Mitchell's Sprinkel takes 2nd at ESD wrestling tourney

Tyson Sprinkel did not have the opportunity to wrestle in the Eastern South Dakota Conference tournament last year.

Now a junior for Mitchell, Sprinkel was unable to participate after being involved in a car accident, which resulted in his skull being cracked in two different places and ending his season.

Saturday at the conference meet held at the Mitchell High School gymnasium, Sprinkel’s comeback nearly came full circle.

The 220-pounder fought his way to the championship match, but fell to Pierre’s Lane Lettau on a 10-6 decision.

“I thought I wrestled pretty good in the beginning,” he said. “I came out wrestled good in my first match, the second match was a little tougher, but I got it done. But I have some stuff to work on. It feels good to be back. I wanted to wrestle real hard this year and come back and make a name for myself.”

Now 17-6 on the season, Sprinkel is eyeing a chance to earn a berth to the Class A state tournament. He and the Kernels will compete in the Region 3A tournament Saturday in Aberdeen.

Sprinkel qualified for the state tournament as a freshman in 2011 and was the only Mitchell wrestler Saturday to reach the championship match.

“Tyson Sprinkel getting into the finals and wrestling with the Pierre kid was good for him,” Mitchell coach Travis Carpenter said. “It’s kind of what we expect from him, but he is starting to find his groove a little bit and it’s the right time to do so.”

Sophomores Trey Hohn (120) and Robert McCardle (285) each finished fourth in their weight classes. The Kernels, who finished the team standings in eighth in the eight-team conference, were without junior Alex Herrick and sophomores Ethan Parr and Matt Larson due to injury.

Herrick (132), placed third in the Class A state wrestling tournament last season, Larson (138) has 18 wins this season and qualified for the state tournament in 2011 and Parr is second on the team in wins with 21.

“This is about what I expected with the kids that we have out this week,” Carpenter said. “There’s probably two or three matches throughout the day that I think we had the chance to win that we didn’t.

“It’s a big deal to have those kids in there, if we would have had them in there we would have been somewhere in the pack. … Hopefully they will all be back by Saturday.”

With a score of 211.5, Pierre was crowned the ESD champions for the third straight year. Huron came in second with a total score of 144 and Aberdeen finished third with 134 points.

Team scores:

1. Pierre 211.5; 2. Huron 144; 3. Aberdeen 134; 4. Brookings 94; 5. Brandon Valley 92.5; 6. Yankton 80; 7. Watertown 41; 8. Mitchell 34.

Championship round

106: Spencer Sarringar (Pierre) dec. Jacob Puppe (Brookings) 11-6; 113: Jebben Keyes (Pierre) dec. Wyatt Shillingstad (Huron) 7-2; 120: James Suter (Watertown) maj. dec. Jackson Pletten (Brandon Valley) 11-2; 126: Chet Glanzer (Huron) dec. Adam Pressler (Brandon Valley) 3-2; 132: Tanner Monfore (Pierre) pinned Peter Hansen (Brookings) 4:32; 138: Griff Hieb (Aberdeen) pinned Caleb Stoltenberg (Pierre) 3:32; 145: Mitch Johnson (Aberdeen) dec. Nick Hanson (Brookings) 3-1; 152: Hartman Katz (Huron) dec. John Frisco (Aberdeen) 7-5; 160: Reagan Francorn (Huron) pinned Seth Scott (Pierre) 2:50; 170: Mason Bender (Brandon Valley) maj. dec. Dawson Monfore (Pierre) 10-2; 182: Tyler Kleinsasser (Huron) fall by medical forfeit Kyle Sarringar (Pierre); 195: Trey Maier (Pierre) dec. Dustin French (Huron) 5-1; 220: Lane Lettau (Pierre) dec. Tyson Sprinkel (Mitchell) 10-6; 285: Dylan Bennett (Pierre) pinned Justin Behrend (Brookings) 6:25 OT.

Tags: sports, updates, wrestling, mitchell