By Rich Winter

605 Sports

MARTIN — Bennett County senior Gavin Risse has been a regular state place-winner during his high school career. At Saturday's Parkston Little B tournament Risse sent shockwaves through the gym, and across South Dakota when he defeated Miller/Highmore-Harrold’s Kellan Hurd (5-4) in the 144 finals of the Parkston Little B tournament. 

Risse has been wrestling in the 150 class this season but dropped down to 144 on Saturday. Risse is 16-2 and missed a few weeks in the early part of the season with injuries. The win over Hurd propelled Risse into the No. 1 ranking in Dakota Grappler’s Week 7 rankings.  

Three-point takedown rule favoring aggressive wrestlers

While in attendance of Saturday’s Winner Invitational the rule change awarding three points instead of two points for a takedown, favoring aggressive wrestlers, was never more apparent while watching the finals matches. 

Philip/Kadoka/Wall wrestlers Jace Blasius (157) and Kale Crowser (175) along with Wagner’s Gannon Knebel (190) absolutely dominated their opponents all day. In all of their matches these three wrestlers took their opponents down, let them up, took them down and let them up…

Finals Matches: 

• 157 - Jace Blasius (Philip/Kadoka Area/Wall) 22-1, Sr. over Luke Guthmiller (Bon homme/Avon) 28-12, Jr. (TF-1.5 2:23 (19-4)).

• 175 - Kale Crowser (Philip/Kadoka Area/Wall) 29-1, Sr. over Kolton Vlcek (Bon homme/Avon) 25-13, Sr. (TF-1.5 2:30 (21-5)).

• 190 - Gannon Knebel (Wagner) .29-1, Jr. over Isaiah Crownover (Bon homme/Avon) 27-7, So. (TF-1.5 1:31 (17-2)).

Todd County wrestler Unique Clairmont on a tear

Coming off a fourth-place finish at the 2024 state wrestling tournament Todd County junior Unique Clairmont was expected to be one of the top contenders for the 235 title at the 2025 state tournament. 

After losing just seven matches last season Clairmont entered the week with a 9-11 record. Clairmont ripped off six consecutive wins over the weekend (all pins) winning the Pierre Invitational on Friday and the River City Rumble on Saturday. 

Clairmont, 15-11 moved up to No. 3 in the Week 7 Dakota Grappler rankings. 

Todd County's Unique Clairmont wrestling Canton's Natalie Long in the finals of the Bride of the Monster tournament in 2024 - (Rodney Haas / 605 Sports)

Winner Invitational

Team Points: 1. Winner, 233.5; 2. Bon Homme/Avon, 220.5; 3. Philip/Kadoka Area/Wall, 197; 4. Faulkton Area, 140.5; 5. Custer, 114; 6. Parker, 99.5; 7. Stanley County, 96.5; 8. Lead-Deadwood, 80; 9. Burke/Gregory, 75; 10. Wagner, 71.5; 11. Potter County, 69.5; 12. Hot Springs, 58.5; 13. Mobridge-Pollock, 28; 14. Sunshine Bible Academy, 22; 15. Sully Buttes, 14; 16. Andes Centra, 3. 

Championship Results: 

106 - Apollo Willuweit (Winner) 27-0, 8th. over Ryvr Larson (Bon homme/Avon) 28-2, So. (TF-1.5 4:25 (16-1))

113 - Roukyn Robbins (Winner) 32-4, 8th. over Michael Branaugh (Bon homme/Avon) 27-8, Fr. (Dec 7-1)

120 - Rylan Robbins (Winner) 32-6, Fr. over DeVonne Sessler (Bon homme/Avon) 26-7, 7th. (MD 10-2).

126 - Lane Stuwe (Potter County) 21-7, Sr. over Drew Janke (Lead-Deadwood) 27-9, Sr. (TF-1.5 5:49 (15-0))2nd Place - Alek Kuchta of Parker

132 - Tray Weiss (Custer) 39-2, Sr. over Alek Kuchta (Parker) 18-9, Sr. (TF-1.5 3:09 (20-2)).

138 - Karson Keiser (Winner) 31-1, Sr. over Jackson Kaul (Bon homme/Avon) 28-7, Sr. (TF-1.5 4:53 (19-4))

144 - Ryken Orel (Winner) 30-4, Jr. over Leighton Sander (Custer) 32-9, Sr. (MD 15-2).

150 - Spencer Sargent (Stanley County) 26-6, Sr. over Michael Even (Parker) 18-6, Sr. (Dec 4-2)

157 - Jace Blasius (Philip/Kadoka Area/Wall) 22-1, Sr. over Luke Guthmiller (Bon homme/Avon) 28-12, Jr. (TF-1.5 2:23 (19-4)).

165 - Tyce Gropper (Philip/Kadoka Area/Wall) 19-10, Jr. over Clayton Pankratz (Parker) 18-12, So. (Dec 8-2).

175 - Kale Crowser (Philip/Kadoka Area/Wall) 29-1, Sr. over Kolton Vlcek (Bon homme/Avon) 25-13, Sr. (TF-1.5 2:30 (21-5)).

190 - Gannon Knebel (Wagner) .29-1, Jr. over Isaiah Crownover (Bon homme/Avon) 27-7, So. (TF-1.5 1:31 (17-2))

215 - Jensen Fitch (Philip/Kadoka Area/Wall) 24-3, Sr. over Mason Curtis (Winner) 27-7, So. (MD 13-1)

285 - Lincoln Dikoff (Faulkton Area) 24-2, Sr. over Derek Fenenga (Winner) 21-13, Jr. (Fall 1:57)

 

River City Rumble:

Team Points: 1. O’Gorman, 171.5; 2. Chamberlain, 169; 3. Huron, 126; 4. Sisseton, 119; 5. Mitchell, 113.5; 6. Upton, Wyoming, 108; 7. Douglas/Rapid City Christian/New Underwood, 82; 8. Milbank, 78; 9. Todd County, 13; 10. Cheyenne-Eagle Butte/Dupree, 10. 

Individual Results: 

106 - William O`Connor (SF O`Gorman) 21-8, 8th. over Blaze Sevigny (Mitchell) 14-11, Fr. (MD 10-1)

113 - Kayden Tchida (Sisseton) 20-3, So. over Carter Nelson (Huron) 18-7, So. (TF-1.5 3:48 (19-2))

120 - Haven Vrana (Upton) 21-4, Sr. over Noah Bennett (Mitchell) 15-10, Fr. (Fall 3:21).

126 - Landon Norman (Upton) 18-4, Jr. over Coy Eddy (Douglas/Rapid City Christian/New Underwood) 23-8, 8th. (SV-1 14-7).

132 - Brylee Brennan (Chamberlain) 18-10, 8th. over Jackson East (Upton) 17-4, Sr. (Fall 4:35).

138 - Trey Schneider (Upton) 22-3, Jr. over Boe Iverson (Sisseton) 16-7, Sr. (Dec 8-3).

144 - Sutton Powers (Chamberlain) 16-12, Jr. over Van Johnson (Mitchell) 5-5, Sr. (Dec 9-4). 

150 - Moses Gross (Huron) 12-0, Sr. over Holden Hight (SF O`Gorman) 12-5, Sr. (Fall 2:52)

157 - Holden Hawkins (Sisseton) 22-1, Jr. over slaton jones (SF O`Gorman) 19-7, Fr. (Dec 8-3)

165 - Xavier Donovan (Chamberlain) 16-12, Jr. over TJ Lien (Huron) 7-13, Sr. (Dec 9-5).

175 - Keenan Sheridan (SF O`Gorman) 30-0, Sr. over Chisum Blum (Chamberlain) 22-12, Fr. (Fall 0:59).

190 -Jesse Schneck (Milbank) 18-5, Sr. over Dusty Rose (Chamberlain) 15-14, Sr. (Dec 4-2).

215 - Rip Siemonsma (SF O`Gorman) 16-6, Jr. over Sean Foote (Mitchell) 14-7, Jr. (Dec 3-0).

285 - Rocky Clark (Mitchell) 19-5, So. over Daniel Vazquez (SF O`Gorman) 12-12, Sr. (Fall 3:47)

 

River City Rumble Girls

Team Points: 1. Bon Homme/Scotland/Avon, 160.5; 2. Douglas/Rapid City Christian/New Underwood, 123; 3. Mitchell, 78.5; 4. Huron, 73; 5. Chamberlain, 63.5; 6. Harding County, 57; 7. Milbank, 52; 8. Sisseton, 48; 9. Kimball/White Lake/Platte-Geddes, 37; 10. Todd County, 36; 11. Upton, Wyoming, 21; 12. Faulkton Area, 14. 

100 - McKyla Linke (Mitchell) 16-11, So. over Sydney Johnson (Bon Homme/Scotland/Avon) 11-12, 7th. (Dec 12-9).

107 - Chalie Sah (Huron) 20-6, So. over Clara Iverson (Sisseton) 20-14, Fr. (Fall 2:28).

114 - Vi Anderson (Sisseton) 26-4, Fr. over Frankie Kranz (Mitchell) 20-4, So. (Fall 3:47).

120 - Kanyn Padden (Harding County) 20-7, So. over Harper Kracht (Bon Homme/Scotland/Avon) 22-15, 7th. (Fall 3:50)

126 - Hadlee Kracht (Bon Homme/Scotland/Avon) 33-9, So. over Liliana Luque (Mitchell) 14-15, So. (Fall 1:51)

132 - Bailey Kemnitz (Bon Homme/Scotland/Avon) 22-14, 8th. over Kendalyn Mackenzie Mueller (Milbank) 16-15, Fr. over Emalee Von Eye (Douglas/Rapid City Christian/New Underwood) 21-11, Sr. (Fall 3:51)

138 - Mackenzie Mueller (Milbank) 16-15, Fr. over Emalee Von Eye (Douglas/Rapid City Christian/New Underwood) 21-11, Sr. (Fall 3:51).

145 - Peyton Hellmann (Bon Homme/Scotland/Avon) 25-0, Sr. over BreAnna Ganaden (Douglas/Rapid City Christian/New Underwood) 9-9, . (Fall 1:15).

152 - Ashley Tolsma (Bon Homme/Scotland/Avon) 23-9, Sr. over Jayce Turbiville (Harding County) 19-9, So. (Fall 4:27).

165 - LaRae Severson (Kimball//White Lake/Platte-Geddes) 8-5, Sr. over Zoey Holtz (Douglas/Rapid City Christian/New Underwood) 28-11, . (Fall 1:47)

185 - (Milbank) 14-7, 8th. over Hope Kemnitz (Bon Homme/Scotland/Avon) 15-13, Jr. (Fall 2:44).

235 - Unique Clairmont (Todd County) 15-11, Jr. over Jaslene Blacksmith (Todd County) 0-3, . (Fall 0:58).

 

Kingsbury County tournament

Team Points: 1. Kingsbury County, 238.5; 2. Canby, North Dakota, 173.5; 3. Sioux Falls Washington, 167.5; 4. Redfield, 162.5; 5. Groton Area, 153.5; 6. Brookings, 126; 7. Britton-Hecla, 118; 8. Flandreau, 114.5; 9. Sioux Valley, 88; 10. Lyman, 50.5; T-11. Hamlin/Castlewood, 30; T-11. Warner/Northwestern, 30; 13. Ipswich/Leola/Bowdle, 19.5.

Individual Results:

106 - Maddon Odland (Redfield Area) 29-6, Jr. over Chase Henriksen (Kingsbury County) 29-9, So. (Dec 7-1).

113 - Cash Antony (Canby) 18-16, Jr. over Chace Odland (Redfield Area) 22-13, Fr. (Dec 11-8).

120 - Eli Greenman (Canby) 27-8, Sr. over Teague Bergjord (Flandreau) 25-9, Jr. (Fall 2:57).

126 - Cody Zell (Kingsbury County) 23-7, So. over zach pederson (Flandreau) 30-11, Fr. (Fall 1:55).

132 - Gannon Gilligan (Kingsbury County) 31-4, Sr. over Jacob Milliron (Brookings) 18-12, So. (Fall 1:06)

138 - Conner Zens (Redfield Area) 32-5, Jr. over Mekhi Morgado (Sioux Falls Washington) 19-16, Jr. (Fall 1:08).

144 - Bryce Hawkinson (Britton-Hecla) 20-2, Jr. over Greyson Nielson (Kingsbury County) 30-7, So. (Dec 7-3).

150 - Tallen Merritt (Canby) 14-15, So. over Tate Everson (Hamlin/Castlewood) 18-11, Jr. (TF-1.5 4:15 (17-2)).

157 - Sam Drietz (Canby) 27-3, Sr. over Christian Ehresmann (Groton Area) 18-3, Sr. (Fall 3:41)

165 - Kaleb Johnson (Kingsbury County) 31-6, Sr. over Blake Giese (Canby) 27-6, Sr. (Dec 11-9)

175 - Gabriel Stern (Brookings) 22-3, Sr. over Korbin Kucker (Groton Area) 23-4, Sr. (MD 10-2).

190 - Lane Knutson (Sioux Falls Washington) 33-3, Sr. over Dylan Murray (Redfield Area) 18-6, Sr. (Fall 1:56).

215 - Camden Murray (Redfield Area) 31-1, Sr. over Karter Headrick (Flandreau) 28-8, Sr. (Fall 2:33)

285 - Preston Cavalier (Warner/Northwestern) 23-2, Sr. over Myles Yitagesu (Sioux Falls Washington) 21-7, Sr. (Fall 0:52)

 

Sturgis wins East / West dual tournament in Pierre

Sturgis 60, Pierre 15

Sturgis 66, Harrisburg 6

Sturgis 46, Brandon Valley 21

Sturgis 43, Aberdeen Central 21

 

Dakota Xii Conference Boys

Team Points: 1. Canton, 240; 2. West Central, 207; 3. Tri-Valley, 159.5; 4. Madison, 120.5; 5. Elk Point-Jefferson, 93; 6. Vermillion, 81.5; 7. Lennox, 70.5; 8. Dell Rapids 46.5; 9. Dakota Valley, 46.5. 

Individual Results: 

106 - Kaden Haakinson (West Central) 19-1, Fr. over Bode Walker (Canton) 25-9, Fr. (TF-1.5 4:38 (17-1)).

113 - Landon Walker (Canton) 31-2, Sr. over Bentley Klinkhammer (West Central) 20-7, 8th. (TF-1.5 3:21 (17-2)).

120 - Carter Kendrick (Canton) 22-3, So. over Brody Gossen (West Central) 30-1, So. (Dec 4-3).

126 - Zach Bartels (Canton) 32-2, Sr. over Karson Vessells (West Central) 28-7, So. (Dec 6-2).

132 - Aiden Schrempp (Canton) 15-2, So. over Jade Wilkens (Madison) 16-9, So. (MD 11-3).

138 - Luke Swatek (Elk Point-Jefferson) 20-6, Fr. over Cole Hendrixson (Tri-Valley) 13-4, So. (Fall 3:46).

144 - Caleb Hodges (Madison) 19-0, Jr. over Jackson Boonstra (Dakota Valley) 18-3, Sr. (Dec 12-9)

150 - Conner Giedd (Canton) 11-1, So. over Michael Roob (Vermillion) 17-3, Sr. (Dec 4-2).

Canton's Conner Giedd won a Dakota X!! 150 title on Saturday - Photo courtesy of Bree Adam

157 - Keaton Vessells (West Central) 32-5, Sr. over Treyson Richter (Tri-Valley) 24-5, So. (Fall 1:21).

165 - Brody Dybvig (Tri-Valley) 26-3, Jr. over Padraig Fulton (Vermillion) 9-3, So. (TF-1.5 2:25 (18-1)).

175 - Landyn Reiser (Tri-Valley) 28-1, Jr. over Caleb Heuertz (Elk Point-Jefferson) 13-7, So. (Fall 1:58).

190 - Teague Granum (Canton) 19-0, Sr. over Gunner Ewing (Elk Point-Jefferson) 23-5, Sr. (Fall 2:36).

220 - Rollie French (Vermillion) 20-1, Sr. over Quinn Carr (Dell Rapids) 21-8, Sr. (TF-1.5 4:22 (17-1)).

285 - Hunter Richmond (Canton) 32-2, Sr. over Ashten Dorhout (Madison) 24-3, So. (Fall 5:06)

 

Dakota XII Girls

Team Points: 1. Canton, 179; 2. Madison, 62; 3. West Central, 47; 4. Dell Rapids, 18; 5. Lennox, 16; 6. Dakota Valley, 8.5; 7. Vermillion, 2; 8. Tri-Valley, 0. 

Individual Results: 

100 - Jewel Gannon (Canton) 19-10, Jr. over Ella Coomes (Madison) 15-4, 7th. (Fall 0:51).

107-114 - Nayeli Ortega (Canton) 28-13, Fr. over Brooke Warejcka (Canton) 21-6, Fr. (Fall 4:12)

120 - 126 - Finley Evjen (Canton) 35-0, 8th. over Gracie Lobbins (Madison) 14-5, Jr. (Fall 3:16).

132-138 - Hailey Fortney (West Central) 19-7, So. over Alyssa McCracken (Canton) 13-15, So. (Fall 0:58).

145-152 - Lakynn Qualseth (Canton) 27-10, So. over Devrah Meyer (Madison) 16-8, Jr. (Fall 0:37).

185 - Kori Wallner (Canton) 17-6, So. over Josie Becker (Dell Rapids) 1-8, 8th. (Fall 0:20)

235 - 1st Place - Mallory Baldwin of Canton