The Governor Wrestling program found themselves competing in opposite ends of the state over the extended weekend with the varsity repeating as tournament champions at the Jerry Opbreak Invitational in Mitchell on Saturday, while the JV competing at the Battler Invitational in Gettysburg producing an 8th place finish as a team. In Mitchell, the Governors racked up a total of 189 team points to outpace second place finisher Watertown by more than 30 points, and produced four individual champions at the event.
Individual champions at the Jerry Opbroek Invitational included Aric Williams, Michael Lusk, Austin Senger and Spencer Sarringar.
At 132lbs, two returning state champions faced off with Michel Lusk taking on the current #1 ranked wrestler in the B's, and secured a 2-1 victory over Stas Sutera from Bon Homme to win his third straight Jerry Opbroek invitational. "Lusk's matchup with Sutera was an exciting one," said head coach Shawn Lewis. "Both returning state champs that are rated number one. Stylistically it presented an interesting matchup as well. Lusk is very technical and Sutera is very funky. They both did a real nice job of shutting the other down."
Michael Lusk defends a shot against Bon Homme's Stas Sutera during their championship match. Lusk went on to win 2-1 in the match-up between Class A and B returning state champions.
Austin Senger defeated Cooper Voorhees from Rapid City Stevens 10-2 in route to a major decision at 138lbs, and Aric Williams pinned Brandon Sharkey of Rapid City Stevens in the first period to win his championship match. Finally, Spencer Sarringar defeated Evan Kizer of Howard in :48 seconds during his championship match to cap off the teams final champion at the event.
In addition to the four champions in Lusk, Senger, Williams and Sarringar, four other Governors advanced to the championships at the event. Lincoln Turman lost in the closing seconds of the 113lbs championship match to Wyatt Turnquist, with the loss snapping a 72 win streak. Turman's last loss was against Duncan Stoebner from Bon Homme during the semifinals of this event two years ago. William Turman was also upset by #5 ranked Caleb Crownover of Bon Homme by a 6-4 decision after giving up five in the second period and was unable to rally to take back the lead in the third period. Lucas Stoltenburg lost 8-4 to #3 ranked Mason Wickherst from Watertown in his championship match, and Levi Stoltenburg injury defaulted due to a lingering shoulder injury from the Bismarck Rotary. Jack Van Camp (4th), Maguire Raske (4th) and Ty Paulsen (3rd) also each placed in the top four at the tournament with Van Camp and Raske finishing 2-2, and Paulsen 3-3 respectively. Following a first period loss to Ben Soukup from Wagner, Cade Hinkle unfortunately dislocated his elbow during the consolation semifinals against Trevor Peters from Winner and will be out for the remainder of the season.
Jack Van Camp attempts to turn Howards' Lane Miller during the Consolation Semifinal's match. Van Camp earned a second period pin during the match.
When reflecting on the benefits of a smaller tournament requiring his team to face-off against some of the top B opponents, Lewis noted "Our schedule is set up to see the best competition possible. We love to see the best the B's have to offer in order to make us better. Seeing top notch competition that you don't see week in and week out only makes both sides better." Overall results for the Governor varsity included:
- 106lbs - Jack Van Camp - 4th (2-2)
- 113lbs - Lincoln Turman - 2nd (2-1)
- 120lbs - William Turman - 2nd (2-1)
- 126lbs - Cade Hinkle - DNP (1-2)
- 132lbs - Michael Lusk - Champion (3-0)
- 138lbs - Austin Senger - Champion (3-0)
- 145lbs - Aric Williams - Champion (3-0)
- 152lbs - Maguire Raske - 4th - (2-2)
- 182lbs - Lucas Stoltenburg - 2nd (2-1)
- 195lbs - Spencer Sarringar - Champion (3-0)
- 220lbs - Levi Stoltenburg - 2nd (2-1)
- 285lbs - Ty Paulsen - 3rd (3-1)
- 285lbs - Pryce Dyk - DNP (1-2)
In action at Gettysburg, the Governors produced on single champion with Will Van Camp winning a 3-1 victory over Riley Whitley from Redfield in the championship match. Van Camp won by tech fall over Lincoln Fortin, and then defeated Trey Neilan 3-0 in the semifinals to advance to the championships and win the 95lb weight class. Assistant coach John Wayne Kalda noted "Will Van Camp had a nice tournament. He finally had the chance to wrestle kids his own size, and we knew the potential was there, but sometimes it was hidden by the fact that he is giving up 20lbs in most matches."
Jace Bench-Bresher lost to class B #6 ranked Dylan Wolf 10-6 in the quarterfinals, and battled back to earn fourth following a loss to class A #7 ranked Max Donovan from Chamberlain. Keegan Binegar and Easton Swartz each finished fifth, with Binegar losing to Gannon Martinmaas from Falkton by fall in the quarterfinals, but finished the tournament with a 4-2 record with three wins in the wrestler-backs. Swartz also lost in the quarterfinals to Ellison from Lemmon by fall, then also earned three wins in the wrestle backs to pull out the fifth place finish. Finally, three governors finished sixth overall including Logan Meyer, Riley Kruger and Wesley Harsma as they advanced to the semifinals after wins in the first two rounds, but lost by pin in each of those matches. "Our upper classmen like Kruger and Binegar had a good day," said Kalda. "We would like to have a kid like Keegan around a lot longer, as he has a great work ethic and is a great leader for these guys. His willingness to help so many guys learn the sport is always fun to watch."
There are significant benefits from allowing JV wrestlers the opportunity to experience varsity competition. "For us as coaches, we see two advantages from entering a tournament like this," said Kalda. "First, it shows the guys that even though they are wrestling JV, they can compete on the varsity level with a lot of other teams across the state. It gives them a little different view on their current situation. Second, it gives these kids experience in a varsity setting. The whole shock and awe factor shouldn't be an issue and they will be mentally and physically prepared for that next level when we need them to step up." Overall results for the Governor Wrestling JV included:
- 95lbs - Will Van Camp - Champion (3-0)
- 113lbs - Jace Bench-Bresher - 4th (3-2)
- 120lbs - Trevor Adamson - DNP (0-2)
- 132lbs - Lee Snyder - DNP (0-2)
- 138lbs - Logan Meyer - 6th (2-3)
- 145lbs - Kegan Binegar - 5th (4-2)
- 152lbs - Dominic Howard - DNP (2-2)
- 160lbs - Riley Kruger - 6th (2-3)
- 170lbs - James Lees - DNP (1-2)
- 195lbs - Wesley Harsma - 6th (2-3)
- 285lbs - Easton Swartz 5th - (4-2)
The Governor's will be in action again this coming weekend on January 21st as they host the East vs. West dual meet beginning at 10:00 on Saturday morning.
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