The Mitchell Kernel wrestlers gave a strong Pierre team a good fight.
The Kernels only had eight weight classes filled in the Eastern South Dakota Conference dual, leaving six weight classes open.
In both teams' first varsity meet of the season, Pierre defeated Mitchell 60-13 in Mitchell.
Earning wins for Mitchell were seniors Landon Neugebauer at 138 pounds, Ethan Parr at 152 and Robert McCardle at 285. Despite the loss, Mitchell head coach Travis Carpenter said he was happy with how his team performed.
"Being as short-handed as we were, it was going to be tough to win the dual, but I liked how our kids battled," Carpenter said. "I was happy to see Landon, Ethan and Robert pull out wins, but also liked how Carson (Max) fought against tough opponent."
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Pierre won the remaining five matches that were completed and earned six points for every match Mitchell did not compete in.
"We wrestled all right," Pierre head coach Shawn Lewis said. "For whatever reason, we didn't have as much gas tonight. It seemed Mitchell had the bigger gas tank, and I'll give credit to Mitchell. They battled hard in every match."
Neugebauer gave the Kernels their first points of the match as he quickly pinned Delvin HighBear in 1 minute, 41 seconds.
"It was just typical Landon tonight," Carpenter said. "Everyone in the state knows what he is going to do, but he still gets it done."
Parr earned a 11-1 decision over Skyler Leesman and McCardle battled to outlast Trace Scott for Mitchell's third win.
"I didn't start the way I wanted to, but I knew if I made it go all three periods, I could gas him out," McCardle said. "I knew he'd be fast and quick, but I was able to get the win."
While Mitchell only had three winners against Pierre, eighth-grader Carson Max showed that he will be a bright spot for the Kernels moving forward.
Max competed throughout the match with Pierre's Monfore, who has placed second at the state tournament the past two seasons. Monfore won the match 5-2.
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"Dawson wrestles matches pretty tight and stays in good position," Lewis said. "That kid, for an eighth-grader, has a lot of things figured out, and he has a bright future."
Seniors Tanner Vilhauer, Austin Phinney, Jared Morris and sophomore Alex Klingaman battled, leaving Carpenter some positives.
"We have a long ways to go, but I am happy with the kids. They work hard and they understand," Carpenter said. "I thought our kids stepped out on the mat mentally prepared."
McCardle added the team will continue to grow as the season progresses.
"We have a young team, and we don't have all the numbers we'd like, but Carson wrestled a heck of a match," McCardle said. "The season is still young, but if we keep working hard, I think we good do some good things at the state tournament."
Mitchell competes in the Watertown Tournament at 10 a.m. today in Watertown.
Pierre 60, Mitchell 13
113: Lincoln Turman (Pierre) won by forfeit; 120: Pierre won by forfeit; 126: Jebben Keyes (Pierre) won by fall over Austin Phinney (Mitchell) 3:15; 132: Pierre won by forfeit; 138: Landon Neugebauer (Mitchell) won by fall over D.J. High Bear (Pierre) 1:41; 145: Luke Snyder (Pierre) won by fall over Tanner Vilhauer (Mitchell) 5:50; 152: Ethan Parr (Mitchell) won by major dec. over Skyler Leesman (Pierre) 11-1; 160: Nick Wiebe (Pierre) won by dec. over Jared Morris (Mitchell) 5-0; 170: Dawson Monfore (Pierre) won by dec. over Carson Max (Mitchell) 5-2; 182: Pierre won by forfeit; 195: Quinn Reimers (Pierre) won by fall over Alex Klingaman (Mitchell) 2:37; 220: Pierre won by forfeit; 285: Robert McCardle (Mitchell) won by dec. over Trace Scott (Pierre) 4-3.
