SIOUX FALLS-Right off the bat, Tanner Risseeuw may have provided the biggest roar of the championship round at the Denny Sanford Premier Center.
In the opening match of the final round, Risseeuw rallied past Canton's Devin Stork 7-6 to claim the 195-pound state championship on Saturday in Sioux Falls.
Late in the third period, Risseeuw was down 6-5 to Stork, but pulled off a late takedown that sent the crowd and Mount Vernon/Plankinton/Corsica-Stickney head coach Josh Geppert into a frenzy.
"Tanner is a pretty resilient kid," Geppert said. "I wasn't ready for that roll-through. I didn't see it coming, he's done stuff like that in practice, but I wasn't ready for him to pull it out in the finals. I'm glad he did."
Risseeuw raced out to a 3-0 lead but the match continued to go back and forth until Risseeuw's late heroics.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I got the early lead on him, but he's good and he came back," said Risseeuw, a student at Plankinton High School. "It came down to one move and I got it."
The final move capped off a sensational tournament for Risseeuw, who entered at the No 4 seed at 195 pounds. He was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler for the Class B tournament by the South Dakota Wrestling Coaches Association.
Geppert said Risseeuw doesn't weigh a full 195 pounds and halfway through the season they discussed possibly moving down to a different weight class.
"We thought we could hang with anyone in his weight class and we could win this," Geppert said. "Everything worked out for us as a whole."
The decision to stay at 195 pounds paid off as Risseeuw put together a string of victories at the right time.
"The kid deserves it. He works hard, never quits and never complains," Geppert said.
Risseeuw earned a narrow 8-7 decision over Webster Area's Logan Richie, who was the top seed, in the semifinals to book a semifinal spot.
The senior Titan said the comeback victory on the state's biggest stage felt extra sweet as it was his final match.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I could hear the crowd and I knew I wanted to leave it all out there," Risseeuw said.
