605 Sports Staff

The Class A region wrestling championships take place Saturday across South Dakota. Upper-tier teams will be looking to qualify as many athletes as possible for next weekend’s state tournament. Athletes must finish in the top four of their weight class at regions in order to qualify for that state tournament. 

Host Sites: 

1A - Sioux Falls O’Gorman

2A - Brandon Valley

3A - Milbank

4A - Douglas 

Region 1A — O’Gorman High School

Teams: Brookings, Dell Rapids, Madison, Sioux Falls O’Gorman, Sioux Falls Jefferson, Sioux Falls Roosevelt, Tea Area, Watertown, West Central

Region 1A could see one of the best team battles of the four regions. No. 5 Watertown, No. 6 Tea Area and No. 8 Brookings will line up and see who stands on top when the dust clears. 

Top Wrestlers: 

(106) West Central’s Karson Vessells (No. 6) is the top ranked athlete. Tea Area’s Tyler Woodring (No. 7), Sioux Falls Jefferson’s Aiden Wells (No. 8) along with Tate Hemboldt (Brookings) will battle for the top podium spots. 

(113) Watertown’s Sloan Johannsen is No. 1 for a reason and anything less than a region title will be a disappointment. Jackson Tschetter of Tea Area looks to be the finals opponent barring upset or injury. 

(120) Tea Area’s Maddix Slykhuis has been top ranked all season. Brookings athlete Nolan Miles (No. 5) and Watertown’s Braden Le (honorable mention) could be a likely finals opponent. 

(126) Watertown’s Weston Everson (No. 5) is a likely finals contender. Chandler Carda of West Central (honorable mention) should be a state qualifier by the end of the day. 

(132) With no ranked wrestlers this bracket may come down to Jesse Jost (West Central) and Nathan Briggs (Watertown) both of whom were in the honorable mention category this week. 

(138) Tea Area’s Wyatt Stuntebeck (No. 2) has been rock solid all season. Waiting for a showdown in the finals should be Watertown’s Carson Hansmann

(145) The Tea Area gauntlet continues with Connor Eimers (No. 2). Keenan Sheridan of Sioux Falls O’Gorman (No. 6) and Jude Jarding of West Central will be the main competition. 

(152) Top ranked Justin Zirpel of West Central is likely the region champion. Tea Area’s Sam Werdel (No. 4), Watertown’s Ian Johnson (No. 7) will battle for the other finals berth. 

(160) Top ranked Tyson Brandt of Brookings will be a handful for anyone in this bracket. Watertown’s Jax Kettwig and Madison’s Layne Hess should be state qualifiers from this region. 

(170) Jaxon Bowers of Brookings (No. 5) is the highest ranked athlete here. Chet Carda of West Central and Jackson Maag of Watertown will be looking to pencing their names in for the state tournament. 

(182) It will take a behemoth effort to knock Watertown’s Mac Young (No. 3) from the top spot in this region. Isaac Johnson from Tea Area and Israel Caldrom of Brookings were both in the honorable mention category in this weight class this week. 

(195) Watertown is going to get big points from their big guys. Arrow athlete Brock Eltrem (No. 5) has a clear path to the finals. Caleb Loehr and Gabe Gebhard will scramble for the opportunity to face Eltram. 

(220) Brookings athlete Luke Rasmussen (No. 1) and Watertown’s Draven Bau (No. 4) are the headliners. Tea Area’s Griffin Schneider (No. 5) will be looking to earn a trip to the finals. 

(285) Freshman Micah Hach (No. 7) is going to be a problem for the next three years. James Olson of Brookings and Nike Rosas of Tea Area are wrestlers in the honorable mention category of this weight class. 

Region 2A — Brandon

Teams: Beresford/Alcester-Hudson, Brandon Valley, Dakota Valley, Harrisburg, Lennox, Sioux Falls Lincoln, Sioux Falls Washington, Vermillion, Yankton

The biggests question coming out of 2A is how many champions will Brandon Valley crown and how many team points will they rack up on the way to region title? Harrisburg (No. 4) will be looking to get as many athletes qualified for the state meet as possible. 

Top Wrestlers: 

(106) Harrisburg’s Tyler Wurth (No. 3) and Brandon Valley’s Trevon Oehme will battle for a region title and seeding position at the state meet. 

(113) Vermillion’s Hayden Schroeder has been the No. 2 ranked grappler in this weight class all season. A likely finals opponent could come from Harrisburg’s Emory Johnson (No. 7) and Brandon Valley’s Hayden McGuire (No. 8). 

(120) No. 2 ranked Jesse Johnson of Brandon Valley should have no problems in this region. Carter Radcliffe of Harrisburg will be looking for a high finish. 

(126) No. 2 ranked Jordan Oehme of Brandon Valley will be looking to score big points. Vermillion’s Michael Robb (No. 6) along with Dell Rapids athlete John Mortrude (No. 8) will hope to reach the finals to take on Oehme. 

(132) No. 1 ranked Trason Oehme will be a tough out in this tournament. Harrisburg’s Korbyn Ockenga, BAH’s Jovey Christensen, Yankton’s Will Pavlish will all be looking for state tournament trips. 

(138) Brandon Valley keeps it rolling with top ranked Alex Mentzer looking for a region title. Petyon Tyron of Harrisburg (No. 7) is a likely finals opponent here. 

(145) Brandon Valley’s Gavin Chapman is only ranked No. 4 but still the top ranked grappler in this bracket. Harrisburg’s Logan O’Connor (No. 5) is a likely finals opponent. Dakota Valley’s Jackson Boonstra (No. 7) will be looking to make some noise for the Panthers. 

(152) With no wrestlers in the top-eight look for Vermillion’s Rollie French, Brandon Valley’s Cayden Langenhort and Harrisburg’s Brandon Simunek to be in the mix for that region title. 

(160) Dell Rapids athlete Weston Mason (No. 5) and Harrisburg’s Soren Aadland (No. 6) will battle for top spots on the podium. 

(170) Brandon Valley’s Lucas Slack (No. 2) and Sioux Falls Lincoln athlete Tae Ellenbencher (No. 4) are your region favorites. Collin Horrocks from Harrisburg should punch a ticket to the state meet. 

(182) Harrisburg’s top-ranked Ryan Hirschkorn should have no problems on his way to a region title. Brandon Valley’s Dominic Tucker (No. 4) and Sioux Falls Lincoln athlete Bryce Kwiecinski (No. 7) are the top candidates to meet Hirschkorn in the finals. 

(195) Could be a heck of a championship match in this bracket as Brandon Valley’s top-ranked Damion Schunke and No. 4 ranked Jack Detert of Harrisburg should meet in the finals. Lennox’s Jase Langbehn (No. 6) and BAH’s Landon Schurch (No. 7) fill out a loaded weight class. 

(220) Harrisburg’s Ayden Viox (No. 2) and Brandon Valley’s Owen Warren are likely headed for a battle royale in the finals. 

(285) Top ranked Navarro Schunke is the region favorite. Vermillion’s Zach Brady (No. 6) and Harrisburg’s Josh Larson (No. 8) are the top contenders to see Schunke in the finals. 

Region 3A — MILBANK

 Teams: Pierre, Mitchell, Chamberlain, Aberdeen Central, Milbank, Huron, Todd County, Cheyenne-Eagle Butte/Dupree

Another hard-fought team battle here with Pierre (No. 7), MItchell (No. 8) and Aberdeen Central all fighting to qualify athletes and bring home a region championship. 

Top Wrestlers: 

(106) Pierre’s Alex Oedekoven ranked No. 2 should have no problems rolling to a region title. Riley Waldo of Aberdeen Central will make a push to reach the final. 

(113) Aberdeen Central’s Tate Huff is ranked No. 6 and is the clear region favorite. Pierre’s Lincoln Schoenhard is a likely finals opponent for Huff. 

(120) Rayden Zens (No. 4) from Aberdeen Central is the only ranked athlete here. The top teams will be looking to qualify their athletes for the state tournament from this weight class. 

(126) Aberdeen Central’s Mason Schrempp is ranked No 4 after wrestling well in the latter part of the season. Chamberlain’s Dom Santiago (No. 7) along with Huron’s Jeran Sammons will battle to see who sees Schrempp in the finals. 

(132) Loaded weight class Saturday in Milbank that features Huron’s Moses Gross (No. 2), Pierre’s Tristan Spencer (No. 5), Mitchell’s Brock Sparks (No. 6) and Aberdeen Central’s Brock Martin. 

(138) Pierre’s Blake Judson (No. 4) is the top seed and your region favorite. Mitchell’s Brandon Sparks was an honorable mention wrestler in this bracket and could do well on Saturday. 

(145) Mitchell’s Jagger Tyler (No. 3) has a clear path to the finals. Pierre’s Chase Carda and Chamberlain’s Thomas Powell should meet to see who faces Tyler in the final. 

(152) The likely finals matchup here is Pierre’s Deegan Houska (No. 5) and Mitchell’s Tucker Vilhauer (No. 6)

(160) The home crowd will be in favor of Barrett Schneck (No. 3) claiming the title on Saturday. Pierre’s Jayden Wiebe and Huron’s Cole Oschner should punch tickets to the state tourney. 

(170) A likely finals matchup here would see Pierre’s Lucas Chamberlain (No. 7) meeting up with Mitchell’s Kendall Fick. 

(182) Mitchell’s Joe Van Overscheide (No. 2) has been on a tear as of late. Chance Carda from Pierre (No. 5) will have to get through Milbank’s Leyton Lafferty to reach the finals. 

(195) Chamberlain’s Noah Hutmacher (No. 2) wil face no ranked wrestlers during Saturday’s competition. 

(220) Todd County junior Rocky Wiedmann (No. 6) is the top seeded athlete in this bracket. Gavin Stotts from Pierre could be a likely finals opponent in this wide open weight class. 

(285) Mitchell’s Beau Foote (No. 2) and Chamberlain’s Canyon Burkhard (No. 3) will have company with Pierre’s Joshua Rydberg (No. 4) looking to upset his way into the finals. 

Region 4A — Douglas

Teams: Belle Fourche, Douglas, Lakota Tech, Little Wound, Pine Ridge, Rapid City Central, Rapid City Stevens, Spearfish, Sturgis

Rapid City Stevens (No. 2) will be looking to hold off Sturgis (No. 3) in the battle for the region 4A title. 

Top Wrestlers: 

(106) Top ranked Corbin Zent of Rapid City Stevens has a clear path to the finals. Sturgis athlete Teryn Zebroski (No. 4) along with Ryan Tschetter from Rapid City Stevens and Jagar McCarthy of Rapid City Central will all be looking to puch tickets to the state tourney. 

(113) Look for a battle between Sturgis athlete Tegan Zebroski (No. 3), Rapid City Central’s Riley Schmidt and Rapid City Stevens grappler Evan Eckholm (No. 5).

(120) No. 3 ranked Jack Schoenhard of Rapid City Stevens is the favorite. Waiting in the finals could be Beau Peters of Sturgis (No. 6), John Jeffrey of Spearfish (No. 7) or Logan Brown of Rapid City Central (No. 8). 

(126) Top-ranked Logan Graf of Rapid City Stevens should be taking home a region champion medal on Saturday. Kaden Olson from Sturgis (No. 3) is the likely finals opponent for Graf. 

(132) No. 3 ranked Keiton Olson of Sturgis and No. 4 ranked Caleb Richter of Rapid City Stevens look to be headed for a region showdown.

(138) Interesting bracket here with Belle Fouche athlete Thomas McCoy (No. 5) and Rapid Stevens wrestler Jacob McCormick (No. 6) the headliners. Kale Crowser of Douglas and Thane Elshere of Sturgis should be in the mix for state tourney berths. 

(145) Top-ranked Oakley Blakeman of Sturgis should breeze into the finals. Waiting there could be Bryan Roselles of Rapid City Stevens (No. 8) or unranked Perry Ketelson of Sturgis. 

(152) This one looks to be a battle between Spearfish athlete Clayton Donovan (No. 2) and Rapid City Stevens athlete Corter Doney (No. 3). 

(160) Another battle of top ranked wrestlers as No. 2 ranked Riley Benson of Rapid City Stevens and Landin Winter of Rapid City Central are favorites to reach the finals. 

(170) Sturgis athlete Reese Jacobs is ranked No. 1 for a reason. No other ranked wrestlers in this bracket although Ayden Kellog of Rapid City Stevens has been in-and-out of the rankings all season. 

(182) Tanner Vanscoy of Rapid City Stevens (No. 6) is the only ranked wrestler in this bracket and should have a comfortable session on Saturday. 

(195) Aiden Werlinger of Sturgis (No. 3) and Jaxon Morrison of Rapid City Central (No. 8) are locked and loaded for a trip to the state tournament. 

(220) Zac Juelfs of Sturgis (No. 7) and Reign Thompson of Rapid City Stevens are the top athletes in this weight class. 

(285) Rapid City Stevens athlete Colton Lauren (No. 5) is the only ranked wrestler in his bracket. His title would likely cement a team victory for the Raiders.