Jagger Tyler wins region title for Kernels, as Mitchell sends four to Class A state tourney

MISSION, S.D. — Four Mitchell High School boys wrestlers will continue their seasons at the South Dakota state high school tournament next weekend in Rapid City, highlighted by senior Jagger Tyler’s individual championship.

Tyler improved to 38-3 on the season with his victory in the 152-pound weight class. Tyler had a 44-second pin in the quarterfinals, a 20-5 technical fall win in the semifinals and earned a 16-8 major decision victory over Pierre’s Lucas Chamberlin in the championship match. The finish assured Tyler of his fifth appearance in the state tournament, which included a Class A state title at 145 pounds in 2022.

Penn Long was one of a number of Kernels to step forward on Saturday, earning second place at 126 pounds. Long, who has a record of 14-22 after Saturday’s action, had a 16-1 technical fall in the quarterfinals, an 18-5 major decision in the semifinals over Chamberlain’s Xavier Donovan and then ran into Aberdeen Central’s Rayden Zens, who picked up a pin in 2 minutes and 53 seconds.

Joining Tyler and Long is senior Cruze Allhiser, who finished third at 113 pounds to return to the state tournament as a senior. After a semifinal loss to Aberdeen Central’s Porter Lozenski, Allhiser won a pair of matches to assure himself a spot at the state tournament, including a 10-1 major decision over Milbank’s Evan Folk and a 10-8 decision over Sisseton’s Blake Steiner for third place. Allhiser now has a record of 25-16.

Connor Degen earned a fourth-place finish at 195 pounds, advancing to the state tournament with an 18-20 record. Degen reached the semifinals, where Gavin Stotts of Pierre won by fall in the second period. Degen defeated Chamberlain’s Carter Santiago to assure himself a spot at state with a pin in 2:30, and then took fourth place after a 10-6 loss to Milbank’s Jesse Schneck.

As a team, Mitchell was fourth out of the nine teams in attendance, with Pierre winning the team title with 274.5 points. Aberdeen Central was second with 244 points, followed by Chamberlain (125), Mitchell (123) and Sisseton (116.5).

In all, Mitchell had 11 placewinners in the top-six of the region, helping bolster the team score. Van Long (120), Kaiden Allen (138), Kellan Odell (145), Seth Foote (182) and Carson Podhradsky (285) each took fifth place and Colton Blow (106) and Trevon Austell (220) finished in sixth place.

Chamberlain’s Noah Hutmacher continued his dominance in the 220-pound weight class this season, earning the region title in the weight class at the Region 3A meet.

Hutmacher wrestled twice after getting a quarterfinal bye. He defeated Pierre’s Elijah Boutchee in 76 seconds in the semifinal round — his 31st pin of the season — and then defeated Todd County’s Rocky Wiedman in the championship match by 11-4 decision. Hutmacher takes a 34-1 record to the Class A state tournament and has not lost a match in the weight class during the season.

Chamberlain’s other state qualifiers include Canyon Burkard in third place at 285 pounds and fourth-place finishers Quinn Long (138), Bryce Reuer (152), Ty Graesser (170), Swade Reis (182).