PRESHO — For the past 49 years the town of Presho and the Lyman County School District have come together to put on the Mid Dakota Monster, one of South Dakota’s premier wrestling tournaments.  

Lyman wrestling coach Chad Johnson remembers the event being a two-day tournament when he was in high school. He also remembers how the Monster almost didn’t survive some of those early years. 

“The event dwindled to 10 teams so we sent out emails to a bunch of different schools asking if they would come back,” Johnson said. “One of our biggest selling points was that Presho's location offered the opportunity for East and West River teams to see each other at a neutral site before the state tournament.”

Over the years the Mid Dakota Monster has become a hallowed tournament with more and more ranked teams attending every year. 

“This year we have 38 boys teams attending,” Johnson said. “The girls field nearly doubled in size from one year ago. We have 155 girls registered this year and 370 boys are scheduled to take the mat.”

The 2022 field is jam packed with ranked teams and wrestlers. Canton, Winner Area and McCook Central/Montose, the top three Class B teams, will be attending along with No. 5. Custer, No. 6 Kimball/White Lake/Platte-Geddes, No. 8 Parker. Class A No. 4 Pierre will attend as Class A No. 5 Tea Area will be making its first appearance in Presho. 

This year’s Mid Dakota Monster comes on the heels of last weekend’s McCook Central/Montrose Invitational where ranked wrestlers clashed in some of their first really big matches of the season. 

Johnson said the back-to-back tournaments are crucial in determining seeding for the state tournament in February. 

“I think last year these two tournaments were a huge factor in the criteria for seeding at the state tournament,” he said. “This time of year we see a lot of kids dropping weight and moving down a weight class and trying to figure out where they might be the most successful. 

Johnson noted that Class B’s No. 1 Tanner Meyers, of Canton, is moving down from 220 pounds to 195 pounds this week, which creates an absolutely loaded bracket. 

With over 500 athletes competing this weekend, community members are pitching in to make sure every little detail is taken care of. 

“At any given time we could have 50 different volunteers working between the two gyms,” Johnson said. “A lot of alumni and former wrestlers come back specifically for this weekend so they can help. In a situation like this you have to be creative and lean on your administration.”

There aren’t many high school wrestling tournaments that span two days, Johnson said

One of the longest tenured volunteers at the tournament is Johnson’s mom, Gloria, who has been manning the top-notch hospitality room for over 30 years. 

The Mid Dakota Monster is known for doing a few extra things for the athletes like giving away T-shirts to weight class winners. They also give away awards for the most pins and quickest pin. 

They also do a few things just for their community. Since 2008 the tournament has presented a Never Give Up award in memory of former Lyman wrestler Justin Cook who lost his life in 2008.