Governors Go Undefeated at East vs. West Duals

The Governor Wrestling program hosted their annual East vs. West Dual Tournament this weekend which included five of the top 10 rated teams in Class A.  The tournament pits Pierre (#1), Watertown (#5) and Brandon Valley as the east contingent against the best that West River has to offer in RC Cental (#4), Sturgis (#3) and RC Stevens (#6).  Over the past five years Pierre has gone undefeated in the event in front of their home crowd, with two spotlight duals ultimately concluding with #1 ranked Pierre and #2 ranked RC Central in 2013 and 2015 coming down to the HWT match to determine the tournament champion. "For the team, the East vs. West duals are the ones that the coaches and wrestlers really look forward to," said assistant coach John Wayne Kalda.  "There is a lot of electricity in the air even when we are not wrestling as it usually showcases some of the best teams in the state.  Any chance that we get to wrestle and show our talent our kids will feed off that atmosphere from the crowd, and they need a lot of credit as they are one of the more educated and passionate fan base and truly understand the sport."  

Jack Van Camp squares off against #2 ranked Jacob Wood of Sturgis in their opening match at 106lbs.  Wood went on to win the match 6-1.

During their opening dual, the Governors faced off against #3 ranked Sturgis with Jack Van Camp losing 6-1 against #2 ranked Jacob Wood.  A major decision by Lincoln Turman 10-2 against Tristan Permann and a pin by William Turman over Shae Owens put the Governors in the lead 10-3.  Jace Bench-Bresher bumped up to 126lbs and kept the match close with Chris Nash losing 10-3 and Michael Lusk scored a first period pin against Matt Willey to retain lead.  Austin Senger scored a last second takedown against Jeremiah Palmer to win by major at 138lbs bring the dual to one of the most anticipated match-ups for the day with #1 ranked Aric Williams squaring off against #2 rated Bailey Brengle.  A close takedown in the final seconds of the first period ended up deciding the match as Brengle went on to hold off scoring attempts by Williams to secure a 3-2 victory.  Following the match“We talked about making Bailey wrestle in our positions and not down on the mat where he is comfortable," said head coach Shawn Lewis. 

Aric Williams returns Sturgis's Bailey Brengle to the mat during their match-up against #1 and #2 ranked opponents in the state.  

A flurry of pins followed including one from from Maguire Raske over Jaren Puhlman, which was then countered by pins from Sturgis at 160 and 170lbs resulting in losses by Riley Kruger and Garrett Leesman.  Lucas Stoltenburg pinned Kody Cox in the first period and following a forfeit at 195lb to Spencer Sarringar, Sturgis earned their last points when #1 rated Joel Carpenter pinned Levi Stoltenburg.  A forfeit at 285lbs for Ty Paulsen sealed the 44-27 dual victory for the Governors. “The important take-away from the dual for our guys was figuring out how to score or help avoid bonus points,” said Lewis.  “Lincoln Turman and Austin Senger both scoring takedown as time expired to earn the major, and Jace Bench-Bresher scoring the escape with two seconds left were huge to create the separation that we needed.”

Against a RC Stevens team plagued by injuries, the Governors opened with a commanding 18-0 lead with pins from Jack Van Camp, Lincoln Turman and William Turman.  Again Jace Bench-Bresher bumped up to 126lbs to face off against #1 rated Spencer Stockman and despite a valid attempt to keep the match close, Stockman won by fall late in the second period.  Michael Lusk defeated Casey Moser 14-1 to earn the major at 132lbs and Austin Senger won by pin over Cody Secrest as Cooper Voorhees recovered from an ankle injury and sat out the dual.  Aric Williams also won by major against Nate Allen 13-4, and Maguire Raske defeated Justin Briese 7-3 to put the Governors up 35-6.  Forfeits at 160lbs and 170lbs resulted in Steven’s final points for the dual which were countered with a pin from Lucas Stoltenburg over Caleb Brink and a tech fall by Spencer Sarringar 16-1 against Hunter McMath.  Levi Stoltenburg scored the fall in the first period against Darrien Stutz and then Ty Paulsen won 2-1 during the first period of overtime against Tyrese Morris to lock up the 55-18 victory. 

Ty Paulsen works to takedown Tyrese Morris from RC Stevens during their 285lb match.  Paulsen went on to earn the 2-1 win in overtime. 

In the closing dual against Rapid City Central the Governor’s opened with a 10-0 lead with a forfeit to Jack Van Camp at 106lbs, and a major decision by Lincoln Turman over TJ Morrison 11-3.  Central countered with a pin at 120lbs by Kraye over Jace Bench-Bresher, followed by a pin by William Turman over Nick Preble.  The Governors then earned four straight wins with a major by Michael Lusk and Austin Senger over Kayleb Twomey (11-0) and Brayden Burrus (13-0) respectively.  Aric Williams earned the close 3-2 win over #3 ranked Riley McSherry which was then followed by a second period pin for Maguire Raske over Tanner Skaare.  Central rebounded with a pin at 160lbs by Blake Anderson over Garrett Leesman followed by wins by Zach Solano at 170lbs and Kolby Kost who defeated Lucas Stoltenburg by major 9-1.  The follow-up win by Spencer Sarringar with a first period pin over Anthony Knodell put the dual out of reach.  Number two ranked Timmy Paris won by pin over Levi Stoltenburg at 220lbs and  Ty Paulsen capped off the dual for the Governors with a late takedown over Aren Wells to close out a 4-3 win.  

William Turman looks to pin Nick Preble in their 126lbs match during the final dual against RC Central.  Turman won by pin in the second period of the match.

Governors finished with a 42-28 dual win and a 3-0 team finish on the day. Overall seven of the Governor wrestlers went 3-0 during the three duals with individual performances during the tournament include:

• 106lbs – Jack Van Camp – 2-1
• 113lbs – Lincoln Turman – 3-0
• 120lbs – William Turman – 3-0
• 126lbs – Jace Bench-Bresher – 0-3
• 132lbs – Michael Lusk – 3-0
• 138lbs – Austin Senger – 3-0
• 145lbs – Aric Williams – 2-1
• 152lbs – Maguire Raske – 3-0
• 160lbs – Riley Kruger – 0-1
• 170lbs – Garrett Leesman – 0-2
• 182lbs – Lucas Stoltenburg – 2-1
• 195lbs – Spencer Sarringar – 3-0
• 220lbs – Levis Stoltenburg – 2-1
• 285lbs – Ty Paulsen – 3-0

Spencer Sarringar works to turn Anthony Knodell during his final match of the day against RC Central.  Sarringar went on to win by pin in the first period and finished 3-0 on the day. 

Leading up to the Region tournament hosted in Mitchell this year, the Governors will compete at the Brookings and Yankton Invitationals over the next two weeks.  Lewis noted that as we head into our final two weeks "We start to individualize things a bit more for each wrestlers and begin to concentrate on improving individual positions and opponent match scenarios."  Getting the entire team healthy and back on the mat to compete at Regions will be critical if the Governors hope to win a third consecutive state tournament title.  

** Photos Provided by Todd Thompson Photography.