PIERRE – Aberdeen Central finished second at the State A Dual Wrestling Tournament on Saturday.

The Golden Eagles, seeded second, fell to top-seeded Sturgis 39-14 in the championship match. It was only the second dual setback for Central this season, both coming to Sturgis.

“It’s something to be proud of to get second,” said Central coach Donnie Bowden. “We went out there and we fought hard today, and there was really good effort. The kids fought all year. To lose two duals and only to one team, it was a pretty good season.”

Bowden said the dual was much closer than the final score indicated.

“I know the dual score looks like there’s a pretty big separation there, but a lot of those matches were tight, and really contested. … We battled really hard,” Bowden said.

The runner-up finish was the highest ever for Central in the dual tournament.

“Every year that we’ve been coming for the last three years, we’ve kind of stepped up a rung,” Bowden said. “The first year we got sixth, last year we got third, and this year we made it into the final. It’s progress.”

Bowden said the Golden Eagles plan on using the second-place performance to fuel their effort for the upcoming region this weekend and then the state tournament the week after that.

“That’s where we’re at. We’re going to use it for motivation. … They’re ready to move on,” Bowden said. “They’re for ready for the individual part of the season with regions and state coming forward.”

Earlier in the day Central defeated Harrisburg 53-19, and Brandon Valley 48-23.

When asked about the highlight of the day, Bowden responded, “I think it was overall team effort. I think the kids fought really hard. I think we gave up two falls, that’s it.”

The Golden Eagles were led by seniors Mason Schrempp, and Joran Foss, and eighth-grader Jackson Dargatz, who all went undefeated on the day.

“Those guys are always guys we look to to score points,” Bowden said. “It doesn’t matter how old they are. Those guys had a really good day.”

Central will compete in the Region 3A Tournament in Eagle Butte on Saturday and then the State A Tournament the following week in Rapid City.

Now that the dual season has finished, the Golden Eagles will focus on the individual portion to wrap up the year.

“It was a good day. It was a good way to wrap the dual season,” Bowden said. “Like I told the kids, this is the start of postseason, we’ve still got a ways to go. … It’s not the end. It’s the beginning of the postseason. We’ve got two more weeks to go and two more weeks to get better.”

Aberdeen Central 53, Harrisburg 19
190: Cole Dunlavy (ABCE) over Tayden Nguyen (HARR) (Fall 0:20) 215: Brody Sonnenschein (HARR) over Ryker Meister (ABCE) (Fall 5:35) 285: Joran Foss (ABCE) over Nile Laake (HARR) (Fall 1:32) 106: Jackson Dargatz (ABCE) over Jonah Aadland (HARR) (Fall 3:54);

113: Paxton Ewing (ABCE) over (HARR) (For.) 120: Esten Foss (ABCE) over Myles Kettwig (HARR) (MD 12-4) 126: Wyatt Davidson (HARR) over Will Allen (ABCE) (MD 19-10) 132: Tristan Stoeser (HARR) over Porter Lozenski (ABCE) (Dec 5-2) 138: Brody Aesoph (ABCE) over Aiden Ellerbroek (HARR) (TF 23-5 3:01);

144: Lincoln Peters (HARR) over Brody Beitlespacher (ABCE) (Fall 0:42) 150: Owen Ward (ABCE) over Connor Bain (HARR) (Fall 0:28) 157: Elias Biegler (ABCE) over Dylan Johnson (HARR) (MD 10-0) 165: Mason Schrempp (ABCE) over Tayge Privett (HARR) (MD 19-5) 175: Grayden Timm (ABCE) over Eli Hutton (HARR) (Fall 1:26).

Aberdeen Central 48, Brandon Valley 23
215: Elijah Schunke (BRVA) over Ryker Meister (ABCE) (TF 18-3 4:39) 285: Joran Foss (ABCE) over Ethan Schleicher (BRVA) (Fall 0:19) 106: Jackson Dargatz (ABCE) over Isaac Weerhein (BRVA) (Fall 2:00) 113: Paxton Ewing (ABCE) over Braylon Bach (BRVA) (TF 21-5 4:00);

120: Beckett Rehorst (BRVA) over Esten Foss (ABCE) (MD 14-6) 126: Brendon Oehme (BRVA) over Will Allen (ABCE) (TF 18-3 3:18) 132: Hayden McGuire (BRVA) over Porter Lozenski (ABCE) (MD 14-4) 138: Tate Huff (ABCE) over Aaron Tucker (BRVA) (Dec 9-5) 144: Braden Shoemaker (BRVA) over Brody Aesoph (ABCE) (TF 20-5 5:43);

150: Owen Ward (ABCE) over Jack Nelson (BRVA) (Fall 1:49) 157: Elias Biegler (ABCE) over Judah Larson (BRVA) (Fall 0:58) 165: Mason Schrempp (ABCE) over Levi Veskrna (BRVA) (MD 19-7) 175: Grayden Timm (ABCE) over Ethan Tucker (BRVA) (Fall 1:44) 190: Cole Dunlavy (ABCE) over (BRVA) (For.).

Sturgis 39, Aberdeen Central 14
285: Joran Foss (ABCE) over Tyce Uherka (STBR) (Dec 2-1) 106: Jackson Dargatz (ABCE) over Sullivan Sigman (STBR) (Dec 6-0) 113: Tyler Baldwin (STBR) over Paxton Ewing (ABCE) (TF 19-4 4:45) 120: Mason Hagen (STBR) over Esten Foss (ABCE) (Dec 4-1);
126: Tarver Zebroski (STBR) over Will Allen (ABCE) (Dec 9-3) 132: Parker Graveman (STBR) over Porter Lozenski (ABCE) (TF 22-5 5:25) 138: Benjamin Nadig (STBR) over Tate Huff (ABCE) (TF 18-2 4:30) 144: Jace Thurman (STBR) over Brody Aesoph (ABCE) (Dec 4-0) 150: Kalvin Ketelsen (STBR) over Owen Ward (ABCE) (Dec 8-6);

157: Joseph Nadig (STBR) over Elias Biegler (ABCE) (Dec 2-1) 165: Mason Schrempp (ABCE) over Cade Willnerd (STBR) (TF 21-5 5:24) 175: Zhoel Irion (STBR) over Grayden Timm (ABCE) (Dec 5-3) 190: Kelson Dirk (STBR) over Cole Dunlavy (ABCE) (Fall 3:11) 215: Ryker Meister (ABCE) over Gunnar Sarkela (STBR) (Dec 4-1).