There will be plenty of area wrestlers to keep an eye on this upcoming season.

The group is led by last year’s defending 138-pound State B champion Kellan Hurd of Miller-Highmore-Harrold.

There are four other area wrestlers who were all runner-up a year ago including Haeden Jorgenson of Webster and Holden Havlik of Wessington Springs-Woonsocket-Wolsey-Wessington in Class B, Sisseton’s Holden Hawkins in Class A, as well as Sophia Knittel of Ipswich in the girls’ division.

Liza Krueger of Groton, and Cateri Yellow Hawk of Sully Buttes both finished third in the girls’ state tourney.

Those who finished fourth a year ago and are returning this year are Groton’s Christian Ehresman, Josh Kannegieter of Clark-Willow Lake, and Jacksen Carter of Wessington Springs-Woonsocket-Wolsey-Wessington in Class B, Sisseton’s Ian Metz in Class A, and Reganne Miles of Doland in the girls’ tourney.

There are several returning wrestlers who were fifth a year ago. That list includes Chase Hurd and Jordan Schafer of Miller-Highmore-Harrold, and Cooper Pommer of Clark-Willow Lake in Class B, and Tahnie Yellow Hawk of Sully Buttes in the girls’ tournament.

Sixth-place returners from a year ago include Tayten Kurkowski of Webster, Korbin Kucker of Groton, and Lincoln Dikoff of Faulkton in Class B, and Milbank’s Tate Schlueter in Class A, and Jasmin Perez of Mobridge-Pollock in girls.

Those returning from seventh-place finishes are Madden Odland of Redfield, Talon Ping and Colby Kolda of Miller-Highmore-Harrold, Landon Coyle of Faulkton, and Kobi Whiteley of Deuel-Deubrook Area in Class B; and those returning who were eighth a year ago include Connor Zens, Dylan Murray, and Camden Murray of Redfield, Elliot Bratland of Clark-Willow Lake, and Tucker Hardy of Britton-Hecla in Class B, and Milbank’s Owen Fischer in Class A.

This year’s state tournaments are set for Feb. 27-March 1 at The Monument in Rapid City.

(Note: previews on Aberdeen Central wrestlers were posted last week).