By Rich Winter

605 Sports

When the Region 3A wrestling tournament goes down on Feb. 19 in Milbank, Aberdeen Central will be counting on its Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe connection to come up with big points. 

The Golden Eagles have three CRST wrestlers on their roster: Mason Schrempp (126 pounds), Brock Martin (132) and Elias Biegler (138).

The three not only share their heritage, but have been instrumental for the program and coach Donnie Bowden said it isn’t unusual for his Native American athletes to find success on the mat. 

“They all come from good families that have good values and they’ve had good coaches that really built the foundation for them,” Bowden said. 

Earlier this season, Martin won the 132-pound division at the Lakota Nation Invitational in Rapid City. While it’s the first championship at the LNI for an Aberdeen Central wrestler, it’s not the first for the Martin family. In 1998, Martin’s late uncle, Rodney, also won the tournament for Cheyenne-Eagle Butte. 

Brock Martin started as a ‘fill-the-hole’ guy, but Bowden said his senior wrestler has steadily improved throughout his career. Martin, a five-year starter, is 27-13 this season and ranked No. 6 in Class A. 

“He made the state tournament as a sophomore and last year he ended up making the semifinals before eventually finishing fourth,” Bowden said. 

Aberdeen Central's Mason Schrempp wrestles for the Golden Eagles earlier this season. (John Davis / sdsportscene.com)

The Schrempp name is synonymous with wrestling on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. At the 2002 Lakota Nation Invitational, Kyle Schrempp, Kelly Schrempp, Cameron Schrempp and Josh Schrempp all claimed individual titles as Cheyenne-Eagle Butte won the team championship. 

Cameron Schrempp was also a state champion wrestler and an NAIA All-American at Dickinson State University. Josh is the current coach of the Cheyenne-Eagle Butte/Dupree wrestling team. 

Mason Schrempp is continuing the family tradition. Schrempp, a freshman, was brought up to the varsity as an eighth-grader, and like Martin, has had a ton of success. Last season, he made the state quarterfinals of the 113-pound weight class and lost to the eventual state champion by one point.

This season, he is 27-12 and ranked No. 5 in Class A. He finished third at the recent Lee Wolf Invitational in Aberdeen. 

“He’s a very determined kid,” Bowden said. “No matter what he’s doing he’s competitive. He goes hard and gives his max effort every time he’s on the mat.” 

Aberdeen Central's Elias Biegler wrestles for the Golden Eagles earlier this season. (John Davis / sdsportscene.com)

Biegler is the new man on the mat this year for the Golden Eagles. The freshman started the season at 145 and now finds himself at 138. 

“Elias got some experience last year wrestling junior varsity,” Bowden said. “He’s a solid wrestler and competitor. He’s methodical on the mat and he’s a very smart wrestler.” 

With the three athletes so close in weight Bowden said they often find themselves matched up in practice. 

“Iron sharpens iron,” Bowden said. “They are good training partners, especially for our lighter weights. “They’ve all come from the same youth wrestling club and kind of understand one another.” 

Aberdeen Central will compete in the Huron Invitational on Saturday.