605 Sports Staff

And just like that winter sports are underway. 

On Tuesday, Howard opens the wrestling season as five teams are expected to gather for dual action. Defending Class B state champion Canton is in the mix, along with Beresford/Alcester-Hudson, Parker, Sioux Valley and Howard. Also in action Tuesday night, Sioux Falls Roosevelt will host West Central. 

Class B wrestling at a glance: 

Class B returns eight state champions from 2022. Kimball/White Lake sophomore Gavin Braun claimed a title at (106) as a freshman. Winner’s Maxton Brozik won at (113) and is now a junior. Stanley County senior Chase Hanson won at (120) while Canton’s Ayson Rice won at (126). Burke/Gregory’s Owen Hanson won at (132), Philp/Kadoka Area/Wall Badlands Brawlers’ Burk Blasius won at (170) and Bon Homme/Scotland/Avon’s Isaac Crownover won at (182)

Rice and Blasius are both juniors and will be looking for their third consecutive titles in February. 

Class A wrestling at a glance:

Class A returns nine state champions from 2022. Brandon Valley’s Travin Oehme, now a junior, won at (106). Watertown’s Sloah Johannsen won at (113) while Tea Area’s Maddix Slykhuis won at (120). Huron’s Moses Gross claimed a title at (132) as a freshman while Alex Mentzer of Brandon Valley won the (138) title as a junior. Mitchell’s Jagger Tyler won at (145), Carter Doney of Rapid City Stevens won at (152) and Sturgis athlete Reese Jacobs won at (170) with all three of those wrestlers now seniors. Brandon Valley’s Navarro Schunke won at (285). 

Sturgis senior Reece Jacobs will be looking for a third consecutive Class A state wrestling title.

Johannsen has lost just one match in the last two years, has two state titles under his belt and is only a junior. Jacobs and Schunke will both be looking for their third consecutive state titles in February. 

Girls wrestling at a glance: 

The 2023 state tournament will mark the third consecutive year of state championships for girl wrestlers and the growth of the sport should continue. The South Dakota girls return nine champions from a year ago. Kimball/White Lake/Platte-Geddes junior Akane Metcalf won a title at (106) a year ago. The Bon Homme/Scotland girls have two returning champions, Brittney Rueb (113) and Peyton Hellman (126). Harrisburg’s Regina Stoeser won a championship at (120) while Taylor Graveman returns after claiming a title at (132). Lead-Deadwood’s Trinity Zopp returns after winning a title at (154). Canton has two returning state champions in Carlee Laubach (170) and Zoe Adam (190). Pierre T.F. Riggs’s Ciarra McFarling won at (285) in 2022. 

Rueb, Hellman, Graveman, Laubach and McFarling each will be going for a third consecutive state championship this spring. 

Pierre's Ciara McFarling will be looking for a third consecutive state title, and she's only a sophomore.

Additional wrestling previews will be released in the coming weeks.