Parkston wins Region 3B

WAGNER — The Parkston wrestling team has been virtually unstoppable this season.

Saturday at the Region 3B wrestling tournament in Wagner was no different.

The Trojans had 10 wrestlers in the finals and finished the day with 230 points to cruise to the team title. Parkston, which won all but one of its tournaments during the season, qualified a total of 12 to state, which starts Friday in Aberdeen.

The next closest team to the Trojans was Burke/Gregory, which came in second with 146.5 points.

“It’s good to win the region, but that’s not our goal,” Parkston coach Jared Digmann said. “I think we set ourselves up for pretty good for state.

“We got 12 in out of 14, so all in all it was a good day. I think we are sitting all right, but we still have to work and make sure we are all wrestling to our potential.”

Parkston’s Blake Bietz (113), Weslee Dvorak (145), Mitch Heisinger (152), Andrew Semmler (195), and Brady Reiff (220) each claimed individual titles.

Semmler and Reiff each pinned their way to the state tournament, earning three fall victories. Semmler beat Scott Assman, of Winner, by fall in the finals and is 37-9 on the season. Reiff (40-0) won all three of his matches in under a minute. The sophomore defeated Wagner’s Truman Ashes in the quarterfinals in 19 seconds, Marshall Johnson, of Miller/Highmore-Harrold, in 20 seconds and Burke/Gregory’s Dowain Kerner in the finals in 56 seconds.

“I thought I wrestled pretty good, but there is always room for improvement,” said Reiff, who is heading to the state tournament for the third straight year. “I think we are ready to go heading into the state. We just have to make sure we wrestle our best and take it one match at a time.”

Also joining the five Parkston region champions are Logan Mahoney (106), Dawson Semmler (120), Ethan Murtha (126), Austin Ripp (132), Myles Bialas (138), Miles Semmler (170) and Austin Bertram (285).

This season the Trojans were 11-0 in duals and placed wrestlers in the state tournament in 12 of the 14 weight classes.

“I think with the sheer number of qualifiers and coming out of the regions number one will set them up pretty well,” Winner coach Matt Chambers said. “I think they are the favorites, but I am not going to say they can’t be beat because anything can happen at a state tournament.”

Wagner finishes third, gets two region champs

Tyler Dion and David Kocer claimed region champions for Wagner Saturday.

The duo punched their tickets to the state tournament in emphatic fashion. Dion (33-2) pinned each opponent he faced in the 138-pound weight division. Kocer (32-1) also won each of his matches by fall.

“Tyler and David had a good day. They absolutely wrestled well,” Wagner coach Chas Welch said. “They have a chance to win at state, no doubt about it.”

Kocer (160) defeated Forrerst Cerv, of Winner, Lyman’s Lane Scott in his first two matches before beating Luke Warejcka, of Kimball/White Lake/Platte-Geddes, in the finals.

Dion beat Miller/ Highmore-Harrold’s Jaxson Brueggerman in the quarterfinals, Nolan Donahue, of Winner, in the semifinalss and Parkston’s Myles Bialas in the finals.

“I did what I usually do, which is not worry about postseason, stay relaxed and do what I do,” Dion said.

Both wrestlers are ranked first in the Class B state rankings in their respective weight class and help anchor a Wagner team, which qualified eight to the state tournament.

As a team, the Red Raiders finished in fourth place only ½ point behind third-place Winner.

Along with Dion and Kocer, Sage Zephier (126), Trevor Lensing (170), Nick Dion (132), Austin Soukup (145), Brady Soulek (152) and Dakota Zephier (182) also qualified for state.

“It was definitely a day full of ups and downs,” Welch said. “We are absolutely not satisfied with the way we wrestled, but we had eight guys punch their ticket to state, and we have those eight guys to work with next week.

“We are going to work on the little things that it takes to finish takedowns, get pins, get away on bottom, all the little things are what make a difference at this point in the season.”

KWLPG’s Turner Blasius claims region title

All season, Kimball/White Lake/Platte-Geddes wrestler Turner Blasius has wrestled at 170 pounds. Saturday, he moved up to the 182-pound weight class and the decision paid off.

Blasius (32-11) defeated Winner’s Logan Boerner in the quarterfinals and Bon Homme’s Thomas Mitzel in the semifinalss before besting Burke/Gregory’s Brody Boes in the championship.

“It feels pretty good to work hard all year and finally have it pay off today,” said Blasius, who won each of his matches by fall. “This is my first time bumping up to 182, so a lot of the guys I haven’t really wrestled before, but I used my quickness and came out on top.”

This is the sophomore’s first time qualifying for the Class B state tournament and he said he is excited to be in the field. Blasius will not be alone at state as his KWLPG teammate Luke Warejcka (32-16) placed second in the 160-pound weight class.

Warejcka qualified for the state tournament for the third time in his high school career. The senior made the Class B tournament as an eighth-grader and freshman.

“They both wrestled well,” Kimball/White Lake/Platte-Geddes coach Thomas Konechne said. “Luke beat a kid that he has split with and he’s a senior, so it was good to see him qualify for the state tournament again.”

Winner places 10 in top four

Winner High School coach Matt Chambers said he was pleasantly surprised with his team’s performance Saturday.

The Warriors had 10 wrestlers place at the regional and qualify for state. As a team, Winner finished third overall (142.5) behind Parkston (230) and Burke/Gregory (146.5).

“Sometimes the kids just come out and perform for you,” he said. “We knew all tournament long that we were going to have to battle. We knew we didn’t have a lot of one- and two-seed kids, but we had a lot of four, five and unseeded kids that found ways to win. We just had two great rounds. I don’t know what else to say. It was just an outstanding day.”

Tate Novtny and Scott Assman were the only Winner wrestlers make the finals. Assman (22-12) was pinned by Parkston’s Andrew Semmler, but Novotny won his match, beating Wagner’s Trevor Lensing in a 2-0 decision.

Other local region champions

Bon Home’s Duncan and Lincoln Stoebner also claimed region titles Saturday. Duncan defeated Logan Mahoney, of Parkston, in a 106-pound championship bout. Lincoln beat Wagner’s Sage Zephier in a 126-pound matchup to earn his title. Bon Homme wrestlers Alex Caba (113), Austin Kaul (145), Blase Vanecek (170), Ezra Bartlett (195) also advanced to the state tournament after placing at the 3B regional tournament. Heavyweight Dan Stibral will be Scotland High School’s only representative at the Class B state tournament. Stibral punched his ticket to states after pinning Parkston’s Austin Bertram to claim the 3B region title.

Region 3B wrestling tournament

Saturday in Parkston

Team scores: 1. Parkston 230; 2. Burke/Gregory 146.5; 3. Winner 142.5; 4. Wagner 142; 5. Bon Homme 113; 6. Miller/Highmore-Harrold 62; 7. Kimball/White Lake/Platte-Geddes 48.5; 8. Mount Vernon/Plankinton/Corsica 40.5; 9. Scotland 26; 9. Sunshine Bible Academy 26; 11. Lyman 25; 12. Andes Central 22; 13. Wessington Springs/Woonscoeket,Wolsey-Wessington 6; 14. Crow Creek 0.

Individual results: 106: Duncan Stoebner (BH) dec. Logan Mahoney (PK) 10-4; J.C. Foreman (MHH) dec. Leo Hopkins (AC) 7-2; 113: Blake Bietz (PK) dec. Alex Caba (BH) 8-5; Patrick Aeschbacher (WIN) dec. Joseph Veskrna (BG) 4-2; 120: Michael Weidenbach (MHH) dec. Dawson Semmler (PK) 5-2; Kurt Braun (BG) dec. Zac Ayers (WIN) 14-3; 126: Lincoln Stoebner (BH) dec. Sage Zephier 9-3; Ethan Murtha (PK) dec. Tyrel Haley (WIN) 4-0; 132: Levi Schonebaum (BG) pinned Austin Ripp (PK) :41; Kayleb Brozik (WIN) dec. Nick Dion (WAG) 8-5; 138:Tyler Dion (WAG) pinned Myles Bialas (PK) 1:32; Nolan Donahue (WIN) dec. Tayte Clark (SBA) 4-2 OT; 145: Weslee Dvorak (PK) dec. Austin Kaul (BH) 2-0; Austin Soukup (WAG) dec. Adam Farner (WIN) 2-1 OT; 152: Mitch Heisinger (PK) pinned Turner Serr (BG) 3:51; Brandyn Middlesworth (WIN) dec. Brady Soulek (WAG) 5-1; 160: David Kocer (WAG) pinned Luke Warejcka (KWLPG) 1:19; Jonah Beck (BG) dec. Lane Scott (L) 6-5; 170: Tate Novotny (WIN) dec. Trevor Lensing (WAG) 2-0; Blase Vanecek (BH) pinned Miles Smmler (PK) 5:50 OT; 182: Turner Blasius (KWLPG) pinned Brody Boes (BG) 4:19; Dakota Zephier (WAG) maj. dec. Cody Heezen (MVPC) 13-4; 195: Andrew Semmler (PK) pinned Scott Assman (WIN) 4:44; Cameron Kostal (MVPC) dec. Ezra Bartlett (BH) 4-2 OT; 220: Brady Reiff (PK) pinned Dowain Kerner (BG) :56; Jimmy Sharkey (WIN) pinned Marshall Johnson (MHH) 4:24; 285: Dan Stibral (S) dec. Austin Bertram (PK) 5-3; Colton Nelson (BG) pinned Trezen Doren (AC) 2:38.

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