By Rich Winter

605 Sports

With only four state tournament slots available from every weight class Saturday’s Class B region wrestling tournaments will see plenty of competitive matches.

The four sites for Saturday’s Class B regionals are 1B (Hayti), 2B (Salem), 3B (Wagner) and 4B (Rapid CIty). 

Region 1B: Clark/Willow Lake, Sisseton, Redfield and Kingsbury County set for Region 1B showdown

HAYTI — Heading into Saturday’s Region 1B tournament the race for the team championship looks to be as tight and competitive as any of the region tournaments. 

Clark/Willow Lake and Kingsbury County are both having terrific seasons and will be looking to qualify as many wrestlers as possible. Sisseton may not have the depth of the Cyclones or Knights but the Redmen have some extremely talented wrestlers that are aiming for region titles. Add Redfield to the mix of title contenders and Region 1B will have plenty of drama throughout the tournament.

Kingsbury County's Kaleb Johnson wrestled Winner's August Bartels during the Class B state dual tournament - Rodney Haas / 605 Sports

Region 1B tidbits: 

• 113 weight class is loaded: Sisseton’s Kayden Tchida is 31-4, ranked No. 2 in the state and the top seed in a very tough weight class. CWL’s Kaden Wookey is the No. 2 seed and ranked No. 5 in the state. Webster Area’s Tayten Kurkowski is 10-4 and the No. 3 seed while Redfield’s Chance Odland, 28-16 is the No. 4 seed. Groton Area’s Keegan Kucker, 29-7 is ranked No. 4 in the state but is the No. 5 seed in a very tough bracket. 

• Groton Area’s Christian Ehresmann adding to school record win total: Earlier this season Groton Area’s Christian Ehresmann became the first wrestler to surpass 200 wins for Groton Area. Ehresmann was ranked No. 4 (157) in the latest Dakota Grappler rankings and is the top seed 144 for Saturday’s Region 1A tournament. 

• Sisseton has four No. 1 seeded wrestlers: Kayden Tchida (113), Evan Folk (120), Ian Metz (126) and Holden Hawkins (157) are all top seeded in their respective weight classes. 

• 285 weight class is loaded: Another very tough weight class from Region 1A. Warner/Northwestern’s Preston Cavalier, Faulkton Area’s Lincoln Dikoff, Sioux Valley’s Owen Vandeweerd and Groton Area’s Gavin Englund are the top four seeds in the region and the No. 2, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 ranked wrestlers in Class B.

Region 2B: Loaded Canton squad looking untouchable at Region 2B tournament

SALEM — Before the Canton wrestling team gears up for a run at an eighth consecutive Class B team championship, the C-Hawk must get past the Region 2B tournament. 

With top-ranked wrestlers Landon Walker (113), Zach Bartels (126) and Hunter Richmond (285), along with No. 2 ranked wrestlers Carter Kendrick (120), Conner Giedd (157) and Aidan Kranz (165) leading the way the region title looks to be well in hand. 

The C-Hawks have ranked wrestlers in 11-of-14 weight classes heading into the Region 2B tournament.

Tri-Valley is having a nice season and ranked wrestlers Sean King, Legend Frederick, Owen Bundle, Connor Glasford, Cole Hendrixson, Treyson Richter, Brody Dybvig, Landyn Reiser and Luke Nehlich should put the Mustangs in a comfortable position Saturday.

Canton's Landon Walker wrestling Winner's Roykin Robbins during the Class B state dual tournament - Rodney Haas / 605 Sports

Region 2B tidbits

• Canistota’s Joseph Haag and Joshua Popkes look to qualify for Class B state tournament: It is not every year that a wrestler from Canistota makes the state tournament but Canistota has two potential state tournament wrestlers. Hawks freshman Joseph Haag is 8-14 on the season but is the No. 4 seed in the 144 bracket. Popkes, 22-14, a sophomore, is the No. 4 seed at 150. 

• Carter Kendrick (Canton) vs. Landon Flogstad (McCook Central/Montrose): The 120-weight class has been a veritable revolving door every weekend. Several weeks ago Kendrick, 30-4 was ranked No. 7 but is now all the way up to No. 2 and is the No. 1 seed in the region. Flogstad, 32-4 is the No. 2 seed in the region but the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the weight class. 

• Zach Bartels (Canton) vs. Trystan Traupal (McCook Central/Montrose): The 126 final should feature the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked Class B athletes. Bartels, 43-2 hasn’t lost to a Class B wrestler this season with his two losses coming to Tea Area’s Tyler Baldwin.

• Region 2B 175 bracket is loaded: Howard’s Weston Remmers, Tri-Valley’s Landyn Reiser, Elk Point-Jefferson’s Gunner Ewing and Flandreau’s Justin Klein form one of the more formidable region brackets for Saturday. Remmers earned the top seed but all four wrestlers are ranked in the top-seven of this weight class. 

Region 3B: Winner, Kimball/White Lake/Platte-Geddes, Bon Homme/Avon and Parkston set for region wrestling clash

WAGNER — With top-heavy teams like Winner, Kimball/White Lake/Platte-Geddes, Bon Homme/Avon and Parkston it is hard to argue against Region 3B as being the strongest of all the Class B regions. 

Class B’s No. 2, No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 teams meet in Wagner on Saturday where state tournament berths are going to be highly contested. 

Winner: The Warriors have steadily climbed in the Class B rankings this season but the Warriors will need to hit on all cylinders Saturday to fend off a talented host of contenders. Ranked wrestlers for Winner include Apollo Willuweit, Roykin Robbins, Rylan Robbins, Karson Keiser, Ryken Orel, Kellen Cihak-Brozik, Mason Curtis and Derek Fenenga. 

Winner's Rylan Robbins wrestling Canton's Carter Kendrick during the Class B state dual tournament - Rodney Haas / 605 Sports

Kimball/White Lake/Platte-Geddes started the season extremely strong but dipped in late January and early February but the WiLdKats seem to have rebounded with success in late season tournaments. Ranked wrestlers for Kimball/White Lake/Platte-Geddes are Rhys Truman, Gavin Braun, Johnny Lenz, Iden Myers, Carter Konechne, Lucas Lenz, Kenyon Kuiper, Dalton Deffenbaugh and Chris Bass. 

Bon Homme/Avon topped Canton in a recent tournament and has ranked wrestlers in Ryvr Larson, Michael Branaugh, Devonne Sessler, Corbin Palsma, Jackson Kaul, Jaden Bult, Weston Bierema, Luke Guthmiller, Kolton Vlcek and Isaiah Crownover. 

Parkston’s ranked wrestlers are Kaden Holzbauer, Carter Sommer,  Wyatt Anderson, Gage Reichert, Kolter Kramer, Kash Neugebauer and Gage Jodozi.

Region 3B tidbits: 

• Kellan Hurd (MHH) vs. Ryken Orel (Winner): The 144 final of Region 3B could be a preview of the state final as the top-ranked wrestlers in this weight class are poised to meet for the third time this season. Round one went to Orel in an 11-1 win but Hurd won the most recent bout, 4-2 in the finals of the Big Dakota Conference tournament. 

• Winner’s Konnor Osborn is worth watching at 150: Osborn enters the Region 3B tournament with a 3-1 record and is the No. 2 seed in his bracket. Osborn has been working his way back from injury and finished 4th in the 2024 Class B state tournament at 132. 

• Burke/Gregory’s Jhett Eklund drops to 175: Jhett Eklund finished 4th in the 2024 Class B state tournament at 190 and has wrestled that weight all season. Eklund dropped to 175 for the region 3B tournament and is the No. 2 seed behind Parkston’s Kolter Kramer. 

• The 215 weight class at Region 3B tournament is loaded: Wessington Springs/Woonsocket/Wolsey-Wessington’s Holden Havlik is ranked No. 2 in the state and earned the top seed in Region 3B tournament. Parkston’s Gage Jodozi is the No. 2 seed and ranked No 3 in the state. Winner’s Mason Curtis earned the No. 3 seed and is ranked No. 5 in South Dakota. 

Region 4B: Badlands Brawlers reload yet remain Region 4B wrestling favorites

RAPID CITY —- A new year and the same narrative from Region 4B as the Philip/Kadoka Area/Wall wrestlers are pegged as favorites heading into Saturday’s tournament. 

Seniors Jace Blasius (157), Kale Crowser (175) are both top ranked and fellow senior Jensen Fitch is ranked No. 4 at 215. Other ranked wrestlers for the Brawlers are Cannin Snyder, Shay Weber, Chance Wagner, Kasen Berry, Tel Gropper, Tyce Gropper and Ethan Harris. 

Stanley County's Spencer Sargent wrestling Bon Homme/Avon's Weston Bierema during the Class B state dual tournament - Rodney Haas / 605 Sports

Region 4B tidbits: 

• Kale Crowser is a takedown machine: Entering Saturday’s Region 4B tournament Crowser, a senior for Philip/Kadoka Area/Wall, is leading South Dakota in takedowns with 230. Aberdeen Central’s Mason Schrempp is No. 2 in South Dakota with 160 takedowns

• Maddux Risse and Gavin Risse, Bennett County: Cousins Maddux and Gavin Risse are both having spectacular seasons. Maddux Risse (120) spent part of the season ranked No.1 in his weight class. Gavin Risse, a senior, defeated Miller/Highmore-Harrold’s Kellan Hurd during the regular season and has been top ranked at both 144 and 150 but will wrestle at 144 at Saturday’s Region 4A tounament. 

• Witt Myers and Spencer Sargent, Stanley County: A great year for Stanley County, which qualified for the Class B state dual tournament. Myers is ranked No. 7 (132) and Sargent is currently ranked No. 3 at 150. 

• Tray Weiss, Custer: Weiss will be looking for a third consecutive Class B state title, the most in program history for Custer. Weiss enters the region tournament ranked No. 1 at 132. 

• Lemmon’s Gage Anderson looking for region title at 150: There are just three wrestlers from Lemmon competing in Saturday’s Region 4B tournament. Gage Anderson is 45-6 on the season and the No. 1 seed in the region tournament.