Blue Dragons finish in 3rd at Jesse James Invitational with 125 points

The Blue Dragons hosted their final home event of the season with the Jesse James Invitational. The host team finished in third place with 125 points. Tri-Valley won the tournament with 187.5 points followed by Canton with 168. The other teams finished in order of Fulda/Murray County Central (103), Dell Rapids (102), Flandreau (99), and Luverne (31). We were able to wrestle some unattached wrestlers in the tournament which allowed our younger kids to get some varsity experience. Our team looked good Saturday competing in the tournament. We are eliminating most mistakes and battling in every match. We had 10 wrestlers place in the top 4 with Thomas Howe and Brady Bonte winning titles. During the final 4 weeks of the regular season, we need to continue working on putting together complete matches: mentally, physically, and emotionally. When we put these together, the team will compete hard with some top results at the end of the season. The individual results from the tournament are below.

106 Tait Johnson
* lost by fall to Dylan Eldeen (TV) 2:44
* won by decision over Dylan Rice (FL) 4 - 3
* won by decision over Adam Fodness (LUV) 5 - 2
* lost by fall to Dylan Eldeen (TV) 3:22
     * 4th place finish

106 John Houg (wrestled unattached)
* lost by decision Adam Fodness (LUV) 7 - 3
* lost by major decision to Lathon Gorospe (DR) 9 - 1

113 Thomas Howe
* won by fall over James Lueders (DR) 0:24
* won by fall over Clayton Hartle (FMCC) 0:18
* won by decision over Jacob Thom (TV) 8 - 3
     * 1st place finish

120 Tyler Willems
* won by forfeit
* won by fall over Derek Dilts (CAN) 3:10
* lost by fall to Ryan Schuman (TV) 1:31
     * 2nd place finish

120 Jacob Fitzgerald (wrestled unattached)
* won by fall over Ty Klinnert (TV) 1:33
* lost by fall to Ryan Schuman (TV) 2:40
* won by fall over Sutton Adams (DR) 3:43
* won by decision over Ty Klinnert (TV) 3 - 0
     * 3rd place finish

126 Colby Pierret
* won by major decision over Trevor Hallman (TV) 10 - 0
* lost by fall to Ryley Ostbye (CAN) 1:26
* won by fall over Brandon Oyen (TV) 2:02
* won by injury default over Nathan Beech (FMCC)
     * 3rd place finish

126 Brady Schleuter (wrestled unattached)
* lost by fall to Nathan Beech (FMCC) 3:52
* lost by injury default to Brandon Oyen (TV)

145 Tony Weiland
* lost by fall to Gage Plueger (CAN) 0:32
* lost by decision to Tanner Nelson (FMCC) 3 - 2

152 Sean McPadden
* won by fall over Casey Johnson (FL) 3:10
* lost by fall to Zach Schuman (TV) 1:59
* won by major decision over Spencer Oeltjenbruns (LUV) 9 - 1
* lost by fall to Phillip Schwebach (DR) 3:41
     * 4th place finish

160 Adrian Mendoza
* won by fall over Riece Tiernan (DR) 3:43
* lost by major decision to Caleb Heiberger (TV) 9 - 1
* won by fall over Nolan Mingledorff (FL) 4:05
* won by fall over Austin Schreurs (CAN) 2:39
     * 3rd place finish

170 Dylan Rouzer
* lost by major decision to Wyatt Aubert (LUV) 13 - 2
* lost by technical fall to Kyle Scofield (FL) 17 - 1

195 Brady Bonte
* won by forfeit
* won by decision over Tanner Ovre (CAN) 9 - 3
     * 1st place finish

220 Matt Bankes
* lost by fall to Brian Behrends (FMCC) 2:54
* won by fall over Caleb VanWyhe (CAN) 4:38
* won by fall over DJ Reker (LUV) 2:20
     * 3rd place finish

285 Tristen Wagner
* won by forfeit
* lost by fall to Kelby Nelson (CAN) 3:24
* lost by fall to Arron Benson (FMCC) 2:19
     * 4th place finish

Next action for the Blue Dragons is Thursday, the 12th, at Alcester for a quad with Alcester-Hudson, Lennox, and Beresford. The team travels to the Tri-Valley Invitational on Saturday, the 14th.

Quad in Howard - Blue Dragons go 2 - 1

The Blue Dragons traveled to Howard on the 5th to take on McCook Central/Montrose, Howard, and Parker. The team wrestled solid on the evening, but came up a bit short on the night falling to Howard. The overall performances are starting to clean up and the small mistakes are less and less. We now need to work on our mental preparation for matches. The preparation physically is coming together, but to reach their goals it will all have to come together. Results from the quad are below.

Garretson 45     McCook Central/Montrose
106 - Tait Johnson won by decision over Carl Bruening 3 - 2
113 - Thomas Howe won by fall over Caleb Krouse 0:49
120 - Tyler Willems won by technical fall over Trent Lunders 17 - 1
126 - Brady Schleuter won by fall over Justin Rief 1:45
132 - Colby Pierret won by decision over Dalton Combs 1 - 0
138 - Cole Lauck (MCM) won by forfeit
145 - Jerry Kappenman (MCM) won by forfeit
152 - Tony Weiland won by forfeit
160 - Sean McPadden won by technical fall over John Hoiten 15 - 0
170 - Dylan Rouzer lost by fall to Dominic Blindert 3:07
182 - Blake Severson lost by fall to Tad Reiner 5:28
195 - Brady Bonte won by forfeit
220 - Matt Bankes won by technical fall over Robert Hoiten 15 - 0
285 - Tristen Wagner lost by fall to Cody Eichmann 0:10

Garretson 30     Howard 45
106 - Tait Johnson lost by decision to Jordan Genzlinger 14 - 9 OT
113 - Thomas Howe won by decision over Bailey Neises 6 - 4 OT
120 - Tyler Willems won by forfeit
126 - Colby Pierret won by decision over Kaleb Haas 6 - 3
132 - Brady Schleuter lost by fall to Tyler Genzlinger 1:31
138 - Evan Donahue (HOW) won by fofeit
145 - Tony Weiland lost by fall to Adonis Ruml 1:34
152 - Sean McPadden won by fall over Isaiah Glanzer 0:23
160 - Adrian Mendoza lost by fall to Donovan Kullnat 0:50
170 - Dylan Rouzer lost by fall to James Jungwirth 3:51
182 - Blake Severson lost by fall to Nick Pardy 3:31
195 - Brady Bonte won by fall over Landon Hamilton 0:28
220 - Matt Bankes won by forfeit
285 - Tristen Wagner lost by fall to Kurt Zulk 0:56

Garretson 72     Parker 6
106 - Tait Johnson won by fall over Jayden Even 0:52
113 - Thomas Howe won by forfeit
120 - Tyler Willems won by forfeit
126 - Brady Schleuter won by fall over Andy Leber 0:45
132 - Colby Pierret won by forfeit
138 - Both teams were open
145 - Tony Weiland won by forfeit
152 - Sean McPadden won by fall over Kordell Buyck 1:19
160 - Adrian Mendoza won by fall over Zach Knock 3:16
170 - Dylan Rouzer won by fall over Justice Verhey 4:39
182 - Blake Severson lost by fall to Adam Harms 4:42
195 - Brady Bonte won by forfeit
220 - Matt Bankes won by forfeit
285 - Tristen Wagner won by forfeit

Howe, Willems, and Bonte place at Floyd Farrand

The Blue Dragons competed in the Floyd Farrand holiday tournament during their break. This tournament brings in many of the best teams from both classes of wrestling in the state. Traditionally, this tournament can be used to compare one's results with how the state tournament may go. Sturgis won the tournament with 198 points followed by Brookings (146), Wagner (139), Sioux Falls Washington (133.5) and Watertown (132) for the top five teams. The Blue Dragons finished in 13th with 73 points. We have reached our midpoint in the season and now need to improve the little things in our matches that will make a difference in the results. As we are able to eliminate the small mistakes, we should be prepared to make a push towards the post-season and the individual goals that are set. The Floyd Farrand competition showed us many individual needs to work on in the coming weeks. The team attitude has been great, and I know the boys want to work to improve the results. This week we are in Howard on Thursday for a quadrangular with Parker, McCook/Montrose, and Howard. It begins at 5:00. We will also end our home schedule for the season with the Jesse James Invitational on the 7th beginning at 10:00 am. We would like to invite everyone out to watch and support our team. Individual results from the Floyd Farrand are below:

106
Tait Johnson continues to battle hard, but is giving up a lot of size to most of his opponents. The experience will benefit him as he grows into the weight class. When he wrestles opponents near his size, he has been very competitive. If he takes advantage of those situations, he will see more success.
* lost by fall to Robiel Tesfaldet (SFL) 1:44
* lost by decision to Kyle Seibel (Ver) 5 - 4

113
Thomas Howe had an impressive tournament for himself. He came out very aggressive in the semifinals and defeated defending state champion Troy Kiggins of SFR. Thomas wrestled that match almost perfect coming out with a huge win. When he is able to dictate the tempo of matches, he can be very difficult to beat. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to get the tempo in his favor during the finals. He came up a bit short for runner-up honors. This should be a great step to the rest of his season.
* won by decision over Nick Dion (Wag) 11 - 4
* won by decision over Jesse Skidmore (Sturg) 8 - 2
* won by decision over Troy Kiggins (SFR) 11 - 5
* lost by decision to Brady Burghardt (Wat) 2 - 0
     * 2nd place finish

120
Tyler Willems entered the tournament as the 9th seed. He finished a great tournament in 5th place. Tyler has been wrestling very good as of late. As he improves some areas of technique, he should be very competitive for the remainder of the season. He could surprise some people as the season moves along. His first loss came to state champion and tournament outstanding wrestler Morgan Engbrecht of Sturgis. After this match, Tyler wrestled very smart the rest of the tournament.
* won by major decision over Derek Dilts (Can) 9 - 0
* lost by fall to Morgan Engbrecht (Sturg) 1:32
* won by decision over Evan Meyer (SFW) 7 - 2
* won by decision over James Suter (Wat) 14 - 7
* lost by fall to Sage Zephier (Wag) 4:43
* won by major decision over Carter Kratz (Ver) 15 - 5
     * 5th place finish

126
Colby Pierret started the tournament with a nice overtime win, but then came up short in the next two matches. As he eliminates the mental mistakes in his matches, he will be hard to beat. Colby is on the verge of having a great outing that should give him the confidence he needs for the rest of the season.
* won by decision over Dan Armstrong (SFR) 4 - 2 OT
* lost by fall to Tyler Dion (Wag) 6:00
* lost by fall to Ryley Ostbye (Can) 0:48

132
Anthony Beck continues to make improvements in his wrestling and it should pay off soon. He is a bit undersized for his weight class, but has been very competitive in his matches. He too, needs to find some success to build his confidence. Anthony has quite a bit of ability. He needs to focus his efforts on improving each time out and the results will slowly change for him.
* lost by technical fall to Darin Peterson (Sis) 16 - 0
* won by decision over Ty Johnson (Brk) 7 - 2
* lost by fall to Tyler Genzlinger (How) 0:57

152
Sean McPadden had a disappointing tournament for himself. In many matches, Sean has been close to scoring many points. He needs to "clean up" his technique during the final weeks of our regular season. He definitely has the ability to win those close matches as our season moves on. One big win could really boost his confidence during our stretch run.
* lost by decision to Spencer Folk (Milb) 4 - 3
* won by fall over Justin Kalb (Sis) 1:31
* lost by technical fall to Weston Resmen (Brk) 18 - 2

160
Adrian Mendoza saw his second outing of the season show improvement. He picked up two wins and did some nice things on the mat. Adrian works really hard to improve in the practice room. As he gains more mat time, he could surprise a few people.
* won by fall over Kegan Huff (Sis) 5:43
* lost by fall to Clay Kopplin (Sturg) 0:42
* won by major decision over Joe Vandover (Milb) 11 - 3
* lost by major decision to Tracy Halouska (Len) 11 - 2

182
Blake Severson didn't have a great week of practice due to a foot injury and it showed during this tournament. He is a young kid to be wrestling at this size. He has been fun to watch improve throughout the year. As he develops more confidence in his ability, he should be someone to keep an eye on the rest of this season.
* lost by major decision to Pat Ektnitphong (SFR) 14 - 3
* won by fall over Jeremy Schuelke (Milb) 2:06
* lost by fall to Tanner Broughton (Can) 1:54

195
Brady Bonte wrestled a great tournament while being crowned the champion of his weight. He was able to pin all four opponents on his way to the title. Even after having a small stomach ailment for the second day, he proved to be too much for his opponents. Brady has been wrestling with improved technique and a great level of confidence with is making him difficult to beat. As his season continues, he should have the opportunity to avenge his only loss and prove himself as a legitimate title contender.
* won by fall over Josh Westley (SFL) 2:28
* won by fall over Andrew Semmler (Parks) 2:52
* won by fall over Dan Marlette (SFW) 1:50
* won by fall over Jordan Hins (Milb) 1:22
     * 1st place finish

285
Tristen Wagner came up just short of placing for the Blue Dragons. Tristen has improved over the year, but is also very young to be competing at the heavyweight division. As he matures and improves his off-season lifting regimine, Tristen could become a very good heavyweight for the Blue Dragons.
* lost by fall to Chris Vroman (SFW) 0:35
* won by forfeit over Howard Herberg (Sis)
* lost by fall to Jeff Hyke (Parks) 0:56

Bonte wins title - 4 others place at Elk Point-Jefferson Invitational

This past weekend the Blue Dragons wrestling team attended the Elk Point-Jefferson Invitational. The team scored 91.5 points to finish in 9th place. Tri-Valley finished in first place with 187 points followed by the host team in second with 161 points.

I continue to see marked improvement from our young wrestlers. I think they are starting to understand how our practice efforts carry over to the competition of our schedule. This tournament was very balanced and offered some tough competition. They battled very strong even in the matches that were lost. There efforts will eventually begin to pay off and that will be fun to watch. I am excited for what is in store for them.

Our older team members continue to to work into mid-season form both in technique and conditioning. They wrestled some great competition this weekend and saw some mixed results. As we near the midpoint in our season, they will need to continue the improvement in all areas of the sport. During the next month, I would anticipate everything coming together as we push towards the post-season.

Individual results are below:

113 - Thomas Howe wrestled a strong tournament during the day, but came up short in the finals. Thomas wrestles his best when he takes control of the action instead of countering the action. He looked as good as he has all season and has this weekend to build from.
* won by fall over Justin Joines (SC Heelan) 0:22
* won by major decision over John Lemer (Can) 12 - 3
* won by fall over Alex Caba (BH) 1:29
* lost by decision to Jared Hueser (EPJ) 5 - 4
     * Second place finish

120 - Tyler Willems wrestled well throughout the day to earn a fourth place finish. He avenged an early tournament loss to get into the consolation finals. As Tyler works harder to improve from all positions, he will continue to surprise some people in our area.
* lost by fall to Ben Graber (SBL) 1:35
* won by fall over Tristen Kieftler (BH) 0:37
* won by fall over Jose Montes (WS) 1:03
* won by decision over Ben Graber (SBL) 9 - 6
* lost by fall to Wes Dvorak (Parks) 2:50
     * Fourth place finish

126 - Brady Schleuter continues to improve with the mat time he is getting. As he develops more confidence in his ability, he will begin to knock people off. He also needs to improve his technique from all positions, but understands that and is will to work to improve.
* lost by fall to Colton McCrystal (SBL) 1:39
* won by fall over Cody Chester (WS) 2:26
* lost by fall to Ryley Ostbye (Can) 2:03

132 - Anthony Beck was able to win a match before being eliminated from the tournament. Anthony's ability is fairly "raw" and as he works to improve his results should improve as well. He does some things fairly well, but has to work to overcome his flaws. When this happens, he will start beating a lot of people.
* lost by fall to Nick Weis (EPJ) 3:32
* won by fall over Nick Bousquet (SC Heelan) 1:53
* lost by fall to Cole Oltmans (AW) 2:27

152 - Sean McPadden moved down a weight class this week to see some mixed results. He was just a matter of a couple finished moves from moving into the semifinals. I think Sean will see marked improvement as he adjusts to this weight class. By cleaning up some of his technique, he will score more points in those crucial situations. I anticipate him winning some big matches during the remainder of the season.
* won by decision in overtime over Hesston Erickson (Ber) 6 - 4
* lost by decision to Brett Tomoson (SBL) 6 - 4
* lost by decision to Dillon Stadlman (Parks) 5 - 0

160 - Adrian Mendoza saw his first action of the season at the varsity ranks. He joined the team late, but has brought a high paced practice effort with him. He works very hard in practice. This will benefit his technique, but also his partners' as they work with him. When he cleans up some mistakes, he should contribute nicely to our lineup.
* lost by major decision to Miles Semmler (Parks) 11 - 0
* lost by fall to Josh King (SBL) 2:28

182 - Blake Severson has moved down into this position. With the return of Brady Bonte to the lineup, Blake has worked hard to be a contributor to the team at this weight class. He is very deceiving when he walks onto the mat. As he cleans up some mistakes in his technique, he will be fun to watch improve from tournament to tournament. Blake should be fairly competitive at this weight class.
* lost by fall to Adam Ivarson (Ber) 3:33
* won by fall over Christian Brobst (SC Heelan) 0:22
* lost by fall to Taylor James (AW) 0:58
* lost by fall to Adam Ivarson (Ber) 0:58
     * Sixth place finish

195 - Brady Bonte wrestled well over the weekend. He continues to work out the "rust" after missing some of the early practices with an injury. He has been working hard to improve on his takedowns. By expanding his technique from the neutral position, he will be very difficult to beat. In the finals, he was able to knock off an undefeated wrestler from Akron-Westfield with solid position and wrestling smart.
* won by fall over Andrew Teply (EPJ) 2:30
* won by fall over Tanner Broughton (Can) 2:47
* won by decision over Chet Willer (AW) 4 - 3
     * First place finish

220 - Matt Bankes started the day off well, but it quickly turned on him. Some times this sport can be brutal to you. Matt will need to regroup, solidify his technique in practice, and forget about this weekend. When he does this, he will be able to refocus on the goals he has for the season.
* won by technical fall over Tyler Nguyen (SBL) 18 - 3
* lost by fall to Tanner Ovre (Can) 4:40
* lost by decision to Omar Marquez (SC Heelan) 3 - 1
* lost by fall to Tyler Nguyen (SBL) 0:34
     * Sixth place finish

The Blue Dragons continue action after Christmas by competing in the Floyd Farrand Invitational at Sioux Falls Lincoln High School on December 29th and 30th. We want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Wrestlers go 2 - 2 on the week! Brady Bonte reaches career win 150!

This past week the Blue Dragons wrestling team traveled to Elk Point for a dual with the Huskies on Tuesday and hosted a quad with Parker, West Central, and Sioux Valley on Thursday. Our week was busy, but the boys were able to have the weekend off to refresh their bodies and minds. On Tuesday, the Huskies won by a score of 40 - 30. Thursday was Parents' Night with the Blue Dragons picking up wins against Parker (72 - 12) and Sioux Valley (69 - 0). The Trojans from West Central snuck out of town with a 36 - 34 win. Our week had many bright spots for the team. Our young starters continue to show signs of improvement. They are wrestling hard and seem to not be intimidated by their opponents. We need to continue to develop consistency in our performance for us to compete with the better teams. Early on we are depending on our older members to be solid for us, but we haven't been real consistent. We will need to continue working hard in practice to find our "groove". As our upperclassmen continue to fine tune their technique and our younger wrestlers are improving, we should see an improved team result. Our two wins against Parker and Sioux Valley were against partial lineups. Both teams are struggling to improve the participation numbers in their programs. One highlight included Brady Bonte picking up career win number 150. Congratulations to Brady on a big milestone in his career! Individual results for the four matches are below:

Garretson 30     Elk Point-Jefferson 40
106 - Tait Johnson won by decision over Dylan Colt (9 - 4)
113 - Thomas Howe won by decision over Tim Savitsky (8 - 2)
120 - Tyler Willems lost by major decision to Jared Hueser (18 - 4)
126 - Brady Schleuter won by fall over Roman Fehr (5:26)
132 - Colby Pierret won by fall over Cody Davis (2:24)
138 - Anthony Beck lost by fall to Jared Limoges (1:03)
145 - Tony Weiland lost by fall to Nick Weis (0:33)
152 - Aaron Staum (EPJ) won by forfeit
160 - Sean McPadden lost by fall to Jon Hasenbank (0:52)
170 - Dylan Severson lost by decision to Ryan Donnelly (8 - 4)
182 - Dylan Rouzer lost by fall to CJ Geary (2:20)
195 - Blake Severson won by forfeit
220 - Brady Bonte lost by decision to Lukas Forsling (9-6)
285 - Matt Bankes won by fall over Andrew Flannery (1:58)

Garretson 72     Parker 12
106 - Johnson won by fall over Jayden Even (1:00)
113 - Howe won by forfeit
120 - Willems lost by fall to Hunter Anderson (5:13)
126 - Schleuter won by forfeit
132 - Pierret won by fall over Deion Beardemphl (1:18)
138 - Beck won by forfeit
145 - Weiland won by forfeit
152 - Kordell Buyck (Par) won by forfeit
160 - McPadden won by fall over Zach Knock (3:14)
170 - Rouzer won by fall over Nate Rasmussen (2:33)
182 - D. Severson won by fall over Justice Verhey (2:36)
195 - Bonte won by fall over Adam Harms (0:34)
220 - Bankes won by forfeit
285 - Tristen Wagner won by fall over Payton Jensen (1:58)

Garretson 34     West Central 36
106 - Johnson lost by fall to Tayt Boeckholt (3:11)
113 - Howe won by decision over Jonah Rechtenbaugh (7 - 2)
120 - Willems won by major decision over Gerrit Pearson (8 - 0)
126 - Schleuter lost by decision to Josh Mettler (12 - 5)
132 - Pierret won by decision over Skyler Hastings (8 - 4)
138 - Beck lost by decision to Jake Anderson (5 - 2)
145 - Weiland lost by fall to Matt Lawrence (0:41)
152 - Brandon Gray (WC) won by forfeit
160 - McPadden lost by fall to Brandon Pennock (3:26)
170 - Rouzer lost by fall to Spencer Hastings (1:01)
182 - D. Severson won by forfeit
195 - B. Severson won by forfeit
220 - Bonte won by fall over Sam Lynde (2:22)
285 - Bankes won by fall over Layne Krier (1:08)

Garretson 69     Sioux Valley 0
106 - Johnson won by fall over Kolton Westendorf  (1:41)
113 - Howe won by forfeit
120 - Willems won by forfeit
126 - Schleuter won by forfeit
132 - Pierret won by forfeit
138 - Beck won by decision over Eli Westendorf (4 - 3)
145 - Weiland won by forfeit
152 - Both teams were open
160 - McPadden won by forfeit
170 - D. Severson won by forfeit
182 - Rouzer won by forfeit
195 - Bonte won by forfeit (career win # 150)
220 - Bankes won by forfeit
285 - Wagner won by forfeit

Our next action is on Saturday, the 17th. We will travel to Elk Point for a very tough tournament. This will be a good test for our veteran wrestlers, and a good measure of how our young wrestlers are developing.

Flandreau Invitiational - Dec. 3rd

This past Saturday our team competed in the Flandreau Invitational. The Blue Dragons finished in 5th place with 136.50 points. They battled back and forth all day from 3rd place to 6th place with only 9 points separating the teams in these positions. Pipestone Area won the tournament with 195 pts followed by Howard (164 pts), Flandreau (142 pts), Elk Point-Jefferson (139 pts). Deuel was in the fight all day as well finishing in 6th with 133 points. The balance between teams was very even, and it made for a fun day of wrestling as we watched the team results. Our team competed strong all day and should be pleased with the results from the day. I felt our young kids battled hard in every match. With effort like this, we should be able to see progress in their ability as the year moves on. Our older members started the season well also. They wrestled hard setting a good example for our younger team members. I think we had a good start to the tournament part of our season and look for more improvements this week. On Tuesday, the 6th, we travel to Elk Point for a dual with the Huskies. Thursday, the 8th, we host a quad with Parker, Sioux Valley, and West Central. This will also be Parents' Night. We would like to invite everyone to watch our team compete. Individual results are below:

At 106 lbs., Tait Johnson competed hard, but is outsized by a large amount this season. Tait has done some nice things early in the year, but will need to continue looking for ways to score points against the larger people he is competing against.
* lost by fall to Devon Sievers (Deuel) 1:59
* lost by decision to Dylan Rice (FL) 2 - 0

At 113 lbs., Thomas Howe was able to capture the championship, but not without a bit of a scare and some hard work. He fell behind 4 - 0 early in the championship match, but never quit battling for points. He continued working and was able to score a late takedown with backpoints to secure the victory.
* won by fall over Austin Anderson (Deuel) 0:58
* won by fall over Jake Haubrich (PA) 0:51
* won by decision over Cole Hodges (How) 7 -5
     * 1st place finish

At 120 lbs., Tyler Willems wrestled hard all day, but came up a bit short. Tyler has made some nice improvements and needs to continue working hard in practice to change his fortunes. As he develops more confidence in his technique, he will find his way towards the podium more often.
* lost by fall to Jared Hueser (EPJ) 2:32
* won by technical fall over Jacob Fitzgerald (Gar) 16 - 1
* lost by decision to Bailey Neises (How) 7 - 4

Jacob Fitzgerald also competed as an unattached wrestler for us at 120 lbs. He was able to use the experience to learn against some varsity competition. Jacob enjoys wrestling and should benefit from the extra opportunities that he gets.
* lost by fall to Adam Krause (Deuel) 1:12
* lost by technical fall to Tyler Willems (Gar) 16 - 1

At 126 lbs., Brady Schleuter fought hard all day and came away with placing honors. Brady works best when he is setting his offense and staying aggressive. As he gains experience at the varsity level, he should show improvement each time out. He has great potential to contribute to the team success this season.
* lost by fall to Cole Nordmeyer (PA) 1:16
* won by fall over Sean Tillma (Gar) 1:54
* won by fall over Roman Fehr (EPJ) 2:43
* lost by fall to Tyler Brown (Deuel) 3:50
     4th place finish

Sean Tillma was also able to compete unattached in this tournament. He too will benefit from the extra experience he gains from opportunities like this. He battled hard, but also came up short.
* lost by fall to Tyler Brown (Deuel) 1:49
* lost by fall to Brady Schleuter (Gar) 1:54

Colby Pierret wrestled 132 lbs. for the weekend. He had an interesting day. Anytime you are bit during a match, you are caught off guard. Colby has had some bright spots so far this season. He has also had moments that he would like to take back. As he becomes more consistent, he will be very competitive for our team.
* won by fall over Nate Klinkhammer (How) 4:24
* lost by fall to Jace Christiansen (FL) 3:34
* won by disqualification over Broderick Everson (PA)
* lost by decision to Richie Redlin (Deuel) 6 - 4
     4th place finish

At 138 lbs., Anthony Beck made is season debut to the line-up. He is giving up about 6 lbs. to most of his opponents. When you are young and under-sized, it makes for a battle that is hard to overcome. He had a great overtime win in the first round.  I was pleased with his effort and believe there are better days ahead for him this season.
* won by decision over Eli Westendorf (SV) 5 - 3 OT
* lost by fall to Tyler Genzlinger (How) 3:23
* lost by fall to Alex Ossefoort (PA) 1:25

Tony Weiland competed at 145 lbs. Unfortunately for Tony, the day was difficult. He gave us what he had, and I believe Tony has the right attitude to turn things around. As he continues to get more and more match time, his skills will develop. His best days are still ahead of him.
* lost by fall to Evan Donahue (How) 1:01
* lost by fall to Zach Gillette (Luv) 4:29

Sean McPadden wrestled very well at 160 lbs. for us. After a hard fought win in the opening round, he came back to knock off the second seeded wrestler in the semi-finals. Sean is a bit small for his weight class at this time. When he uses all of his tools, he will beat quite a few top quality kids. I look forward to Sean doing great things for our team the rest of the season.
* won by decision over Jon Hasenbank (EPJ) 7 - 5
* won by decision over Dwayne Redlin (Deuel) 6 - 4
* lost by fall to Kyle Scofield (FL) 3:21
     2nd place finish

Dylan Severson wrestled at 170 lbs. for the team on Saturday. Dylan is about 5 - 7 lbs. light for this weight class. While doing several things good on Saturday, he will need to wrestle some perfect matches to overcome his size disadvantage. Dylan continues to work hard in practice and should be rewarded in the future for his work. Sometimes it is very hard to break through when things aren't going right. I would expect that it will turn around for him soon.
* lost by fall to Will Smith (PA) 4:40
* lost by fall to Ethan Johnson (Luv) 2:26

Dylan Rouzer placed in his first ever varsity tournament at 182 lbs. Dylan has some great potential, and we look forward to watching him improve. As and eighth grade students wrestling at this high of a weight, he has been doing well. He isn't afraid to try something. Sometimes the high risk, high reward moves won't work and other times they do. As he learns what he can and can't do with his bigger opponents, he could be dangerous for his competitors.
* lost by fall to CJ Geary (EPJ) 4:40
* won by fall over Landon Hamilton (How) 3:33
* won by fall over Nolan Mingledorff (FL) 1:35
     3rd place finish

At 195 lbs., Blake Severson saw an opportunity Saturday, and he took advantage of it. Blake was crowned the champion for the day, and in doing so, he won his first varsity tournament. I was very pleased with Blake's approach all day. He wrestled smart and maintained control of his opponents throughout the day. As with Dylan, Blake is very young to be competing at such a high weight. It will be fun to watch him improve throughout his season and have him contribute to the team success.
* won by fall over Blake Wolter (PA) 2:53
* won by decision over Jared Hillard (PA) 4 - 3
* won by fall over Nick Pardy (How) 1:17
     1st place finish

Matt Bankes wrestled 220 lbs. for the team on Saturday. He wrestled well, but ran into a very talented opponent in the finals. As the season develops, Matt will be looking for an opportunity to lead the team while pursuing his own personal success. Matt can be very dangerous to wrestle, but he needs to stay focused on the parts of the match that he can control. I look for Matt to improve throughout the season and to make a push towards his goals in his senior season.
* won by fall over Jaydon Gorter (PA) 1:17
* lost by fall to Lukas Forsling (EPJ) 5:30
     2nd place finish

Tristen Wagner wrestled 285 lbs. over the weekend and had a very successful day. It has been fun to watch Tristen develop over the past few seasons. He know he has quite a bit of improvement he can make yet, but he is only a freshman wrestling at heavyweight. If he commits himself to the hard work, he could become a very good heavyweight as he matures.
* lost by fall to Andrew Flannery (EPJ) 3:05
* won by fall over Braxton Fuller (Deuel) 4:10
     3rd place finish

First Action of the Season! Wrestlers host Quad Nov. 29th

On Tuesday, the 29th, the Blue Dragons hosted Kingsbury County, Flandreau, and Tri-Valley in a wrestling quad. It was our first competition of the year, and they were ready to get after it. With some youth and injuries, we were not able to fill a full team on the first night. We are looking at that changing as we continue our season, but unfortunately we did have two weights open for the opener. Overall, the night left the Blue Dragons with a 1 - 2 record. We defeated Kingsbury County (49 - 18) and lost to both Flandreau (33 - 45) and Tri-Valley (18 - 66). Tri-Valley has a very solid squad that looks to be in contention for the state title this year. I was very pleased to see our young athletes step-up to the challenge of being on the varsity roster. They made some young mistakes, but did compete very hard. Their effort will eventually change the win/loss situation by working hard in practice and pushing each other. Our older members started the year out solid. We had some disappointing losses, but know that we are building for the end of the year. As we continue to add in our offense, improve our defense, and fine-tune some small mistakes, we look for each of our wrestlers to show gains in ability and conditioning each time we compete. Some highlights of the night would include a big comeback win for Brady Schleuter. Brady was behind 7 - 0 to Sarara Mix going into the 3rd period. He was able to secure a takedown and two three-point nearfalls in that period to win 8 - 7. Blake Severson had a 14 second pin over Brady Johnson. Thomas Howe earning a first period pin over a very good RJ VanDenBerg. Tony Weiland and Tristen Wagner both earning falls in the Kingsbury County dual. Tait Johnson also picked up his first two varsity wins in his career. We would like to thank the fans that made it to our match. Our next home match is December 8th, which will be Parents' Night. Individual results from the quad are below. Photos provided by Kelli Schleuter.

Tait Johnson working to secure a takedown on Brody Harkness of KC.

Colby Pierret scrambling with Dexter Thorseinsen of KC.

Tony Weiland getting the fall over Andrew Schaefer of KC.

Sean McPadden working for the fall over Lance Rademaker of KC.

Garretson 49     Kingsbury County 18
106 - Tait Johnson won by decision over Brody Harkness (3 - 2)
113 - Thomas Howe lost by decision to Austin Gilbertson (3 - 2)
120 - Tyler Willems won by forfeit
126 - Brady Schleuter won by decision over Sarara Mix (8 - 7)
132 - Sean Tillma won by forfeit
138 - Colby Pierret won by major decision over Dexter Thorseinsen (15 - 6)
145 - Tony Weiland won by fall over Andrew Schaefer (3:59)
152 - Garretson forfeited to Andrew Rigsby
160 - Sean McPadden won by fall over Lance Rademaker (3:54)
170 - Dylan Severson won by decision over Daniel Summers (7 - 2)
182 - Dylan Rouzer lost by fall to Eugene Martin (3:44)
195 - Blake Severson lost by decision to Evan Larsen (7 - 3)
220 - Matt Bankes won by forfeit
285 - Tristen Wagner won by fall over Ricky Abderhalden (2:29)

Garretson 33     Flandreau 45
106 - Tait Johnson won by decision over Dylan Rice (8 - 5)
113 - Thomas Howe won by forfeit
120 - Tyler Willems lost by fall to Jared Sutton (5:07)
126 - Brady Schleuter lost by fall to Cody Reed (1:32)
132 - Sean Tillma lost by fall to Jace Christiansen (1:10)
138 - Colby Pierret lost by decision to Casey Johnson (8 - 7)
145 - Tony Weiland lost by fall to Tate Lacey (0:56)
152 - Garretson forfeited to Ethan Haugen
160 - Sean McPadden won by forfeit
170 - Dylan Severson lost by fall to Kyle Scofield (3:23)
182 - Dylan Rouzer lost by fall to Dakota Petersen (3:35)
195 - Blake Severson won by forfeit
220 - Matt Bankes won by forfeit
285 - Tristen Wagner won by forfeit

Garretson 18     Tri-Valley 66
106 - Tait Johnson lost by fall to Dylan Eldeen (3:18)
113 - Thomas Howe won by fall over RJ VanDenBerg (1:47)
120 - Tyler Willems lost by fall to Ryan Schuman (1:55)
126 - Brady Schleuter won by fall over Brandon Oyen (3:21)
132 - Colby Pierret lost by fall to Austin Oyen (1:47)
138 - Garretson forfeited to Derek Eldeen
145 - Tony Weiland lost by fall to Connor Hickman (1:44)
152 - Garretson forfeited to Walker Waterbury
160 - Sean McPadden lost by fall to Zach Schuman (1:51)
170 - Dylan Severson lost by fall to Caleb Heiberger (3:40)
182 - Dylan Rouzer lost by fall to Drew Eldeen (1:27)
195 - Blake Severson won by fall over Brady Johnson (0:14)
220 - Matt Bankes lost by fall to Thad Johnson (2:32)
285 - Tristen Wagner lost by fall to Riley Boadwine (1:00)