RAPID CITY – Aberdeen Central put half of its 14-man contingent through to the semifinals of the Class A boys’ wrestling state tournament after the opening day of action Thursday at The Monument.

Additionally, the Golden Eagles had five others who won their first-round match, but couldn’t quite pull off a quarterfinals victory.

“We got 12 through to the quarters and seven to the semis,” said Central coach Donnie Bowden. “Those other five (that didn’t make the semis) were battling and they were right there.”

As a result, the Golden Eagles finished the day with 86.5 points and sit in second place behind Sturgis.

“Us and Sturgis have separated ourselves from the field,” Bowden said. “There’s 30 points between us and the next teams.”

Those advancing to the semifinals for Central include Jackson Dargatz (106 pounds), Esten Foss (113), Ridley Waldo (144), Owen Ward (150), Mason Schrempp (157), Grayden Timm (175) and Cole Dunalvy (190).

Notably, Timm earned his spot in the semis with a sudden victory decision over Milbank’s Tate Schlueter in the quarterfinals.

That battle was indicative of how the Golden Eagles performed throughout the day, Bowden said.

“That’s what it is, just a gritty performance,” Bowden said. “Being tough to kill means we’re not going to take no for an answer, you’re going to have to outwork us and that’s tough to do. These guys feed off each other. They really battled hard.”

Porter Lozenski (132), Tate Huff (138), Elias Biegler (165), Ryker Meister (215) and Joran Foss (185) all won their opening round matches before falling into Friday’s wrestlebacks with quarterfinal losses.

In Class B action, a plethora of individuals advanced to the semifinals of their respective weight brackets, thus, assuring themselves of a place on the podium come Saturday.

That group includes Warner-Northwestern’s Preston Cavalier, the lone Monarch to qualify for the state tournament. 

Clark-Willow Lake and Sisseton both put three men through to the semifinals. For Sisseton, that includes Kaden Tchida (113), Ian Metz (126) and Holden Hawkins (157), all returning placewinners from the 2024 tournament when the Redmen competed at the Class A level.

Webster’s Haedon Jorgenson, last year’s runner-up at 138, is back in the semis this season, while Miller-Highmore-Harrold’s Kellan Hurd, a returning champion at 138, is in the semis at 144.

Canton leads the way in the Class B team scoring with 80 points. Clark/Willow Lake sits in sixth place with 33.5 points, with Sisseton just behind in eighth place with 31.5 points.

To see today’s opening round results, click on the following link:

https://www.trackwrestling.com/predefinedtournaments/MainFrame.jsp?newSession=false&TIM=1740721346731&pageName=%2Fpredefinedtournaments%2FTournamentHub.jsp&twSessionId=ozmgvwgcsm