HURON – Aberdeen Central put two wrestlers in the finals and had multiple top-four finishes en route to a third place team showing at the Eastern South Dakota Conference girls’ wrestling tournament Thursday.

Madison Little (100 pounds) and Lin Paw Jone (145) each reached the championship bout of their respective brackets before coming up just short in those matches.

Jasmine Maas (126), Rakyrah Wallace (138), Lilly Nelson (164) and Augustina Hieb (185) each garnered third place finishes, while Allison Neitzel (132) and Grace Reszler (152) claimed fourth.

All told, it added up to an even 100 points for the Golden Eagles and a third place showing behind Pierre (198 points) and Watertown (108).

“I kind of had that idea in mind for a top-four finish,” said Golden Eagles coach Jake Flakus. “I thought we could have placed second, and we were really close to that. You know a tournament like this, every match matters, every bonus point matters, and we just came up a little short. But third place is still something to hold their head high about.”

Little and Jone each had to wrestle well just to get to the finals, Flakus said, including a dramatic win by Jone in the semifinals.

“Both beat really good girls in the semis,” Flakus said. “Lin had a really big win getting a takedown in the last second to get there. That was good to see.”

Even having six girls battling for third showed a bit of resilience for the Golden Eagles.

“Some of the other girls that got third or even fourth, they lost a match early in the day,” Flakus said. “That can be disheartening when you lose in the semis and now you’ve got to keep wrestling and you’re not going for first, but a lot of them found a way to battle back and win a couple matches to get that third place finish.”

The Golden Eagles will now turn their attention toward the postseason, including a new format for qualifying for the state tournament. Previously, girls wrestlers advanced to the state tournament based solely on their full-season body of work.

Now they’ll need to earn those state berths on the mat.

“I think we’ve had our eyes set on this for a while,” Flakus noted. “We’ve known we’re going to have a home region tournament. It’ll be a little bit different, just because last year girls would be decided on who will make it to state after wrestling the whole year and who they beat. Now they’ll have to actually go beat some girls … to qualify. It might be a little nerve-wracking, but I think the girls are looking forward to that opportunity.”

Central will host that Region 3 tournament next Thursday at Golden Eagles Arena. Action begins at 3 p.m.

Team scores: 1, Pierre, 198; 2, Watertown, 108; 3, Aberdeen Central, 100; 4, Harrisburg, 94.5; 5, Brookings, 63; 6, Yankton, 58.5; 7, Mitchell, 49.5; 8, Brandon, 42; 9, Tea Area, 26.5; 10, Huron, 9.

Aberdeen Central results

100 – Madison Little (38-9) placed 2nd

Quarterfinal – Madison Little (Aberdeen Central) 38-9 won by decision over Gracie Peters (Brandon Valley) 25-17 (Dec 3-0)

Semifinal – Madison Little (Aberdeen Central) 38-9 won by major decision over Emery Voelker (Tea Area) 14-10 (MD 12-3)

1st Place Match – Shaylee Speck (Pierre TF Riggs) 27-3 won by major decision over Madison Little (Aberdeen Central) 38-9 (MD 13-0)

114 – Arianna Goldade (12-18)

Quarterfinal – Lilly Toft (Brookings) 30-11 won by fall over Arianna Goldade (Aberdeen Central) 12-18 (Fall 1:32)

Cons. Round 1 – Leah Nelson (Brandon Valley) 11-18 won by decision over Arianna Goldade (Aberdeen Central) 12-18 (Dec 7-0)

120 – Jashila Williams (6-18)

Champ. Round 1 – Jashila Williams (Aberdeen Central) 6-18 received a bye () (Bye)

Quarterfinal – Ramsie Hinricher (Brookings) 19-14 won by fall over Jashila Williams (Aberdeen Central) 6-18 (Fall 1:57)

Cons. Round 2 – Jashila Williams (Aberdeen Central) 6-18 received a bye () (Bye)

Cons. Round 3 – Jersey Lewis (Pierre TF Riggs) 15-17 won by fall over Jashila Williams (Aberdeen Central) 6-18 (Fall 1:23)

126 – Jasmine Maas (40-13) placed 3rd

Quarterfinal – Jasmine Maas (Aberdeen Central) 40-13 won by fall over Ashton Grimmius (Brandon Valley) 6-6 (Fall 0:15)

Semifinal – Hadley Bryant (Harrisburg) 20-9 won by decision over Jasmine Maas (Aberdeen Central) 40-13 (Dec 12-5)

Cons. Semi – Jasmine Maas (Aberdeen Central) 40-13 won by fall over Kami Erickson (Brookings) 26-13 (Fall 0:40)

3rd Place Match – Jasmine Maas (Aberdeen Central) 40-13 won by fall over Danny Borja (Mitchell) 8-3 (Fall 2:14)

132 – Allison Neitzel (31-15) placed 4th

Quarterfinal – Allison Neitzel (Aberdeen Central) 31-15 won by fall over Say Glay (Huron) 25-19 (Fall 2:32)

Semifinal – Regina Stoeser (Harrisburg) 6-1 won by fall over Allison Neitzel (Aberdeen Central) 31-15 (Fall 1:47)

Cons. Semi – Allison Neitzel (Aberdeen Central) 31-15 won by fall over Liliana Luque (Mitchell) 16-18 (Fall 2:13)

3rd Place Match – Lainey Haines (Tea Area) 25-9 won by fall over Allison Neitzel (Aberdeen Central) 31-15 (Fall 2:17)

138 – Rakyrah Wallace (34-14) placed 3rd

Quarterfinal – Rakyrah Wallace (Aberdeen Central) 34-14 won by fall over Sonia Romero (Mitchell) 5-24 (Fall 0:48)

Semifinal – Brenna Reker (Brandon Valley) 31-15 won by decision over Rakyrah Wallace (Aberdeen Central) 34-14 (Dec 5-1)

Cons. Semi – Rakyrah Wallace (Aberdeen Central) 34-14 won by fall over Baw Eh (Huron) 13-21 (Fall 1:34)

3rd Place Match – Rakyrah Wallace (Aberdeen Central) 34-14 won by decision over Jaclyn Kyte (Yankton) 24-18 (Dec 5-1)

145 – Lin Paw Jone (30-14) placed 2nd

Quarterfinal – Lin Paw Jone (Aberdeen Central) 30-14 received a bye () (Bye)

Semifinal – Lin Paw Jone (Aberdeen Central) 30-14 won by decision over Sammie Reil (Harrisburg) 17-10 (Dec 5-4)

1st Place Match – Ireland Templeton (Pierre TF Riggs) 26-3 won by major decision over Lin Paw Jone (Aberdeen Central) 30-14 (MD 8-0)

152 – Grace Reszler (20-16) placed 4th

Quarterfinal – Grace Reszler (Aberdeen Central) 20-16 received a bye () (Bye)

Semifinal – Emerson Skuodas (Harrisburg) 22-8 won by fall over Grace Reszler (Aberdeen Central) 20-16 (Fall 1:27)

Cons. Semi – Grace Reszler (Aberdeen Central) 20-16 won by major decision over Bailey Groetken (Yankton) 13-16 (MD 11-0)

3rd Place Match – Nevaeh Schanbeck (Watertown) 18-15 won by fall over Grace Reszler (Aberdeen Central) 20-16 (Fall 4:18)

165 – Lilly Nelson (29-12) placed 3rd

Quarterfinal – Lilly Nelson (Aberdeen Central) 29-12 received a bye () (Bye)

Semifinal – Taylor DeJong (Mitchell) 20-10 won by major decision over Lilly Nelson (Aberdeen Central) 29-12 (MD 15-2)

Cons. Semi – Lilly Nelson (Aberdeen Central) 29-12 won by fall over Paola Fernandez Fernandez (Huron) 12-22 (Fall 1:59)

3rd Place Match – Lilly Nelson (Aberdeen Central) 29-12 won by fall over Jayda Steinke (Pierre TF Riggs) 14-12 (Fall 0:43)

185 – Augustina Hieb (14-12) placed 3rd

Quarterfinal – Augustina Hieb (Aberdeen Central) 14-12 received a bye () (Bye)

Semifinal – Kyanne Traversie-Johnson (Pierre TF Riggs) 16-15 won by fall over Augustina Hieb (Aberdeen Central) 14-12 (Fall 5:09)

Cons. Semi – Augustina Hieb (Aberdeen Central) 14-12 won by fall over Tayla Schiltz (Harrisburg) 11-13 (Fall 1:48)

3rd Place Match – Augustina Hieb (Aberdeen Central) 14-12 won by fall over Aleya Ruzicka (Yankton) 10-22 (Fall 0:58)