Well Blue Dragons wrestling fans, our season has come to an end. I am very proud of the young men that competed all season for our team. They worked hard every day, many of them never getting an opportunity to wrestle a varsity match. They did so knowing the preparation was for their future, but also for the individual success of the team members that did compete in the post-season. It was another exciting state tournament with many exciting matches and plenty of heartbreakers as well. I am very pleased with the effort from the six individuals that wrestled this past weekend. We graduate Brady
Bonte as a four time state placewinner and Matt Bankes, who reached the tournament for the first time and made the most of it. These two young men will be missed as our program continues to improve and work towards being one of the best in the state. Canton won their first ever team title finishing with 123.5 points. Tri-Valley finished in second with 106.5 points. The remainder of the top 8 teams include in order: Webster Area (105 pts.), Wagner (103.5 pts.), Winner (102 pts.), Flandreau (88 pts.), Parkston (78.5 pts.), and Howard (73.5 pts.) The Blue Dragons finished in a tie for 14th with Clark/Willow Lake and Harding County with 44 points. Individual results are below:
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Thomas Howe wrestled most of the season with a very difficult wrist injury. There was a point in the season that I really hoped Thomas could just place at the state tournament due to the injury. He was able to earn that state placing, but came up short of his personal goals. He was dealt a tough loss in the quarterfinal round of the tournament. I was pleased with how he rebounded to win in the next round to earn his placing. Many people feel the second-round wrestlebacks may be the toughest round of the tournament after having a tough loss. Thomas overcame his emotions to earn that victory and then battle his way to fifth place. I look forward to Thomas competing next year as a senior.
* won by fall over Alex Caba (Bon Homme) 1:50
* lost by decision to Oliver Aesoph (Faulkton) 9 - 5
* won by decision over Nick Dion (Wagner) 3 - 1
* won by fall over Nathan Jones (Britton) 4:06
* lost by decision to Kurt Braun (Burke/Gregory) 6 - 2
* won by decision over Jared Hueser (Elk Point-Jefferson) 4 - 2
* 5th place finish in the Class B State Tournament
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Tyler Willems wrestled well in his first state tournament. Unfortunately for Tyler, he fell victim to the future state runner-up in the first round. He then was leading, but was caught by a desperate opponent that pulled out a come-from-behind pin. Tyler made great strides in his wrestling skills this season, and he will be an important part of what our team does next season.
* lost by fall to Sean Bice (Winner) 3:24
* lost by fall to Grady Carley (Philip) 3:11
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Colby Pierret wrestled a great tournament, but was stuck with some bad luck to come up short of placing. In the opening round, he fell short after nearly completing a tying takedown to put the match into overtime. He rebounded well the next two rounds, but happened to suffer a head injury in his final match after hitting his head on the officials knee. Colby really wrestled well over the last month of the season. I look forward to him improving in the off-season and having a highly succesful senior year next season.
* lost by decision to Lincoln Stoebner (Bon Homme) 5 - 3
* won by fall over Lukas Kallas (Ipswich/Leola) 0:47
* lost by decision to Casey Heninger (Stanley County) 4 - 3
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Sean McPadden competed in his first state tournament and came up a bit short. He arguably wrestled in one of the toughest weight classes in the tournament. I was pleased with his effort, and he gained some valuable experience for his senior season. I hope the "taste in his mouth" makes him want to work extra hard in the off-season. Sean has improved every season and looks to finish his career next season with a better ending. He took a gamble late in the year to change weight classes. That gamble worked, but now Sean will want to come home with some hardware next year.
* lost by fall to Bryce Sichmeller (Webster) 3:46
* lost by major decision to Clayton Wahlstrom (Custer) 11 - 1
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Brady Bonte wrestled a great tournament to close out his career. Unfortunately, Brady also had to experience one of the toughest things that wrestling can do to an individual. He made one mistake in his semifinal match to put himself into an early hole. He battled continuously throughout the rest of the match to put himself in a position to win. The heartbreak of wrestling reared its ugly head at this point. Brady appeared to secure the winning takedown only to have the official feel it was not earned. I still can't understand the logic on the no-call, but it definitely appears that Brady could have been in the finals with a takedown call. Brady had to return for two more matches after the loss. This is where I couldn't be more proud of him. He responded with two big wins to earn third place. Sometimes we can't explain why things happen in our sport. Brady kept his head high and went out with a great finish.
* won by fall over Logan Ammons (Philip) 1:22
* won by fall over Chad Sjurson (Webster) 4:20
* lost be decision to Ryne Baier (Harding County) 8 - 7
* won by major decision over Nathan Gruis (Tri-Valley) 13 - 0
* won by fall over Bryce Sayler (Marion/Freeman) 1:35
* 3rd place finish in the Class B State Tournament
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Matt Bankes made the most of his first state tournament by earning a placing. I am very pleased with the improvement Matt has made in his wrestling skills over his career. He put in the time and effort in practice to make himself better. I couldn't be more happy for him to end his career as a state placewinner. He fell behind early in the second round wrestleback match. If he wins that match, he places in the tournament. Instead of getting flustered, Matt stuck to his game plan and was able to earn the comeback victory by fall. His contribution to our program over the years will be missed next season.
* lost by major decision to Dyllan Knutson (Webster) 11 - 3
* won by fall over Gavin DeVries (Philip) 1:39
* won by fall over Jess Oliver (Lemmon/McIntosh) 2:21
* lost by fall to Parker Yost (Redfield/Doland) 0:38
* lost by major decision to Branden Tuttle (Winner) 11 - 3
* 8th place finish at the Class B State Tournament
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