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Zens, group of six area wrestlers claim spots in final at state tourney

Aberdeen Central’s Rayden Zens, left, works to turn Miller-Highmore-Harrold's Kia McCauley during their match at the Lee Wolf Wrestling Tournament earlier this season at the Golden Eagles Arena. Zens won his semifinal match Friday during the Class A Individual State Wrestling Tournament and will compete in the 126-pound championship match this afternoon. Photo by John Davis taken 1/27/2024

SIOUX FALLS – Aberdeen Central put one wrestler in the championship and guaranteed several more podium finishes, while a half dozen other area wrestlers all earned spots in the finals on day two of the Class A Individual State Wrestling Tournament at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls on Friday.

Central’s Rayden Zens pinned Sioux Falls Jefferson’s Aidan Wells to earn his spot in the 126-pound championship match this afternoon.

Coach Donnie Bowden was glad to see Zens wrestle hard in the semifinals.

“He went out there and wrestled a quality opponent in the Jefferson kid,” Bowden said. “He just went out there and dominated him and then he ended it with a pin in the third period with a big throw, so he was firing on all cylinders.”

Zens will now face long-time rival Sloan Johannsen of Watertown in the title match.

Meanwhile, the area will be well represented by six other wrestlers in championship matches. That list includes Sisseton’s Holden Hawkins in Class A at 144 pounds, and in Class B, Brody Randall of Hamlin-Castlewood at 113, Kellen Hurd of Miller-Highmore-Harrold and Haeden Jorgenson of Webster at 138, Holden Havlik of Wessington Springs-Woonsocket-Wolsey-Wessington at 215, and Grady Fey of Redfield at 285.

Groton’s Christian Ehresmann holds on to his opponent during the 144-pound semifinals at the Class B Individual State Wrestling Tournament in Sioux Falls on Friday. Ehresmann will be wrestling in the third-place match today. Photo by Heather Bode

Overall, 11 of the 14 Central wrestlers are guaranteed a place on the podium. Five wrestlers, which include Esten Foss, Tate Huff, Elias Biegler, Ryker Meister, and Cole Dunlavy, will wrestle for seventh place today. Porter Lozenski was already awarded seventh place in the 120-pound weight class due to a medical forfeit. Ridley Waldo, Ayden Gisi, and Bryce Beitelspacher will wrestle for fifth-place, while Mason Schrempp will wrestle for third.

Bowden is excited to have 11 wrestlers on the podium entering the final day.

“That’s really good. That’s the most we’ve placed in quite a while,” Bowden said. “It was nice to get 11 guys in. It would have been a lot nicer to get them up the podium just a little bit farther, but you can’t complain placing 11.”

Faulkton’s Lincoln Dikoff tries to hook up a move on his opponent during the 215-pound semifinals at the Class B Individual State Wrestling Tournament in Sioux Falls on Friday. Dikoff will be wrestling in the fifth-place match today. Photo by Heather Bode

Also heading into the final day, Central currently sits third in the team standings, and Bowden stressed finishing the job to his team during the final matches of the season.

“Finish it off the way you want to finish it,” Bowden said. “We’ve come this far, it is what it is, whether you like the results that you have or not, this is the cards that you’re dealt. Go out and finish it and finish on your own accord.”

To see complete tournament results, click on the following link:

https://www.trackwrestling.com/predefinedtournaments/MainFrame.jsp?newSession=false&TIM=1708756561460&pageName=%2Fpredefinedtournaments%2FTournamentHub.jsp&twSessionId=lajjuobemj

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