By Rich Winter

605 Sports

TIMBER LAKE — With a burgeoning youth program, parental involvement and community support the Timber Lake Panthers will have a high school wrestling team, of their own, for the first time next season.

After years of building toward this moment, Panther wrestling was approved Wednesday by the South Dakota High School Activities Association Board of Directors for the 2024-25 season. 

“Just a couple weeks ago we had wrestling approved by the Timber Lake school board,” Sawyer Sandquist, a Timber Lake community member and McLaughlin assistant coach, said. “Going into that meeting I was nervous and thought there might be some backlash and concerns but the meeting went very well and everyone was very supportive.” 

For the past two seasons Timber Lake has co-oped with McLaughlin. The move toward that co-op started in 2019 when Sandquist’s younger brother, then a home-schooled student living outside Timber Lake, expressed interest in wrestling. 

Before Sandquist could get any kind of approval to have wrestling, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Undaunted, Sandquist found a 15x15 mat online and began practicing with his brother. 

It sparked an interest from others in the community and wheels were set in motion for a wrestling program. 

“Roy Veit (a Timber Lake parent) asked me if his son could work with us and go to AAU tourneys,” Sandquist said. “Two other kids started practicing and it kinda went from there.” 

Sandquist’s brother ended up going to school in Mobridge but the fire had been lit and the Timber Lake School Board allowed youth from their school to participate as part of the McLaughlin team starting in the 2021-22 season. 

Winter 2023 proved to be problematic for kids getting to McLaughlin, a 39-mile trip from Timber Lake, for practice.

“Last year with the winter weather it was just hard to drive the 78-mile round trip to McLaughlin every day,” he said. “I think that distance is part of the reason the school wanted to go on their own. It was awesome for McLaughlin to go in with us but that’s a lot of travel time.” 

With interest in a new sport nearly 40 kids, boys and girls are part of the Timber Lake youth wrestling program. About 30 of those kids go to tournaments and Sandquist said the parental involvement has been huge for the growth of the sport. 

“It has been astounding to see how much support is out there,” he said. “We had two or three kids that have wrestled before so wrestling is completely new. We have parents that are watching YouTube videos and registering their kids on track wrestling. I haven’t had to beg parents to do anything.” 

Timber Lake is often thought of as a basketball town. Sandquist doesn’t disagree with that but feels like wrestling is just another opportunity for kids to do something else. 

“Wrestling is a new sport and we have kids that are never going to be basketball players,” he said. “A lot of parents feel like this is just another opportunity that the community needed and is now provided.” 

The youth wrestlers seem to be gaining on their more experienced competition. 

“The kids are picking it up like crazy,” he said. “We have a bunch of kids that have won their last three tournaments and we have some kids that I think will qualify for the state tournament in a few weeks.” 

Following the completion of the high school season, and through fundraising efforts Timber Lake was able to purchase a competition size mat. That mat and those youth wrestlers will be on full display Thursday when the school hosts Dupree and Mobridge for a wrestling dual. 

Timber Lake will compete in Region 4B next season.