RAPID CITY – The area was well represented on the podiums during the final day of the Class A and Class B State Wrestling Tournaments at The Monument in Rapid City on Saturday afternoon.
Four area wrestlers won individual state championships, while Aberdeen Central finished second in Class A team points.
The Sisseton duo of Ian Metz and Holden Hawkins claimed State B crowns as did Kellan Hurd of Miller-Highmore-Harrold, and Northern State football recruit Holden Havlik of Wessington Springs-Woonsocket-Wolsey-Wessington.
Metz was selected the Class B Outstanding Wrestler following the tourney after winning the title at 126 pounds.
“It feels great to be a state champion, knowing that all the hard work over the past years has paid off and was all worth it,” Metz said. “I couldn’t do any of this without my coaches and teammates, so I would like to give them a huge thank you for making me the wrestler I am today and for getting me to my goals.”
Metz actually fell behind and trailed 3-1 in the title match before finishing strong for a 5-4 victory.
“Usually the first takedown is huge, especially in big matches like that,” Metz said, “but I knew if I wanted to accomplish my goals of becoming a state champion I had to push through and come back.”
He said getting more points for his team was also a big motivator as the Redmen finished eighth in team points.
The Outstanding Wrestler Award was just icing on the cake.
“Winning the Outstanding Wrestler Award was an amazing honor and I honestly never even thought I was in the running, so when I heard my name called, it shocked me,” Metz said, “but it felt amazing to know that all the coaches in the state were impressed with how I wrestled and performed, and thought I deserved it.”
Central’s Mason Schrempp fell to Jacob Williams of Rapid City Stevens 4-2 in the Class A finals at 157 pounds. Schrempp appeared to be on the verge of multiple takedowns, but could never quite accomplish it.
“It was kind of one of those matches, when you’re outwrestling the kid but you’re not getting the points to fall,” said Central coach Donnie Bowden. “There was a lot of opportunities on the edge of the mats that we didn’t get the guy pulled back in or that’s where the action took place. It’s hard to win matches that way. You can’t score points that way, so it’s hard to win.”
Hurd capped his career by claiming his third state championship with a first-period pin in the finals at 144 pounds.
“I tried to come out just like every other match,” Hurd said. “I knew he would kind of be more defensive, so I knew I would have push the pace and that’s what I tried to do.”
The senior thanked his coaches along with his dad.
“My father (Jonathan Hurd) has pushed me through the whole thing,” he said.
Hurd said he was relaxed in the title match and just wrestled like he normally does.
“Getting my rest and making sure that I was just wrestling my match,” Hurd said of the key to his performance. “Doing the best I can, wrestling like I know how to wrestle, and it turned out good.”
Central capped a stellar season with a second-place finish in team points, despite a tough round of wrestlebacks on Friday.
“To kind of have the up and down weekend that we did and still be able to get second place, that just speaks volumes to what this team was able to do,” Bowden said.
The Golden Eagles put nine wrestlers on the podium and received third-place finishes from Jackson Dargatz, Ridley Waldo, and Grayden Timm.
“All our nine guys that found the podium they found another gear,” Bowden said. “They stepped up this weekend.”
Other Central placewinners were: fourth place Esten Foss, fifth place Ryker Meister, and sixth place Owen Ward, Elias Biegler, and Cole Dunlavy.
Other top five area placewinners included: second place Jacksen Carter of WSWWW, Haeden Jorgenson of Webster, Preston Cavalier of Warner-Northwestern, third place Cade Gaikowski of Clark-Willow Lake, Kayden Tchida of Sisseton, Talon Ping of Miller-Highmore-Harrold, Gavin Kloos of Deuel-Deubrook Area, Camden Murry of Redfield, and Dale Westburg Award winner Lincoln Dikoff of Faulkton; fourth place Kaden Wookey and Cooper Pommer of Clark-Willow Lake, Christian Ehresmann of Groton, and Landon Coyle of Faulkton; and fifth place Maddon Odland of Redfield, Jordan Schaefer of Miller-Highmore-Harrold, Korbin Whiteley of Deuel-Deubrook Area, Josh Kannegieter of Clark-Willow Lake, and Jimmy Burma of Sunshine Bible.
Following the tourney, Bowden talked about the bright future of the Golden Eagles, despite losing five seniors.
“There’s going to be a little bit of changing of the guard when you have that many quality seniors on your team and kind of led you,” Bowden said, “but these guys have followed them. They understand the way and now they’re ready to take the lead.”
Bowden also reflected on the past season.
“I’m really pleased with this team and what they were able to accomplish this year,” Bowden said. “They always stuck together. That was the biggest thing. They fought together, they stuck together, it’s a family.”
To see complete tournament results, click on the following link:
Boys' Wrestling
Metz, Hawkins, Hurd, Havlik win titles, Central finishes second
Girls' Wrestling
Groton’s Krueger wins state title, Central places five girls
Boys' Hockey
Cougars’ closing flurry overtakes Mitchell
Women's Basketball
Wolves set to open NSIC tourney against Sioux Falls
Boys Basketball
Norberg stepping down as Central boys’ coach
Girls Basketball
Langager leaving lasting impact on Sisseton program
Men's Basketball
Phillips no longer NSU men’s basketball coach
Boys Basketball
Norberg stepping down as Central boys’ coach
