SIOUX FALLS – Area wrestlers found themselves in the spotlight during championship matches at the State Wrestling Tournament at the Sanford Premier Center on Saturday afternoon.

Owen Ward of Aberdeen Central, Cash Edgar of Faulkton, and Gavin Englund of Groton all won state championships in overtime during the event.

Ward, who was named the Class A Most Outstanding Wrestler, had the most dramatic finish. He trailed 10-1 at one stage before storming back to defeat Kelson Dirk of Sturgis 14-11 in overtime at 190 pounds.

“He was down 10-1, but you could tell that the effects were being felt on the other side, too,” said Central coach Donnie Bowden. “The exchanges were getting longer. You could see that the other kid was getting tired.”

Trailing 11-4 late in the match, Ward was able to score a takedown and a four-point nearfall to level the score and force overtime.

“It was deep into that match when we started scoring and things started going our way,” Bowden said.

Once in the extra session, Ward was able to able to record a takedown to cap off a 14-11 victory.

“That’s Owen’s mentality. That dude fights until the end, regardless of what the score is or the situation,” Bowden said. “That dude fights. He’s always trying to find a way. That’s just a testament to him.”

The victory set off a celebration for Ward and the Central coaches.

“It’s kind of one of those things you dream about about, but it came to fruition,” Bowden said. “Words are hard to find to explain it.”

Edgar, who was chosen the Class B Most Outstanding Wrestler, went the distance in his championship match at 120 pounds. He was awarded the win after Winner’s Rylan Robbins was accessed a stalling point at the end of the match.

“They blew that whistle at the end of the period and I had no idea what was going on,” Edgar said.

The state title fulfilled a goal that the sophomore set before the season began.

“I wrote a few goals down at the beginning of the year I set my mind to and it was to win state,” Edgar said. “The last couple of weeks of the season, when I walked into practice I’d think about that.”

Edgar said that he felt stronger as the match wore on and knew that he had a lot left in the tank.

“I think my conditioning was a huge part of it,” Edgar said. “Our coach has put a lot of work into helping us condition, having us run sprints, and I believe that my conditioning ended up being the main factor in that match, because I had so much more gas at the end of that match.”

Edgar talked about being selected as the Class B Most Outstanding Wrestler.

“It was an amazing feeling,” Edgar said. “It meant a lot to me. It was very exciting to accomplish that.”

Like Edgar, Englund also used his conditioning to wear down Legend Benedict of Winner in their title match at 285 pounds. The senior said he could tell his opponent was getting tired.

“I could definitely sense that,” Englund said. “I’ve gotten a really good gas tank throughout this year. I’ve been working really hard for it. I knew it was going to win matches.”

Time put in when no one else was watching paid major dividends when everyone was watching on Saturday.

“I drill super hard and go on the bike after practice once everyone’s leaving,” Englund said.

After a scoreless three periods, each wrestler scored an escape during the first overtime, before Englund capped off the win with a point in the second OT.

“Definitely one of the biggest matches of my career and the best I’ve ever wrestled, I bet,” Englund said.

Other area champions included Holden Hawkins of Sisseton who won his second straight championship, Talon Ping and Chase Hurd of Miller-Highmore-Harrold, and Jacksen Carter of Wessington Springs-Woonsocket-Wolsey-Wessington who capped off an undefeated season.

Central’s Grayden Timm fell in the finals at 175 pound in a 7-3 decision.

“Those points that that kid got, they came almost in bunches. It was just two explosive exchanges where we gave up those points,” Bowden said. “We got out of position twice, that was it. But in a match like that, that’s all it takes. Grayden wrestled a really good tournament.”

The Golden Eagles finished fourth in team points, capping a season that saw plenty of adversity forcing guys to step up and rise to the challenge.

“They all took advantage of opportunities when they got them,” Bowden said. “Everyone did their job when they needed to and this is where we ended up. I’m very proud of everyone that’s around the program.”

Aberdeen Central results

106: Henry Gillen
Champ. Round 1 – Colton Archer (Yankton) over Henry Gillen (Aberdeen Central) (MD 14-2)
Cons. Round 1 – Josh Deming (Brookings) over Henry Gillen (Aberdeen Central) (Dec 7-2)

113: Paxton Ewing
Champ. Round 1 – Paxton Ewing (Aberdeen Central) over Daniel Mason (Pierre T.F. Riggs) (TF 17-2 5:39)
Quarterfinals – Kaden Haakinson (West Central) over Paxton Ewing (Aberdeen Central) (TF 19-3 3:31)
Cons. Round 2 – Jonah Anderson (Watertown) over Paxton Ewing (Aberdeen Central) (Fall 3:26)

126: Mason Backous 4th
Champ. Round 1 – Mason Backous (Aberdeen Central) over Sebastian Castillo (Beresford/Alcester-Hudson) (MD 14-5)
Quarterfinals – Mason Backous (Aberdeen Central) over Bode Minder (Pierre T.F. Riggs) (Dec 4-0)
Semifinals – Beckett Rehorst (Brandon Valley) over Mason Backous (Aberdeen Central) (MD 21-9)
Cons. Semis – Mason Backous (Aberdeen Central) over Isaac Kauffman (Sioux Falls Lincoln) (Fall 0:56)
3rd Place Match – Brody Randall (Watertown) over Mason Backous (Aberdeen Central) (TF 18-0 3:57)

132: Jackson Dargatz 4th
Champ. Round 1 – Camden Tebay (Dell Rapids) over Jackson Dargatz (Aberdeen Central) (Dec 10-4)
Cons. Round 1 – Jackson Dargatz (Aberdeen Central) over Brayden Moser (Spearfish) (Dec 4-2)
Cons. Round 2 – Jackson Dargatz (Aberdeen Central) over Slater Wilson (Tea Area) (Dec 6-1)
Cons. Round 3 – Jackson Dargatz (Aberdeen Central) over Wyatt Davidson (Harrisburg) (MD 8-0)
Cons. Semis – Jackson Dargatz (Aberdeen Central) over Noah Bennett (Mitchell) (Dec 6-1)
3rd Place Match – Parker Graveman (Sturgis Brown) over Jackson Dargatz (Aberdeen Central) (MD 9-0)

138: Will Allen 8th
Champ. Round 1 – Will Allen (Aberdeen Central) over Alex Siemonsma (West Central) (Fall 5:56)
Quarterfinals – Tyler Woodring (Tea Area) over Will Allen (Aberdeen Central) (Fall 1:02)
Cons. Round 2 – Will Allen (Aberdeen Central) over Luther Morrison (Rapid City Central) (Dec 6-4)
Cons. Round 3 – Josiah Kauffman (Sioux Falls Lincoln) over Will Allen (Aberdeen Central) (Dec 11-9)
7th Place Match – Alex Siemonsma (West Central) over Will Allen (Aberdeen Central) (Dec 11-4)

144: Jude Sumner

Champ. Round 1 – Josiah Drummer (Sturgis Brown) over Jude Sumner (Aberdeen Central) (TF 21-4 5:51)
Cons. Round 1 – Aaron Tucker (Brandon Valley) over Jude Sumner (Aberdeen Central) (Fall 3:58)

150: Porter Lozenski 7th
Champ. Round 1 – Porter Lozenski (Aberdeen Central) over Kruse Brennan (Chamberlain) (Fall 5:46)
Quarterfinals – Braden Shoemaker (Brandon Valley) over Porter Lozenski (Aberdeen Central) (Dec 9-4)
Cons. Round 2 – Porter Lozenski (Aberdeen Central) over Jacob Milliron (Brookings) (Fall 4:10)
Cons. Round 3 – Trevin Audiss (Tea Area) over Porter Lozenski (Aberdeen Central) (SV-1 4-1)
7th Place Match – Porter Lozenski (Aberdeen Central) over Kruse Brennan (Chamberlain) (Dec 1-0)

157: Ridley Waldo 3rd
Champ. Round 1 – Ridley Waldo (Aberdeen Central) over Trevor Cordell (Tea Area) (TF 15-0 1:08)
Quarterfinals – Ridley Waldo (Aberdeen Central) over Logan Johns (Harrisburg) (MD 10-0)
Semifinals – Caleb Hodges (Madison) over Ridley Waldo (Aberdeen Central) (TF 21-4 4:54)
Cons. Semis – Ridley Waldo (Aberdeen Central) over Keanu Lee (O`Gorman) (MD 13-3)
3rd Place Match – Ridley Waldo (Aberdeen Central) over Logan Johns (Harrisburg) (MD 11-3)

165: Kaylor Swenson
Champ. Round 1 – Dylan Johnson (Harrisburg) over Kaylor Swenson (Aberdeen Central) (Dec 1-0)
Cons. Round 1 – Kaylor Swenson (Aberdeen Central) over Jerrod Larsen (Chamberlain) (Fall 0:50)
Cons. Round 2 – Greyson Deelstra (Sioux Falls Lincoln) over Kaylor Swenson (Aberdeen Central) (MD 17-4)

175: Grayden Timm 2nd
Champ. Round 1 – Grayden Timm (Aberdeen Central) over Theodore Volk (Spearfish) (Fall 0:53)
Quarterfinals – Grayden Timm (Aberdeen Central) over Landen Lewis (Watertown) (TF 18-0 3:10)
Semifinals – Grayden Timm (Aberdeen Central) over Tayge Privett (Harrisburg) (MD 12-2)
1st Place Match – Levi Veskrna (Brandon Valley) over Grayden Timm (Aberdeen Central) (Dec 7-3)

190: Owen Ward 1st
Champ. Round 1 – Owen Ward (Aberdeen Central) over Norman Wilson (Lakota Tech) (Fall 0:24)
Quarterfinals – Owen Ward (Aberdeen Central) over Lucas Chaparro (Huron) (Fall 2:55)
Semifinals – Owen Ward (Aberdeen Central) over Padraig Fulton (Vermillion) (Fall 2:47)
1st Place Match – Owen Ward (Aberdeen Central) over Kelson Dirk (Sturgis Brown) (SV-1 14-11)

120: Esten Foss 4th
Champ. Round 1 – Esten Foss (Aberdeen Central) over Kadrian Moreno (Huron) (Fall 1:48)
Quarterfinals – Bentley Klinkhammer (West Central) over Esten Foss (Aberdeen Central) (Dec 3-2)
Cons. Round 2 – Esten Foss (Aberdeen Central) over Hunter Mellon (Brookings) (Fall 0:44)
Cons. Round 3 – Esten Foss (Aberdeen Central) over Aaron Halbur (Tea Area) (Fall 2:25)
Cons. Semis – Esten Foss (Aberdeen Central) over Owen Serck (Beresford/Alcester-Hudson) (Fall 2:03)
3rd Place Match – Bentley Klinkhammer (West Central) over Esten Foss (Aberdeen Central) (Dec 3-2)

You can browse the entire event on Trackwrestling using the following link.
https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/predefinedtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=930351132