BROOKINGS-Briggs Havlik placed third as the Mitchell High School wrestling team had five wrestlers place at the Les Tlustos-Brookings Invitational on Saturday in Brookings.
Mitchell placed 10th at the event with 93 points, while Pierre won the 16-team competition with 257 points.
"It wasn't a bad day and we had some good wins along the way," Mitchell head coach Travis Carpenter said. "I'd like to see a couple more guys sneak in there for places but overall I thought we wrestled relatively well."
Along with Havlik, who finished third at 152 pounds, Mitchell placed Kyler Bauder at 106 pounds (fourth), Cole Gehrke at 132 pounds (fifth), Sutton Carpenter at 138 pounds (fifth) and Kyle Foote in 160 pounds (eighth).
"Kyler had a great day beating some kids that have beaten him before," Travis Carpenter said. "He's starting to understand where he fits and he can wrestle with just about anyone."
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Carpenter said Havlik dropped an unexpected match early in the tournament but battled back to place third by defeating Rapid City Central's Bridger Kraye 3-2.
"(The loss) refocused him and sometimes things happen and it's how you react to it," Carpenter said. "He bounced back all the way to third."
Gehrke and Sutton Carpenter each won their fifth-place matches by pinfall as Gehrke topped Spearfish's Tashon Clark and Carpenter defeated Rapid City Central's Brayden Burrus.
With two tournaments and two triangulars left on the schedule, coach Carpenter said his team needs to continue to wrestle with confidence.
"It's a confidence factor and we need to get to a point where we believe," Carpenter said. "If you believe in yourself when you step on that mat you will be in good shape."
Mitchell competes at a triangular with Harrisburg and Yankton on Tuesday in Harrisburg.
1. Pierre 257.0, 2. Rapid City Central 228.5, 3. Brookings 180.5, 4. Sioux Falls Roosevelt 153.0, 5. Harrisburg 143.5, 6. Madison 140.0, 7. Vermillion 114.5, 8. Brandon Valley 111.5, 9. Lennox 99.0, 10. Mitchell 93.0, 11. Dell Rapids 87.0, 12. Spearfish 85.5, 13. Yankton 73.0, 14. Sioux Falls Washington 62.5, 15. West Central 59.5, 16. Sioux Falls Lincoln 29.0