By Matt Gade

605 Sports

SPEARFISH — Following the Black Hills Conference tournament on Jan. 17, here are seven girls' champions who are also ranked in the top five in their respective weight classes at this point in the season.

Belle Fourche’s Kyra Vandenberg looking to become Lady Broncs first-ever state champion

For the past two years, the Lady Broncs’ Vandenberg has finished as state runner-up.

To get so close but still come up short has motivated the junior 100-pound wrestler even more.

“I'm hungry,” Vandenberg said. “Last year, my match, I choked really hard. I'm just ready to get back. I think I've worked really hard for where I'm at for the past 11 years, so hoping to win state for once in my high school career.”

Last year, Vandenberg fell to Groton Area’s Liza Krueger in the state finals.

This year, Krueger has moved up to 105 pounds. 

After finishing sixth last year at 100 pounds, Madison’s Ella Coomes is currently the top-ranked girls wrestler, with Vandenberg in second.

The duo wrestled each other at the Madison Girls Invitational on Dec. 20, with Coomes coming away with a 10-8 decision.

The loss to Coomes is Vandenberg’s lone loss of the season with a 23-1 record as of Jan. 19.

Vandenberg said she’s looking forward to a rematch.

“I think it'll be a good match. Last time I wrestled her, it wasn't terrible. It was just a bunch of stalling. I was definitely on top and controlling a lot of the match, but I just got caught and got some unnecessary roughness points. So I'll be working on that and keeping my composure, and I'm just excited to wrestle.”

With the sport having been sanctioned for the past six years, Vandenberg is the highest placer in the program’s short history. 

But the Bronc isn’t satisfied with second.

“It would be awesome to win, honestly, because when I was younger, there wasn't a girls' program at all, so I was, like, one of the only girls,” Vandenberg said. “I was always double-bracketed in the boys' brackets and stuff. So as I grow older, it's so awesome to see the, like, women's sports side of it grow, it's really amazing.”

Belle Fourche's Kyra Vandenberg. (Matt Gade/605 Sports)

Custer’s Savannah Bell enjoying her first season with Wildcats since moving from California

A new face to girls wrestling in South Dakota is Custer’s Savannah Bell. 

Bell, a junior for the Wildcats, just moved to South Dakota at the start of the school year after calling Southern California home.

In her first season with the Wildcats, Bell has jumped to the top of the girls' rankings as the No. 1 at 115 pounds.

“It was definitely a bit of a change,” Bell said of wrestling in South Dakota after competing in California. “Wrestling is really big out in California, so I wasn't exactly used to being not as big for the girls here. So I think that was probably my biggest adjustment in South Dakota.

“I work really hard. I wrestle year-round. So it wasn't, it wasn't expected, but it definitely was a goal I was working towards,” Bell added of being ranked No. 1. 

For Wildcats, Bell is 27-2 with losses to Sully Buttes' Kaidynce Hand and Watertown's Olivia Anderson. 

While Bell lost to Hand at the Bill Young Invitational 6-0 on Dec. 6, she recorded a 5-0 decision win against Anderson at the Spearfish Girls Wrestling Invitational on Jan. 3.

In California, Bell made it to the Masters tournament, which is one level shy of the state tournament.

Coming just shy of the state tournament in California, Bell is excited for the opportunity to not only compete at state in South Dakota but a chance at a state title.

“I'm super excited. That's, honestly, it's my goal, and it's everything I work towards,” Bell said. “You know, my life revolves around wrestling in a positive way, not a negative way, but it's my goal, and I'm super excited for the opportunity to get there and just be able to wrestle.”

Part of Bell’s success at Custer, she attributes to her coaches and teammates with the Wildcats.

“It's such a good community, honestly, like, my team last year wasn't, it wasn't the best. There wasn't really good team cohesion,” Bell said. “So coming out here and having the supporting coaches, and the room is just so happy and energetic, and it makes wrestling so much easier.”

While the wrestling season has been going strong for Bell, overall, she said she’s adjusting to her new home in Custer.

“I mean, definitely the cold. I love the beach and I love the heat, so definitely the cold. But I would say culturally it's definitely different, as far as, like, adjusting to, kind of the way things work out here, and what's normal and what's not,” Bell said. “California is so big, and there are so many people that I'd say everyone here is a lot more welcoming.

“I would say, definitely getting used to the hospitality and all of that stuff is definitely, like, the biggest change for me.”

Custer's Savannah Bell. (Matt Gade/605 Sports)

Hot Springs’ Snyder and Rickenbach, pushing each other day-to-day in practices, hope to translate at state

For the Hot Springs Lady Bison, teammates Sarah Rickenbach, a junior, and senior Katie Snyder battle each other on a nearly daily basis to push each other to get better.

Rickenbach is rated the No. 3 girls wrestler at 145 pounds, while Snyder is ranked No. 2 at 155 pounds.

“Most days in practice, Sarah beats me up at practice,” Snyder said. 

“It’s probably true,” Rickenbach said with a smile.

Snyder said she loves the sport of wrestling because it just fits her personality well.

“It just all clicks. I'm really aggressive, I guess. And I like beating people up in a nice way,” Snyder said.

Rickenbach said she’s grateful to have Snyder as a training partner.

“You have to have good competition. It's great to have her,” Rickenbach said. “You know, we're always pushing each other. We're always holding each other up. We do know when that wasn't your best, and you can do a lot better than that. And I think that really helps both of us just to push each other.”

Growing up, Rickenbach watched as her older brother, Caleb, was a prominent wrestler for the boys’ team, earning a silver medal his junior year at 195 pounds. He also took third place both his freshman and sophomore years, and finished third his senior year at 215 pounds.

So seeing her brother compete for so long and have the success he did, Sarah knew she was going to be a wrestler.

“I grew up watching my brother wrestle, and a bunch of my cousins wrestle. So yeah, I just grew, kind of grew up around it, and I always wanted to try it,” she said. “And then when it got sanctioned, I was like, I could really go somewhere with this.”

At 155 pounds, Snyder currently holds a 21-3 record with one of those losses coming to the top-ranked wrestler Abbi Lewis of Pierre, a 3-0 decision on Jan. 10.

“I beat her out of season one time. And so after that, I've kind of been like, I know I can beat her again,” Snyder said. “Just this last week, I was really close. I just need to keep working on my technique and mindset.

“I think I'm progressing slowly, but like, first week to now, I think I'm a lot better.”

For Rickenbach, she faces a loaded field at the top with Sioux Valley’s Summer Guthmiller firmly planted at No. 1 with an undefeated 25-0 record. At No. 2 is junior Lemmon’s Quinn Butler, who finished state runner-up her freshman year at 120 pounds and runner-up last year at 132. 

Rickenbach has finished third the past two years at 145 pounds, but is pushing herself to do better.

“I’m definitely not satisfied,” Rickenbach said of her placements the past two years. “Obviously, first place is the goal, but I don’t like to think ahead to the next match. I've gone through a lot of injury stuff. 

“I just try to keep my mindset right, try to just do whatever I can to get back on the mat while also keeping myself in shape, even if I can't do, you know, some drilling stuff, just always trying to, you know, keep the mindset right is really important.”

As two wrestlers, both ranked near the top of their classes, Rickenbach and Snyder said they each would love to be the school’s first state champions since the sanctioning of girls’ wrestling six years ago.

“There's a lot of pressure, but I'm more excited than anything, because I think I can do it,” Snyder said.

Hot Springs' Katie Snyder, left, and Sarah Rickenbach. (Matt Gade/605 Sports)

Spartans’ Matsuda twins continue to get better, Heltzel captures first-ever win over top-ranked 190-pound wrestler

Spearfish's Candice Matsuda, left, Marlee Heltzer, center, and Mathilde Matsuda. (Matt Gade/605 Sports)

During the Black Hills Conference tournament, Spearfish’s Marlee Heltzel did something she had never been able to do before.

The No. 3-ranked wrestler at 190 pounds defeated Custer’s Jessica Hite, the top-ranked wrestler at 190.

“I bet they’ve wrestled 27 times against each other since they were freshman,” Spearfish head coach Joel Martin said. 

Heltzel earned a 4-1 decision over Hite on Saturday, giving the Custer Wildcat her first loss of the season.

“It feels awesome,” Heltzel said of the win. “I mean, I've lost to her last three years. Like every single time I wrestle her. 

“It's just really awesome to beat her, especially since she's number one. I've worked really, really hard in positioning battles to do that and on the mental side too, because wrestling somebody who's beat you the last three years can be pretty mentally draining.”

Heltzel’s teammates, and twin sisters, Candice and Mathilde Matsuda, are also seeing their hard work pay off on the mat.

Candice, who wrestles at 130, is currently the No. 1-ranked wrestler for the weight class. While Mathilde is No. 3 at 135 pounds.

While Candice is currently ranked No. 1, Harrisburg’s Regina Stoeser, a four-time state champion, has returned to the mat recently after healing from an off-season injury.

“I haven't thought about it too much, just because I don't like to look ahead, because that would probably be like a finals match if I got there,” Candice said of facing Stoeser. “I mean, I'd look forward to it, though, if I got to wrestle her, because she's a great wrestler, and I haven't really seen her in a while, so it'd be a fun thing to try to do. But I guess I haven't really thought about it too much.”

Candice and Mathilde said they got into wrestling because they did jujitsu when they were younger, and when the girls’ program started at Spearfish, those girls' wrestlers, such as Taylor Graveman, a two-time All-American at North Central College, encouraged them to try out.

“The first day we were here, Taylor and the girls were so welcoming,” Mathilde said. “We never stopped since.”

As a sophomore and junior, Candice took third place at 120 and 126 pounds, while Mathilde finished 6th and 4th at 126 and 132 pounds the past two years.

“I’m always looking to improve. I've improved every year,” Mathilde said. “My first year I didn't do well, I qualified, but didn't place. Sophomore year got sixth. Last year I got fourth. So just keeping that steady progression up because we've been working so hard together, and I really want to see it pay off.”

Candice said she and her sister push each other all the time, but she is glad when coach Martin sometimes moves them up in divisions to let them see some tougher competition.

“I think we're pretty equal,” Candice said of her sister. “In practice, we go both ways a lot of the time, but she's definitely my hardest opponent. It is like, truly, the biggest blessing that I have in wrestling. 

“She always pushes me to be better. She knows what I can work on, and she's selfless, and she helps me, just like to do my best. And I just hope that I can do it for her too.”

For Heltzel, she spends a lot of time practicing against Vanorah Carlson or Sydney Badwound, but said it's assistant coach Cody Powers who really pushes her.

“At practice, it definitely helps,” Heltzel said of wrestling all of them. “Both Sydney and Vanorah are lighter than me, so they're faster, so I get my cardio in there. And (coach) Powers, when I wrestle him, he's just kind of a brute, so I have to work really, really hard to get him down.”

As an eighth-grader, Heltzel finished fifth at 185 pounds and took fourth place last year at 185 pounds, losing to Hite.

Heltzel said that after finally getting that first victory over Hite was one of the biggest struggles in her wrestling career so far.

“It's definitely gonna help me in the long run with my mental side of things,” Heltzel said. “This summer, I did a lot of camps and live wrestling, freestyle. I just worked all summer because last year, Jessica got that third-place spot. So going into this year, I've just kind of had the mentality that I really just have to work hard to win and get what I want.”

As the wrestling season has a little over a month remaining, the Matsuda sisters said they’re enjoying their senior season together, but also enjoy seeing how far the sport has come since their freshman year. The first year of the Spartans girls’ program. 

Pushing each other each day.

“It's been so amazing to watch how the sport has grown, and to just see, like, how it's gotten so much more difficult, and how it's attracted more people,” Mathilde said. “And getting to be part of that original team is so amazing, because we get to see all the young girls who come up, and now it feels like we helped to build that program partially. So it's really nice.”