By RIch Winter 

605 Sports

Region 1A - Watertown and Tea Area expected to challenge for 1B wrestling title

TEA — With talented grapplers throughout their rosters Watertown and Tea Area are expected to contend for the Region 1A wrestling title in Tea on Saturday. 

The Arrows, coming off a runner-up finish in the Class A state dual tournament, are ranked No. 5 in the latest Dakota Grappler rankings and look like the pre-tournament favorite. Tea Area was ranked No. 6 in the latest team rankings and with the support of the home crowd, this could be one of the more intriguing of the A regions. 

• Watertown - Gage Lohr (120), Sloan Johannsen (126) and Micah Hach (285) will be seeded No. 1 in their respective weight classes and heavy favorites to win region titles. Chase Matthews (106), Max Stroup (113), Derek Hanson (132), Leo Stroup (138), Markus Pitkin (150), Tucker Urdahl (165) and Brock Eitrem (190) are all expected to qualify for the state tournament. How high each of those athletes finishes will determine if Watertown walks away with a region title. 

• Tea Area - Tyler Woodring (120), Parker Wilson (138), Austin Eimers (144), Jackson Tschetter (150), Carson Lohr (157), Dawson Eimers (165), Sam Werdel (175), Chet Carda (190), Chase DeBoer (215) and Gavin Van Emmerik (285) are all wrestlers that should qualify for state. Pins from those athletes and reaching the finals of their respective weight classes will be crucial for the Titans team hopes. 

Region 1A top-ranked athlete: 

Sloan Johannsen, Watertown (126)

Best Matchup: O’Gorman’s Keenan Sheridan and Tea Area’s Sam Werdel (175) are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in this weight class. A clash in the finals would be epic. 

Region 2A - Brandon Valley looking to qualify numbers for Class A state tournament

BRANDON — All season long it’s felt like Brandon Valley has been dealing with injuries and tinkering with weight class moves. 

The attempt to tie Mitchell (1995-1998) and Pierre (2015-2018) for a fourth consecutive Class A team championship begins Friday morning with the Region 2A tournament in Brandon. 

There is no question the Lynx are the class of region 2A field with a number of wrestlers expected to be top seeds and potential region champions. 

Beckett Rehorst (106), Brendon Oehme (113), Trevor Oehme (120) Gavin Chapman (165), Elijah Schunke (190) and Navarro Schunke (285) are all heavy favorites to win region titles. 

Braden Shoemaker (126), Jack Nelson (132), Zander Nielsen (144) will be in the mix in their weight classes. Anyone else that qualifies will only aid the Lynx as they attempt to win that fourth straight team title. 

Harrisburg is likely to finish as region runner-up while Sioux Falls Lincoln will be in the mix for third place. 

The Patriots have two athletes, Bentley Williams (top ranked at 132) and Dawson Walen (150), that are favorites to win region titles. 

“We have a great group of senior leaders and some young guys that are really coming along,” Sioux Falls Lincoln coach Mark Ernstner said. 

Other region favorites are Lennox’s Ramsey Williams (138), Dakota Valley’s Jackson Boonstra (144) Vermillion’s Michael Roob (157), Sioux Falls Washington’s Lane Knutson (175) and Vermillion’s Rollie French (215).

Region 2A top-ranked athletes: 

Brendon Oehme, Brandon Valley (113), Trevon Oehme, Brandon Valley (113), Bentley Williams, Sioux Falls Lincoln (132), Logan O’Connor, Harrisburg (165), Elijah Schunke (190) and Navarro Schunke (285).

Best Matchup: Brandon Valley’s Trevon Oehme and Lincoln’s Hudson Cisar are ranked No. 1 and No. 4 respectively at (120). 

Region 3A - Pierre and Aberdeen Central ready to slug it out for region wrestling title

PIERRE — In the most recent Dakota Grappler Class A team rankings Aberdeen Central, third and Pierre, fourth were separated by a mere four points. 

Of all of the Class A regions, 3A is expected to be the most hotly contested for team supremacy. 

• Aberdeen Central - The Golden Eagles have quietly put together one of the best seasons in Class A this year. Rayden Zens (126), Tate Huff (132), Ridley Waldo (138), Owen Ward (144), Mason Schrempp (157), Elias Biegler (165), Cole Dunleavy (190), Ayden Gisi (215), and Bryce Beitelspacher (285) are all expected to contend for region championships and qualify for the state meet. Waldo and Schrempp are the top ranked wrestlers in their weight classes while Gisi is ranked No. 3 (215). 

• Pierre - The Governors have bounced around between the No. 2 and No. 4 team in Class A all season. Several bumps and bruises along the way have hindered the Governors but coach Shawn Lewis felt like his squad was as healthy as they’ve been all season heading into the state dual tournament. Gable Uhrig (106), Walker West (113), Lincoln Schoenhard (126) Alex Oedekoven (132), Tristan Spencer (138), Jaxon Ducheneaux (157), Lucas Chamberlain (165), Trey Lewis (175), Chance Carda (190), Elijah Bouchtee (215)  and Lucas Colman (285) should all punch tickets to the state tournament. 

Should be a really nice battle for third place in Region 3A as Chamberlain, Milbank and Sisseton could all be in the mix. 

Other athletes to watch: Sisseton’s Kayden Tchida (113), Milbank’s Owen Fischer (120), Sisseton’s Ian Metz (126), Sisseton’s Holden Hawkins (144), Huron’s Moses Gross (150), Milbank’s Tate Schlueter (175) and Milbank’s Landon Novy (285). 

Best Match: Aberdeen Central’s Ridley Waldo and Pierre’s Tristan Spencer (138) are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in this weight class. 

Region 4A - Sturgis is overwhelming favorite to claim Region 4A wrestling title

SPEARFISH — No region has a more clear cut favorite than Region 4A where Sturgis is expected to run away with the title Saturday. 

Coming off a Class A state dual title on Saturday the Scoopers should have some extra juice in the tank with a solid chance of taking a wrestler to state in every weight class. 

Tyler Baldwin (106), Teryn Zebroski (113), Benjamin Nadig (120), Tegan Zebroski (126), Dee Daniels (132),Beau Peters (138), Kalvin Ketelson (144), Joseph Nadig (150), Zhoel Irion (157), Preston Ray (165), Kelson Dirk (175), Aiden Werlinger (190) and Zak Juelfs (215) are all ranked in the top-eight of their respective weight classes. 

Dakarai Osborne is currently ranked No. 10 (285).

Rapid City Stevens at one point was ranked as the No. 2 team in Class A and the Raiders should be good for second place in Region 4A. Shea Richter (106), Max Schoenfeld (113), Corbin Zent (120), Brayden Collins (126), Joe Juennger (138), Jacob Williams (144), Brayden Voorhees (150) and Ayden Kellogg (215) are all ranked in the top-eight of their respective weight classes. 

Other athletes to watch: 

Pierce Hurd, Rapid City Central (106), Zach Soderlin (157), Douglas/Rapid City Christian/New Underwood’s Lucas Giersberg (285).

Matches to watch: 

• 106 - No. 1 Pierce Hurd of Rapid City Central vs. No. 3 Tyler Baldwin of Sturgis.

• 215 - No. 1 Zak Juelfs of Sturgis vs. No. 2 Ayden Kellogg of Rapid City Stevens.