138 pounds was a 5-4 decision over Tristan Spencer, Foss blanked Gable Uhrig 4-0. Zens earned a 22-9 major decision at 126 and Porter Lozenski picked up a pin at 120.
Ayden Gisi (215), Tate Huff (132) and Owen Ward (144) and Mason Schrempp (157) also picked up wins for the Golden Eagles.
Zens, Waldo and Schrempp finished the day with three victories.
Sturgis defeated Watertown 55-13 in the Class A championship, while Canton defeated Philip-Kadoka Area-Wall 45-16 to win the B title. Winner topped Miller-Highmore-Harrold 37-26 for fifth place in Class B.
Central will turn its attention to the individual state tournament Feb. 22-24 in Sioux Falls.
“The focus shifts a little bit from being all about the team to getting (guys) placed as high as they can,” Bowden said, “and by doing that, by taking care of their business, they’re helping the team.”
First Round
Aberdeen Central defeated Brandon Valley 40-32
175 – Ryker Meister (Aberdeen Central) over Issac Irvine (Brandon Valley) Fall 1:51
190 – Elijah Schunke (Brandon Valley) over Cole Dunlavy (Aberdeen Central) Fall 4:47
215 – Ayden Gisi (Aberdeen Central) over Noah Bailous (Brandon Valley) Dec 6-3
285 – Navarro Schunke (Brandon Valley) over Bryce Beitelspacher (Aberdeen Central) Fall 0:45
106 – Beckett Rehorst (Brandon Valley) over Esten Foss (Aberdeen Central) Dec 2-0
113 – Brendon Oehme (Brandon Valley) over Paxton Ewing (Aberdeen Central) TF 21-6
120 – Trevon Oehme (Brandon Valley) over Porter Lozenski (Aberdeen Central) Fall 0:53
126 – Rayden Zens (Aberdeen Central) over Braden Shoemaker (Brandon Valley) Dec 6-0
132 – Tate Huff (Aberdeen Central) over Aaron Tucker (Brandon Valley) Fall 4:55
138 – Ridley Waldo (Aberdeen Central) over Hayden McGuire (Brandon Valley) Maj 12-0
144 – Owen Ward (Aberdeen Central) over Zander Nielsen (Brandon Valley) Fall 4:58
150 – Grayden Timm (Aberdeen Central) over Xavier McGuire (Brandon Valley) Fall 5:15
157 – Mason Schrempp (Aberdeen Central) over Ethan Tucker (Brandon Valley) Fall 1:52
165 – Gavin Chapman (Brandon Valley) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
Championship Semifinals
Sturgis defeated Aberdeen Central 40-15
190 – Aiden Werlinger (Sturgis Brown) over Cole Dunlavy (Aberdeen Central) Fall 3:02
215 – Zak Juelfs (Sturgis Brown) over Ayden Gisi (Aberdeen Central) Fall 3:28
285 – Bryce Beitelspacher (Aberdeen Central) over Dakarai Osborne (Sturgis Brown) Fall 3:15
106 – Tyler Baldwin (Sturgis Brown) over Esten Foss (Aberdeen Central) Dec 4-3
113 – Teryn Zebroski (Sturgis Brown) over Paxton Ewing (Aberdeen Central) Maj 10-2
120 – Benjamin Nadig (Sturgis Brown) over Porter Lozenski (Aberdeen Central) Dec 7-1
126 – Rayden Zens (Aberdeen Central) over Tegan Zebroski (Sturgis Brown) Dec 5-2
132 – Dee Daniels (Sturgis Brown) over Tate Huff (Aberdeen Central) Dec 7-6
138 – Ridley Waldo (Aberdeen Central) over Beau Peters (Sturgis Brown) SV-1 2-0
144 – Kalvin Ketelsen (Sturgis Brown) over Owen Ward (Aberdeen Central) Dec 5-0
150 – Joseph Nadig (Sturgis Brown) over Brody Aesoph (Aberdeen Central) Fall 1:37
157 – Mason Schrempp (Aberdeen Central) over Zhoel Irion (Sturgis Brown) Dec 5-2
165 – Preston Ray (Sturgis Brown) over Elias Biegler (Aberdeen Central) Dec 3-1
175 – Kelson Dirk (Sturgis Brown) over Ryker Meister (Aberdeen Central) Dec 7-5
3rd Place Match
Aberdeen Central defeated Pierre 31-30
215 – Ayden Gisi (Aberdeen Central) over Elijah Boutchee (Pierre T.F. Riggs) Dec 3-0
285 – Lucas Colman (Pierre T.F. Riggs) over Bryce Beitelspacher (Aberdeen Central) Dec 9-6
106 – Esten Foss (Aberdeen Central) over Gable Uhrig (Pierre T.F. Riggs) Dec 4-0
113 – Walker West (Pierre T.F. Riggs) over Paxton Ewing (Aberdeen Central) Fall 1:59
120 – Porter Lozenski (Aberdeen Central) over Jacob Mason (Pierre T.F. Riggs) Fall 5:39
126 – Rayden Zens (Aberdeen Central) over Lincoln Schoenhard (Pierre T.F. Riggs) Maj 22-9
132 – Tate Huff (Aberdeen Central) over Alex Oedekoven (Pierre T.F. Riggs) Dec 3-2
138 – Ridley Waldo (Aberdeen Central) over Tristan Spencer (Pierre T.F. Riggs) Dec 5-4
144 – Owen Ward (Aberdeen Central) over Max Hunsley (Pierre T.F. Riggs) Dec 9-5
150 – Brock Moser (Pierre T.F. Riggs) over Brody Aesoph (Aberdeen Central) Dec 6-1
157 – Mason Schrempp (Aberdeen Central) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
165 – Lucas Chamberlin (Pierre T.F. Riggs) over Elias Biegler (Aberdeen Central) Fall 1:32
175 – Trey Lewis (Pierre T.F. Riggs) over Ryker Meister (Aberdeen Central) Fall 0:35
190 – Chance Carda (Pierre T.F. Riggs) over Cole Dunlavy (Aberdeen Central) Fall 0:50
