It’s been a season full of twists and turns for the Aberdeen Central boys’ wrestling team, but the Golden Eagles have thrived and are now looking forward to this weekend’s state tournament in Sioux Falls.
“If we can get things to shake out the way that we want them to, and we’ve been wrestling the way we’ve been wrestling, I think that we’re going to be alright,” said Central coach Donnie Bowden.
Central has had to deal with adversity throughout the season as key members of the lineup have missed time. The squads appears to be back at full strength now, or as close as it gets to that.
“We’ve got a lot of kids wrestling really well,” Bowden said. “We’ve got everyone back as healthy as they’re going to be this time of year, and the biggest thing is being healthy mind-wise. If we can get their mind right, we’ll be just fine.”
The Golden Eagles are coming off a runner-up finish at the Region 3A tournament last weekend. Bowden did not get caught up in the region results, other than the fact that Central qualified a dozen quality wrestler for the upcoming state tourney.
“The winning and stuff, that’s more of a byproduct. We were in there. There was a couple of areas where we can improve upon, that’s just kind of what it is,” Bowden said. “That region tournament, the biggest part is getting through it, because it’s a wild weekend, you get wild results. Guys are nervous, there’s a lot of tension. Now all that kind of goes away, those pressures go away. We’ve wrestled in big tournaments. We’ve been at this venue before. I think you’re going to see the kids open up.”
Central, which was runner-up at this year’s Class A State Dual Tournament, was second at last year’s Class A state individual tournament. While that will serve as some motivation, Bowden said the key is for the Golden Eagles to wrestle their best this weekend as they have continued to get better each week of the season.
“The biggest thing is, being able to see that improvement from week to week. Those guys realize that now. They see where we’re at,” Bowden said. “They see that we’re within striking distance of doing something really great again. We’ve just got to keep that in our focus.”
While glancing at brackets provides a glimpse of what could potentially transpire at the state tourney, Bowden said that there are always the unknowns that occur at every state meet and athletes need to be prepared for each match.
“Just one round at a time and then figure it out for the next one, because you’re only guaranteed the first one. We don’t really know who’s going to be there,” Bowden said. “We can look at the brackets inside and out. The state tournament, there’s going to be a lot of upsets, there’s going to be a lot of things that aren’t going to go the way that are intended and that kind of stuff. Get in there and wrestle your best wrestling each round and then figure it out the next one.”
For the first time all year, Central will have its entire lineup intact as it prepares for the biggest matches of the season. Bowden is excited to see how that shakes out.
“We’re doing our best wrestling right now, and we’re hoping we can even improve upon that this weekend,” Bowden said, “and we’re hoping we can have a strong finish to what was a great year with all of the ins and outs. …. Our lineup wasn’t even really set until the end and we never really had everyone in there at the same time. What could be is what we’re going to find out.”
