Monday, March 16, 2020

Post Season Wrestling

It's been a crazy month and I've gotten behind on my blogging but the cancellation of events has given me some time to catch up. The high school season came to a close with a very fun weekend in Sioux Falls at the Premiere Center. The two class environment coupled with the team duals and other changes made for a great event. I look forward to the changes on the schedule next year to make it even better. Before the state tourney however, were the Regions. Aberdeen qualified 7 wrestlers to the state tourney. Here is the breakdown by weight class.


106: Jacob Bellefeuille. the Freshman finished in 4th place to qualify for state. won his opening match by a major decision, lost in the semi finals then a major decision over Johsnon from Milbank got him to state.
113: Brenden Salfrank. The top ranked wrestler in the state rolled through regions earning a tech fall in the finals over Trey Lewis from Pierre.
120: Avery Ligon: New to the starting lineup the 8th grader found himself in a close match to make it to the state tourney. Although he came up short he showed he can compete at the varsity level. I look forward to watching him next year.
126: Brock Martin. The Sophomore got 4th earning a tech fall in the opening round before losing a close one to Houska from Pierre. He bounced back with a decision to go to the state tourney.
132: Drew Salfrank. Drew battled some health issues this year but was able to get in the lineup for the region tourney. The talented freshman earned a fall over Halfred from Cheyenne Eagle Butte before losing in the blood round. I look forward to seeing him throughout the next few years.
138: Calvin Beadle: The sophomore showed glimpses of success throughout the year. The potential is there for Calvin to have a great career going forward.
145: Braydon Steuck. The feel good story of the weekend has to be Braydon. A 10th grader who has seen some limited action in the lineup but came into the region tourney unseeded. He found himself in a battle to qualify for the state tourney wrestling the 3 seed in Cody Skutstad from Chamberlain. Braydon beat him 10-8 in a very exciting match to punch his ticket to state.
152: Samuel Calvert. Sam had a good tournament finishing in 2nd place. He won by fall in the opening round to face the 2 seed in Ryan McGinnis from Mitchel. Sam beat him 5-4 to get to the finals and punching his ticket to the state tourney.
160: Garrett Mitzel. the Senior finished in 3rd place getting 3 pins along the way. He pinned Dillon Schneck from Milbank in that 3rd place match.
170: Dylan Schaunaman. The sophomore lost in the blood round to qualify. He got a lot of matches in this year and gained a lot of experience. Look to see him take big strides next year.
182: Open
195: Dillon Stoebner. Earned a pin, a decision and a major decision over Chamberlain's Gunner Ristau to earn a 3rd place finish.
220: Samson Flakus. Only an 8th grader and has a lot of potential. I am sad to hear he will be moving to Brookings at the end of the school year.
285: Connor Bockorny. He earned a fall to open the tourney then found himself in the blood round where he lost a very close match to the state runner up from last year in Beau Foote. Connor threw Foote to his back in the first period but couldn't get the fall. Connor had a good year and I look forward to seeing him on the football field playing for NSU.


The state tournament is now a 3 day event mixing in the team duals. I enjoyed the duals, there was some close ones with lineups juggling around and upsets throughout. I believe the schedule needs tweaking and am told it will be adjusted for next year. One of the positives was having the semi finals wrestled by themselves. I'm hopeful next year will have the semi finals Friday night followed with the team finals.
As previously mentioned we qualified 7 for the state tournament. The team finished in 15th place with 50 points which is the first time since 2013 that we haven't been on the podium. However, the streak of at least one state champion is still intact as Brenden Salfrank won the 113 lb. bracket for back to back state titles. Rapid City Stevens won its second state team title in a row in an exciting, back and forth finish with Brandon Valley and Watertown. Stevens won by a single point over Brandon valley with 159 to their 158. Watertown was only 4.5 points from the team title with 154.5 total points. Rounding out the top 6 was Pierre, Rapid City Central and Chamberlain.
On the Team dual side, Rapid City Stevens made it a sweep taking the title over Watertown which came down to the very end. An entertaining dual to watch.


106: Jacob Bellefuille. Jacob lost to the 5 seed in the opening round but bounced back to beat Eldeen from Mitchel. He lost to Evan Osborn from Sturgis in the blood round. A good season for Jacob, one he can use as a springboard to the future.
113: Brenden Salfrank. STATE CHAMPION. As Brenden has done all year he showed his dominance on his feet earning an opening round fall followed by two tech falls then a 3-0 decision in the finals over Kaden Olson from Sturgis. He finished his career with an 89 win streak going undefeated the last two seasons. Brenden will continue his career wrestling for NSU.
126: Brock Martin. After an opening round loss Brock pinned Caleb Klatt form Brandon Valley but lost in the blood round. Brock had a wonderful season posting a winning record. I'm looking forward to seeing how he progresses in the next two years.
145: Braydon Steuck. He went 0-2 at the tourney but the experience he gained is immeasurable.
152: Sam Calvert. Although he didn't win a match at the state tourney you could see how he turned a corner late in the year. The Junior has one season left. Look for him to find a podium finish next year.
160: Garrett Mitzel. 8th Place Finish. Garrett earned the 9th seed and drew the 8th seed Gee from Del Rapids in the opening round. Gee came in with an impressive 32-15 record but Garret stuck him in the 2nd period. A loss in the quarter finals sent him to the blood round where he would face Schneck from Milbank. A second period pin earned him a spot on the podium. A winning record this season for Garrett who is one of the hardest workers in the room. Congrats to Garrett.
195: Dillon Stoebner. 5th Place Finish. Dillon was the 8 seed and after a tough opening round loss he needed two straight wins to place. Dillon did just that pinning Rapid City Central's Jon DeRuyter then beating Holtquist from Milbank to place. Another decision over Zuniga from Spearfish then a loss to wrestle for 5th place. Dillon came through with a fall in his final match of his career over Wirtjes from Watertrown who beat him in the opening round. Dillon finishes his career as a two time state place winner and will play football next year in college for NSU.


We placed 3 kids at the state tourney, all 3 were seniors and will be missed in the wrestling room. We had a lot of young, inexperienced guys in the lineup this year who took their lumps. They will need to step up next year and show that leadership needed for the incoming freshman and 8th graders that will crack that lineup. Our middle school is solid with good numbers and a lot of really good wrestlers. I expect to see several of them will be in the lineup next year and be major contributors to the team.
The AAU postseason got cancelled a few days before the Region tournament. Aberdeen sent 78 kids to the District tourney and 75 qualified for Regions. It was disappointing the post season got cancelled because I expected a record number of state placers this year and was really looking forward to seeing us compete at the youth tourney.


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