On Monday December 26th, the draws for The Clash were released with the Pierre Governors earning a 7th seed in Bracket B (see all four team brackets below). They will face Apple Valley (MN) who is currently ranked #34 in the nation in the opening round at 9:00 CST on December 30th. In reviewing the Minnesota Class AAA High School rankings released on December 23rd, Apple Valley is currently ranked second behind Shakopee, and has 11 wrestlers ranked in the top ten in their respective weight class.
Following the release of the brackets, Governor assistant coach John Wayne Kalda noted, "I think it is hard to not look right away at rankings and past state placings. Things have changed a lot with Track Wrestling in the recent years where it is relatively easy to see where and what kind of competition they have been to. What is great about most of our kids, is that they have also been exposed to some big national tournaments, where we may even be able to find some head to head or common opponents. From there it’s up to us to perform like we can on the mat." The current head-to-head match-ups between the Governors and Apple Valley for the opening round include:
106lbs - #6 Jack Van Camp vs. #8 Dylan Anderson
113lbs - #1 Lincoln Turman vs. #6 Regan Schrempp
120lbs - #2 William Turman vs. Peyton McLagan
126lbs - #8 Cade Hinkle vs. #8 Brady Gross
132lbs - #1 Michael Lusk vs. #5 Sebas Swiggum
138lbs - #3 Austin Senger vs. #5 Kyle Rathman
145lbs - #1 Aric Williams vs. #5 Nate Larson
152lbs - Maguire Raske vs. #9 Devin Roberts
160lbs - Garrett Leesman vs. #5 Jalen Thul
170lbs - Gage Gehring vs. Will Ramsey
182lbs - Lucas Stoltenburg vs. #10 Jonah Johnson
195lbs - #1 Spencer Sarringar vs. Tyler Kim
220lbs - #4 Levi Stoltenburg vs. #5 Tanyi Besong
285lbs - #8 Ty Paulsen vs. #1 Gable Stevenson
An event like The Clash provides teams from around the country the opportunity to see teams and wrestlers that they know little about. "Getting to see different styles and philosophies colliding is fun to watch and as coaches we are always looking to see new things and then trying to implement them into our room," said Governor head coach Shawn Lewis. "Getting to see this variety of competition allows us to pick up new things. Our wrestlers are looking to compete against the best kids/teams in the nation. They know it is an honor to be invited but they also know it means they will have to bring their best each and every dual. A lot of these kids have competed at high levels during the summer months and now they get to do it during the season in their singlet."
Governor's 106lber Jack Van Camp competes at the AAU Scholastic Community Duals at Disney this past summer.
Over the course of the two day event, Governor wrestlers will complete in six duals and are allowed to bring up to 20 wrestlers to fill spots which allows coaches to strategically make key line-up changes if necessary. "As a coaching staff we know how grueling of a tournament this can and will be, and it showed this summer in Disney that depth is very important," said Kalda. "Its nice to get individuals a break here and there and get rested up when needed. So as we put the team together we generally looked for weight classes that we can double up on and make line-up changes where it benefits us the most." In addition to the varsity wrestlers noted above Jace Bench-Bresher, Lee Snyder, Logan Meyer, Riley Kruger and Pryce Dyk may each see action sometime during tournament.
This year will serve as the 15th anniversary of The Clash National Dual Tournament which is hosted in Rochester, MN as an invite only dual tournament featuring teams from around the country. This year the top wrestling teams from 15 states including Minnesota (9), Illinois (4) California (3), Oregon (2), South Dakota (1), North Dakota (1), Utah (1), Georgia (1), Arizona (1), Florida (1), Missouri (1), Wisconsin (1), Nebraska (1) Washington (1), and Alabama (1) will compete on December 30th and 31st. Coming off back-to-back State Class A Wrestling titles, the Governor wrestling program earned an invite to the prestigious event at the conclusion of the 2015-16 season, and will face-off against some the most competitive teams around the country after the return from the holiday break. "Any time you have an opportunity like going to The Clash, getting to represent your school and your state, you feel obligated to do so," said head coach Shawn Lewis regarding their desire to accept the invitation from the steering committee. "Our schedule is tough already, but we are always looking for new teams and better competition to wrestle in order for us to get better. Some of our kids also desire to wrestle at the next level. Going to a tournament like The Clash gets them nationally ranked opponents and can get them on someone's recruiting radar. You get a chance to see where you stack up against the best teams in the nation and not just your surrounding states."
The structure for the tournament includes the formation of four 8-man brackets with the 32 teams seeded based on criteria established by the tournament directors. Teams are assigned to their respective brackets with an initial goal of ensuring that nationally ranked teams and teams from the same state do not face each other in the first or second round. The 16 teams that win their opening dual are guarantee a team placing in the top 16, and will automatically compete in the afternoon pools on December 31st. A teams placing in their opening 8-man team bracket determines the placing round pools for the second day of competition, with all first place teams wrestling the top teams from each of the four first day brackets, and so forth for all remaining seven placing's. Of the 32 invited teams for this year there are 3 rated in the top 5 in the nation including #2 St. Edwards (OH), #3 Lake Highland Prep (FL), and #5 Buchanan (CA). In reflecting on a potential match-up against one of these perennial powerhouses assistant coach John Wayne Kalda noted "I think we proved to ourselves this past summer that we can run with most teams. The key will be when in the tournament we see teams like this. The Disney Duals this summer was a great indicator of where we are and can be as a team. But what we lack is the depth that most of these top 10 teams have. They have the ability to give kids breaks throughout the tourney and a lot of times, their back-ups are just as good. This is important as you get deeper into the tournament and start seeing higher caliber teams."
Members of the 2016 Governor Wrestling team that competed at the AAU Scholastic Community Division Duals in Orlando, CA in June 2016.
Since its inception in 2004, a total of 14 South Dakota teams have garnered invites to the tournament with Bon Homme being the first to compete at The Clash II in 2004. Sturgis earned the states highest team placing at the event with a 13th place finish the year they set the Class A State Wrestling team point total. Overall, the average placing at the event for South Dakota teams has been 24th with previous Pierre Governor teams splitting this mark during their two appearances.
Clash II (2004) - Bon Homme (32nd)
Clash III (2005) - Winner (23rd)
Clash IV (2006) - Bonne Homme (25th) & Winner (30th)
Clash V (2007) - Canton (25th)
Clash VI (2008) - Wagner (20th)
Clash VII (2009) - Sturgis (21st)
Clash VIII (2010) - Sturgis (13th)
Clash X (2011) - Pierre (22nd), Rapid City Central (27th) & Mitchell (28th)
Clash XI (2012) - Rapid City Central (22nd) & Pierre (25th)
Clash XII (2013) - Parkston (25th)
Prior to his transition to Pierre as an Elementary Principal, Bill Kaiser was the head coach of the 2005 Winner team that competed at The Clash III. Although the tournament was in its infancy at the time Kaiser saw it as a honor just to be invited and given the opportunity to wrestle against some of the best teams in the Midwest. "I was a coach that had the attitude that we wanted to compete against the best and we really worked hard to adjust our schedule accordingly," said Kaiser. "We got into the Rapid tournament and the Brookings dual tournament as we just wanted to wrestle the best competition possible to get us ready for the region/state tournament. The Clash was not only a great opportunity to wrestle great competition, it was something I knew our wrestlers and parents would remember."
Unless one has a perennial powerhouse like the top ranked teams in the country, the invitation can be a blessing that may come a year or two late as the steering committee often identifies top teams based on their previous years performance. Kaiser noted "I can still remember the 2005 guys saying 'Man I wish we could have come last year,' as our 2004 team was very, very good." That team had won the Class A State Tournament for the 2003-04 season and coming off one of the most impressive tournament and dual records for the small Class A school. Their 2005 team eventually finished 6th overall at the state tournament the year they competed at The Clash. "Our first dual against Hastings, MN we lost 40-27, but there were three matches where we were rated #1 in South Dakota and they were rated #1 in Minnesota and we lost all three (two in overtime and the other by one point). It was a great dual but opened our eyes a little bit to the physicality/aggressiveness of the teams we would be competing against when actually we felt we were pretty aggressive." With the caliber of teams attending it presents an opportunity for college coaches around the area to attend and scout wrestlers from the top programs. Even unexpected fans have been draw to the event to support former teammates or family members. "The other memorable moment was seeing Cael Sanderson (undefeated 4-time NCAA champion and current Penn State head coach) there watching his little brother wrestle," said Kaiser. "He sat up in a chair overlooking the gym and I remember all the guys just being in awe that he was actually there."
As noted in the complete list of South Dakota entries above, the Pierre Governors received invites the years they earned South Dakota Class A State Championship titles during the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons. At The Clash X, the Governors earned their highest overall placing with a 22nd place finish. Following a close 31-24 loss to Kasson-Mantorville (MN) in the opening round, the Governors defeated Prior Lakes (MN) 43-24 in the second round then fell 44-27 against Marist (IL). This positioned Pierre in the sixth place pool on the second day of competition where they earned a 34-28 win over Hastings (MN) and 37-27 win over Owatanna (MN) before losing in the closing round against Lewiston (ID) 42-26. Chase Lettau, the lone senior on the team, finished 6-0 during the tournament and four others finished with 4-2 record during the two day event (Aaron O'Day, Seth Scott, Kyle Sarringar and Lane Lettau).
2011 Governor Wrestling team competing at The Clash included: 106lb Spencer Sarringer, 106lb Jebben Keyes, 113lbs Nick Wiebe, 120lbs Luke Snyder, 126lb Tanner Monfore, 132lb Caleb Stoltenburg, 132lb Chase Harmon, 138lbs Aaron O'Day; 145lb Alec Williams, 145lb AJ Dorschner, 152lb Dawson Monfore; 160lb Seth Scott; 170lb Sayth Jacobson; 170lb Kyle Sarringer; 182lb Chase Lettau; 195lb Trey Maier; 220lb Lane Lettau; and 285lb Dylan Bennett.
The Clash X - Governor Wrestling Highlight (2011)
At The Clash XI the Governors went 1-2 during the first day of competition losing 41-27 against Brook (NJ) and 45-29 to Arrowhead Union (WI), yet finished the day with a 38-27 win against Zumbrota Mazeppa (MN) to advance into the seventh place pool during the second day of the event. During the placing rounds, the Governor's opened with a 51-15 win over Thompson (AL) and and a 51-24 win over Rochester Mayo (MN). In their final dual the team defeated a tough Corona Del Sol (AZ) team 29-27 to earn the team title for the seventh place pool with a 25th place finish. Ryan Noyes, Governor head coach at the time indicated "This experience was memorable for the kids because it provided that we could complete with teams that had been notoriously untouchable for years." In particular the dual against Corona Del Sol was a high point for the team as it was coached by former 1984 Olympic bronze medalist Jim Martinez. "I remember thinking at the time," said Noyes, "that despite being short handed at two critical weight classes our kids just beat a very good team coached by an Olympic medalist. I was certainly proud of their effort and this moment in particular where kids emptied the tank and competed as hard as they could to represent their community." Standouts at the event were both Kyle Sarringar (6-0) and Lane Lettau (5-0) who earned all tournament honors at 220lbs.
2012 Governor Wrestling team competing at The Clash included: 106lb Spencer Sarringer; 106lb Aric Williams (not pictured); 113lb Jebben Keyes; 120lb Blaine Geppart; 132lb Tanner Monfore; 138lb Caleb Stoltenburg; 145lb AJ Dorschner; 152lb Alec Williams (not pictured); 152lb Seth Scott; 160lb Dawson Monfore; 170lb Sayth Jacobsen; 182lbs Kyle Sarringer; 220lb Lane Lettau; and 285lb Dylan Bennett.
The Clash XV - Governor Wrestling Highlight (2012)
The 2016 Governors bring an impressive line-up to The Clash XV with four top rated wrestlers and seven other wrestlers ranked in their respective weight classes. As the team prepares during the holiday break the Governors "have really went back to technique this past week," said Lewis. "We took away some positions from our last competitions that we really need to improve on as individuals and as a team. We have been drilling those hard and will continue to add to the list of places to get better. Next week we will start really hitting situational wrestling hard in order to maximize match points. These situations we feel need to be reiterated in order for us to be competitive in each and every dual."
Seeding for the upcoming tournament is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on December 26th, and once the opening round draws have been set for the Governors the Governor Wrestling Blog will provide an overview of the key match-ups of the opening dual along with potential team match-ups in the 8-team pool draw for the first days action.
In late 2006, Columbia Pictures released Rocky Balboa which was the sixth installment of the classic Rocky franchise which was based on the premise of video game developers attempting to determine the outcome of a fictional boxing match between fighters from two different generations. Rocky Balboa well into his retirement is cast into a computer simulation against reigning heavy-weight champion Mason Dixon and based on complex algorithms and statistical calculations, the computer establishes that Balboa would win by knock-out over the current reigning world champion. This projected outcome becomes the premise of the film as Mason Dixon demands an exhibition to establish his legacy as one of the greatest heavy weight fighters of all time.
Similar arguments seem to surface in small towns and across generations around the country every day. Sport fans enjoy the opportunity to debate how current individual athletes or teams would fare against dominant teams of the past which are often rooted in individual connections that people have to their respective eras. Is Lebron James a more dominant player than Michael Jordan? Would the 1986 Bears defense be able to defend the high scoring offense of the 2011 New Orleans Saints? Could the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers Basketball team be able to hold their own against the legendary UCLA teams coached by John Wooden during the 1960 and 1970s? Void of computer simulations, the debate around such questions are difficult to answer, but are certainly entertaining for true sport fans to advance their respective arguments.
One such debate occurred following the conclusion of the 2015-16 wrestling season as the Pierre Governors finished their season with their second straight State Class A Championship and the second highest point total ever in SDHSAA history with 206 total team points. The team also boasted a record number of placers with 13 individual wrestlers placing at their respective weight classes, including four state champions and six overall finalists.
Although an impressive accomplishment, many in the community reflected upon the success of the 2012-13 Governor wrestling team that was anchored with six solid seniors, suggesting that they were clearly the more dominant team. Although no individual state champions were crowned on this team during the Class A State Tournament, four Governors advanced into the finals, and the team produced 13 state qualifiers, and 10 state place winners that were 6th or higher on the awards stand for their individual weights. One could easily contend that slightly different draws could have resulted in seven state finalists as Sarringar, Lettau and Bennett each squared off against eventual champions in either the quarterfinals of semifinals.
While many could concede that the 2015-16 Governors may have produced a stronger tournament team, lines were drawn early that in head-to-head dual competition the 2012-13 Governors would come out on top. Below is a breakdown of the head-to-head matchups for such an event assuming that each head coach would have their wrestlers compete at their designated weight classes (the # represent state placing at that respective weight class that year):
106bls - #4 Spencer Sarringar vs. #1 Lincoln Turman
113lbs - #2 Jebben Keyes vs. #1 William Turman
120lbs - Blaine Geppert vs. #1 Michael Lusk
126lbs - Aaron O'Day vs. #3 Austin Senger
132lbs - #6 Tanner Monfore vs. #1 Jebben Keyes
138lbs - #2 Caleb Stoltenburg vs. #5 Aric Williams
145lbs - AJ Dorschner vs. Maguire Raske
152lbs - Alec Williams vs. #8 Lucas Stoltenburg
160bls - #3 Seth Scott vs. #6 Nick Wiebe
170bls - #2 Dawson Monfore vs. #7 Leesman
182lbls - #3 Kyle Sarringar vs. #2 Spencer Sarringar
195lbs - #2 Trey Maier vs.#8 Levi Stoltenburg
220lbs - #3 Lane Lettau vs. #2 Quinn Reimers
285lbs - #4 Dylan Bennett vs. #8 Ty Paulsen
The line-ups of these two teams included an impressive 10 state finalists and 13 other state place winners. For many in this debate, the outcome was evenly split across these two teams. Some had the teams facing off in head-to-head matchups at each weight. Others thought through various strategies that head coach Ryan Noyes and Shawn Lewis would use to forego points at certain weights to earn important swing victories to improve the teams chances for victory. I personally calculated an outcome of this dual in favor of the 2015-16 Governors team 21-27 which required giving a forfeit at 220lbs to Lane Lettau and bumping up Quinn Reimers to earn the 1-0 victory over Dylan Bennett at 285lbs. Most critical to the outcome of this dual was a projected overtime win by Spencer Sarringar against older brother Kyle Sarringar at the 182lb matchup. Without this win the outcome of the dual was a virtual tie at 24-24 for the two teams. In an effort to provide artificial intelligence with the information needed to assist in determining an unbiased final outcome of this critical matchup I went to their respective head coaches to identify the tangible and intangible qualities for each of these two talented Governor Wrestlers.
Kyle Sarringar
Deceptively smooth and quick wrestler on his feet;
Able to apply great pressure on his opponents on top who you could count on to get the pin;
Took opponents from feet to back because of his raw power;
Too strong to hold down and far to dangerous to cut;
Quiet leader that everyone wanted to emulate on and off the mat.
Spencer Sarringar
Controlled wrestler in all positions;
Uncanny ability to scramble and wrestle through almost every position;
Constant motion on top and bottom that wore out an opponent;
Deceiving strength when opponents are forced to wrestle him for six minutes;
Great role model and teammate who does everything the right way.
If you take these qualities into consideration its understandable why a computer simulation may come out with the same projection of a head-to-head match that could go either way in any given dual. Two great wrestlers from the same family that were influential in producing Class A Wrestling Championships over four of the last five years. One of my favorite movies has always been Tommy Boy and the line many quote to each other is the exchange between Rob Lowe and Chris Farley when they meet for the first time, "Brothers don't shake hands, brothers gotta hug." While this might be the Sarringar family philosophy, one of the only ways that we might be able to settle this is a good old fashion brotherly wrestling match on Christmas morning. Since older brother Tyler Sarringar has begun to emerge as one of the states top certified officials, he is certainly qualified to provide unbiased officiating of the event. I just ask that someone please post the video afterwards for the rest of us to enjoy.
Over the past two years, two Class A Wrestling teams have engaged in direct competition to earn the team title at the South Dakota High School State Tournament. During the 2013-14 season, the Aberdeen Golden Eagles produced one of its most dominate teams to date, earning their first Class A title, and defeating the Pierre Governors in two duals that year after they had won back-to-back State Championships. The following year, the top rated Golden Eagles secured an early dual victory over the Governors at the Watertown Invitational along with a win during their ESD matchup later that season. However, despite capturing the team title for the Region 3 tournament, the Governors generated enough team points at the State Class A Tournament to earn the state title by just 1 1/2 points. Tensions carried forward again during the 2015-16 season where despite a lopsided victory over the Golden Eagles in the opening Watertown Invitational, Aberdeen was able to make a number of critical lineup changes to narrow the gap in late December to only 12 points. The Governors went on to win the State Class A Tournament last year. With this recent history as background, these two teams brought considerable firepower into tonight's contest with the hopes of establishing the top dual team in South Dakota. In reviewing the rankings, the two teams boasted seven #1 ranked wrestlers and 12 others ranked in the top eight at their respective weights.
#1 ranked Lincoln Turman squares off against Daymon Stueck at 113lbs. Turman earned a first period pin to tie the dual at 6-6.
Overall this matchup held true to its top billing, and demonstrates how important the coin toss can be in tight duals. Number 1 ranked Jacob Moore put Aberdeen on the board with a first period pin over #6 Jack Van Camp, and that was followed up by a pin for #1 ranked Lincoln Turman against Daymon Stueck in 1:24. Tied going into the 120lbs match, #2 ranked William Turman pinned Ethan Allen in :36 allowing the Governors to take the 12-6 lead. One of the most important matchups of the night was at 126lbs between #6 Cade Hinkle and Victor Padilla. In the Governors and Golden Eagles first matchup during the opening weekend of competition, Hinkle earned a pin over Steuck which allowed the Governors to establish a 18-4 lead. However, the insertion of Padilla into the lineup resulted in an important swing for the Golden Eagles with a 4-0 win. Number 1 ranked Michel Lusk squared off against #6 Will Jarrott at 126lbs, with Jarrott staving off the major decision with an escape late in the third period.
#1 ranked Michael Lusk works to hold #6 Will Jarrott on the mat during their 132lb matchup. Lusk went on to win the match 11-4.
A shift in the lineup at 138lbs also resulted in a significant point swing for the Eagles as #3 Austin Senger pinned Garrett Mitzel in 1:32, as Aberdeen shifted Austin Cihak to 145lbs who then pinned Logan Meyer in 1:13. In the opening dual Senger earned the pin over Cihak, and Aric Williams won by fall against Garrett Mitzel in the first period. In the hopes of securing a swing win at 152lbs, the Governors bumped #1 Aric Williams to face off against #4 Collin Haar, with Williams earning an important 3-1 victory with a takedown as time expired in the closing period. "It was a big matchup going into the dual" said Aric Williams. "I knew I had to stick to what I do best. Push the pace and keep going on my offense. Collin is a good friend as we have competed together in the off-season, but we both know that when we step on the mat it is a different story."
#3 ranked Austin Senger works to secure a pin over Garrett Mitzel during the first period of their matchup at 138lbs.
The Governors took a 24-15 lead going into the 160lb matchup against Clayton Rernleitner, and moved Maguire Raske up a weight class with hopes of a swing match from the previous dual (Riley Kruger had last to Rernleitner 11-6 previously), but the size differential appeared to be too significant for Raske who lost in an 8-5 decision advancing the score to 24-18. Assistant Coach John Wayne Kalda noted after the dual that "What's fun and frustrating at the same time about a dual like this is different approaches that teams could make. We knew coming in their strategy to win had to include winning more matches in the lower weight classes than they lost last time. However, we felt comfortable with our fire power down low to get the job done. The one aspect we couldn't control was the coin flip. We would have liked the option to have them show at the first weight classes so we could make our move. Unfortunately, it didn't fall our way."
Maguire Raske works to earn a reversal during his 160lb match against Clayton Rernleitner.
For the remainder of the dual, both teams wrestled straight up at each weight class. Wins by #1 Bradley Nelson over Lucas Stoltenburg at 170lbs in 1:11, and then a late pin by #1 Braiden Nelson against #8 Gage Gehring at the 5:31 mark resulted in a 30-24 lead for Aberdeen. Spencer Sarringar ranked #1 at 195lbs defeated #3 Jake Flakus 5-3 to inch the Governors back closer to a 30-27 score. In the Watertown Invitational #4 Trajan LaRocque won by major decision over #5 Levi Stoltenburg. However, despite being thrown to his back in the opening period, Stoltenburg gained the advantage early in the second period and earned the pin in 2:56 putting the Governors in the lead 33-30 going into the 285lb matchup. "Levi is a fighter," commented head coach Shawn Lewis after the conclusion of the dual. "Both wrestlers rely upon huge throws and big moves. After battling off his back early, he started to push the pace. That ended up being the difference maker in the match."
#5 ranked Levi Stoltenburg earns the pin over #4 Trajan LaRocque to place the Governors in the lead following the 220lbs match.
To decide the dual, #8 Ty Paulsen faced off against #5 Austin Maunu in a matchup that took three overtimes to decide earlier this year. After going 0-0 in the first period, Maunu scored an early escape and then a takedown on the edge of the mat to lead 3-0 going into the final period. Paulsen chose down but was unable to escape resulting in a team score of 33-33. The South Dakota High School Athletic Association uses a series of criteria to determine a winner in the event of a tie which are noted below. Following a lengthy discussion by the officials which caused them to drop down to the 8th criteria on the list, it was deemed that Aberdeen had secured the win due to a 17-9 differential in the first points scored in each individual match.
The team whose opposing wrestlers or team personnel has been penalized the greater number of team points for flagrant misconduct or unsportsmanlike conduct;
The team whose opposing head coach has been penalized the greater number of team points for coach misconduct;
The team whose opposing wrestlers were penalized the greater number of match points for unsportsmanlike conduct;
The team having won the greater number of matches (including forfeits);
The team having accumulated the greater total number of falls, defaults, forfeits, and disqualifications;
The team having the greater number of technical falls;
The team having the greater number of major decisions;
The team having the greater number (total match points) of first-points scored;
The team having the greater number of points for near-falls;
The team having the greater number of takedowns;
The team having the greater number of reversal;
The team having the greater number of escapes;
The team whose opponent has been penalized the greater number of points for stalling;
The team whose opponent has been warned more often for stalling;
The team whose opponent has the greater number of penalties for all other infractions;
If none of the above resolves the tie, a flip of a disk will determine the winner.
In reflecting on the dual, coach Lewis noted "We had four matches that we thought were pivotal including 126lbs (Hinkle vs. Padilla), 145lbs (Meyer vs. Cihak), 152lbs (Williams vs. Haar), and 160lbs (Raske vs. Rernleitner), but unfortunately we only secured one win during those matches with a well wrestled match by Williams despite giving up the weight advantage." Once the final tie-breaker criteria had been decided, Aberdeen was awarded one point to secure the dual which resulted in a 34-33 win for the Golden Eagles. "We told the team to hold their heads high," said Lewis. "We battled every match and we must always remember we win as a team and lose as a team. We cannot sit and dwell on the hundreds of things we did wrong because we did a hundred more things right tonight as well. We take a loss like this and use it as motivation to work harder in the room and keep preparing for February." The match-by-match breakdown for the entire dual can be found below:
106bls - #1 Jacob Moore won by fall over #6 Jack Van Camp
113lbs - #1 Lincoln Turman won by fall over Daymon Steuck
120lbs - #2 William Turman won by fall over Ethan Allen
126lbs - Victor Padilla won by 4-0 decision over #6 Cade Hinkle
132lbs - #1 Michael Lusk won by 11-4 decision over #6 Will Jarrott
138lbs - #3 Austin Senger won by fall over Garrett Mitzel
145lbs - Austin Cihak won by fall over Logan Meyer
152lbs - #1 Aric Williams won by 3-1 decision over #4 Collin Haar
160bls - Clayton Rernleitner won by 8-5 decision over Maguire Raske
170bls - #1 Bradley Nelson won by fall over Lucas Stoltenburg
182lbs - #1 Braiden Nelson won by fall over #8 Gabe Gehring
195lbs - #1 Spencer Sarringer won by 5-3 decision over #3 Jake Flakus
220lbs - #5 Levi Stoltenburg won by fall over #4 Trajan LaRocque
285bls - #5 Austin Maunu won by 3-1 decision over #8 Ty Paulsen
In reflection on the outcome of the dual coach Kalda noted "What I am impressed with most about tonight was the attitude of the team. This loss left a bad taste in our mouth and there is no doubt we will come back stronger from it. We are a very aggressive team and sometimes that can put us in some dangerous situations. When you start looking at close duals like we saw tonight, sometimes the difference doesn't come from how we win but also how we lose." Pending the approaching weather system, the Governors will be in action again at the Elk-Point Jefferson Tournament on December 17th. Following the Christmas break the team will travel to Rochester, MN to compete at The Clash with initial dual team seeding to be released on December 16th.
The Pierre Governors continued with their undefeated dual season this evening with a 55-18 victory over Brookings in their first ESD home dual. The win extends the conference record to 3-0, and a 6-0 overall record with an important ESD matchup against #2 ranked Aberdeen on Thursday evening.
#3 ranked Jack Van Camp looks to earn a pin against #9 ranked Connor Klinkhammer during the second period of their 106lb matchup.
With only three home duals outside of the East vs. West matchups the Governors face added pressure when competing in front of a large home crowd. Coach Shawn Lewis noted "There is added pressure when wrestling at home. We don't get to compete at home very often so when we do the guys want to make sure that they are at their best. They want to be able to show the whole town how hard they work." The Governors opened the dual with a pins by Jack Van Camp and Lincoln Turman, a forfeit for Trevor Adamson, and a 10-0 major decision by William Turman at 126lbs to take a 22-0 lead.
#1 ranked William Turman works on top of #8 ranked Carson Klinkhammer to earn a 10-0 major decision in their 126lbs matchup.
Cade Hinkle moved up a weight class to compete against Sam Lehman and with his 5-2 loss the Brookings Bobcats earned their first points on the evening. Forfeits awarded to Michael Lusk at 138lbs and Logan Meyer at 145lbs, and a major decision by Aric Williams over Justine Devine at 152lbs extended the Governor lead to 38-3. Filling in for Garrett Leesman at 160lbs, Riley Kruger was pinned in the first period by last year state finalist Tate Coon, and Lucas Stoltenburg suffered a 4-0 loss to #2 ranked Jacob Schoon at 170lbs. The Stoltenburg match-up against highly ranked Schoon was deemed one of the most significant of the evening. Stoltenburg is ranked #3 at 182lbs, and dropped down a weight class for just these two weeks of competition. When reflecting on the 4-0 loss, Lewis stated that, "Lucas wrestled very well. Schoon is a very offensive kid who can throw a ton of points on an opponent. Lucus did a nice job of slowing the pace and he also stayed in really good position. Any time you can do those things against high level opponents you are putting yourself in a position to win a match."
#3 ranked Aric Williams looks to turn Justin Devine during their 152lb match-up.
In three of the final four weight classes the Governors earned a pin by Gage Gehring at 182lbs, a technical fall by Spencer Sarringar at 195lbs, followed by a pin in the first period by Levi Stoltenburg against Gus Miller. In the 285lb match, Ty Paulsen lost by pin to returning state champion Eddie Miller in the second period to close out the dual with the 55-18 win. "Our offensive and aggressive wrestling style showed through tonight," said Lewis. "We had two matches, Williams and Sarringar, that we physically and mentally broke kids. We made them not want to be out on the mat anymore. We also had two matches, Van Camp and Gage Gehring, that we were down, won the scramble and got pins."
#1 ranked Spencer Sarringar earns nearfall by tilting #9 ranked Cole Eidem on his way to a 16-1 tech fall in the 195lb match.
One of the most difficult features of this weeks completion is the need for the team to make their designated weight up to three times on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. When asked how he has worked with the team to manage this difficult task Lewis stated, "Three weigh-ins this week along with last weeks RC Invite is a tough part of our schedule. We also have also more weigh-ins on our schedule then any one kid is allowed. This has benefited us by allowing us to rest some kids. We also combat that with weighing in a couple kids up a weight class to take the strain and focus off of weight cutting and back on what is important, and that is performing well."
Resulting from a need to have wrestlers sit out at least one weigh-in during the year (wrestlers are only allowed 14 during the season and with the addition of The Clash Dual Tournament the Governors are at 15 this season), the Governors were short #3 ranked Austin Senger (138lb), # 11 Maguire Raske (152lbs), and Garrett Leesman (160lbs). To comply with this SDHSAA rule requires strategic decisions to be made the Coach Lewis and John Kalda. "We shifted to fill out our lineup. It didn't really change the number of match-ups, instead it allowed us to dictate who wrestled who," said Lewis. These wrestlers will be back in action for the Thursday dual in Aberdeen. Overall matchups and scores for the Governors during the dual included:
106lbs - #3 Jack Van Camp won by fall over #9 Connor Klinkhammer
113lbs - #1 Lincoln Turman won by fall over Jason Nixon
120lbs - Trevor Adamson won by Forfeit
126lbs - #1 William Turman over #8 Carson Klinkhammer 10-0
132lbs - #7 Cade Hinkle lost 5-2 against Sam Lehman
138lbs - #1 Michael Lusk won by Forfeit
145lbs - Logan Meyer won by Forfeit
152lbs - #3 Aric Williams won 10-1 over Justin Devine
160lbs - Riley Kruger lost by fall against #1 Tate Coon
170lbs - #3 Lucas Stoltenburg lost 4-0 against #2 Jacob Schoon
182lbs - Gage Gehring won by fall over #9 Logan Hadley
195lbs - #1 Spencer Sarringer won 16-1 against #9 Cole Eidem
220lbs - #5 Levi Stoltenburg won by fall over #9 Gus Miller
285lbs - #8 Ty Paulsen lost by fall against #1 Eddie Miller
After the Aberdeen dual on Thursday, the Governors will travel to Elk Point where they will compete against a number of ranked B programs including #2 Canton, #4 Beresford/Alcester Hudson, #7 Bon Homme Scotland, and #11 Parkston. The Governors have won the team title at this event the past two years.
This past year the Pierre Governor Wrestling team capped off their season by winning their fourth State Class A Championship in five years, and earned the second highest team score ever recorded by a South Dakota team. With a preseason #1 ranking for the 2016-17 season, and sights set on a third consecutive state title the Governors found success in the opening weekend resulting in dual wins over Mitchell (54-21), Watertown (38-30), Milbank (60-12), Harrisburg (54-15) and #2 ranked Aberdeen (36-32).
The Governor Wrestling team poses after they earn the team title at the 2016 Rapid City Invite.
This past weekend the Governors entered the Rapid City Invitation with a goal of becoming one of the first teams to repeat as team champions in more than a decade. Considered to be one of the most difficult tournaments in the region, the Rapid Invite includes 38 teams from Class A and B powerhouses in South Dakota, Wyoming and North Dakota. Head coach Shawn Lewis noted that "The completion at the Rapid City Invitational is arguably the toughest that we see throughout the year. It has State Champions from Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota and in multiple classes at that." When describing the variation in preparation for his team Lewis stated that "Our preparation stays much the same as we are early in our season. We are still building our conditioning and technique as a team. We do start to put in a bit of individual preparation in by scouting out certain opponents that we may see."
After an impressive first day performance that resulted in 13 of the Governor wrestlers advancing to the second day of competition with a 3-1 record or better, the team was able to maintained a 18.5 point lead over Rapid City Central. Six wrestlers advanced to the semifinals (Turman, Turman, Hinkle, Lusk, Senger & Sarringar), with one of the most exciting wins of the day coming with a second period pin for Cade Hinkle over the #1 ranked Wesley Weischedel (Lennox) and 120lb finalist from last season.
Spencer Sarringar scores a takedown against Teigan Marchant of Gillette during his quarterfinals match earning a pin in 1:07 during the first period.
Day two of the invite resulted in four semifinal wins with Lincoln Turman (113lbs), Michael Lusk (132lbs), Austin Senger (138lbs), and Spencer Sarringar (195lbs) advancing to the final in the late afternoon. William Turman lost in the semifinals 2-0 against returning RC Invitational champion and 2-time North Dakota state champion Kyle Burwick, and Cade Hinkle lost by major decision to Spencer Stockman from RC Stevens.
In the fourth round wrestle-backs wins by Aric Williams (145lbs), Maguire Raske (152lbs) and Levi Stoltenburg (220lbs) ensured that nine Governors would place at the event. Each of these wrestlers also won matchups in the fifth round wrestle backs, and Williams and Stoltenburg advanced to the consolation championships following wins in the sixth round wrestle backs.
During the final placing round Lincoln Turman, Michael Lusk and Spencer Sarringar each secured victories in the finals, with Senger losing by major decision to two-time state champion and four time finalist Tyler Waterson in the 138lb matchup.
Lincoln Turman looks to secure a pin during his championship match against Wyatt Turnquist (Winner). Turman went on to win 6-2.
Aric Williams had lost a close 5-3 matchup against two-time Wyoming state champion Taylor Jeffries in the quarterfinals, but went unbeat for the remainder of the tournament by advancing into the third place match with a commanding win (7-2) over #1 ranked South Dakota wrestler Riley McSherry from RC Central. Williams finished 3rd overall at the event. William Turman lost a close 3-1 matchup against #2 ranked SD wrestler Cody Bevier from RC Stevens to finish fourth, and Levi Stoltenburg lost the third place match after securing a 8-1 lead losing by pin to Chase Dockter from Bismarck High in the third period. Maguire Raske finished the tournament with a 5-2 record and a fifth place finish with a first period pin over Wyatt Corely from Newcastle in his final match. Finally, Cade Hinkle closed out the tournament with a 3-2 record and a sixth place finish when Wesley Weischedel (Lennox) avenged a loss in the quarterfinals with a 8-3 win.
"After the Rapid City Invitational, we feel our team is in a good place," said Lewis when reflecting on the current status of his Governor team. "Seeing the competition that we did, and having the kind of results that we had are very positive take a ways. We did see a few positions and techniques that we need to get better at. As far as our conditioning, it looked really good compared to most of the other schools but is something we will continually look to improve" Lewis noted.
A significant milestone for the Governor program came on Friday evening with a quarterfinals win by Spencer Sarringar who became the first Governor Wrestler to place at the Rapid City Invite five times. When asked to reflect upon Sarrangar's performance and his impact to the program over his career Lewis noted, "Spencer has meant a lot to Governor Wrestling for many years. He is a kid who has grown up in the program and done things the right way. He always works hard, tries to improve, and has a lot of fun doing so. These are things we try and pride ourselves on doing. Seeing him accomplishing placing five times and now winning the Rapid City Invitational is no surprise. He competes every match out and has over his entire career whether it be at 106 or 195 or any other weight class in between." In addition to Sarringar's milestone a number of other relevant accomplishments by the Pierre Governors during the tournament on Friday and Saturday included the following:
This was the first time that Governor Wrestling had three individual champions at the Rapid City Invite with the championship round wins by Lincoln Turman, Michael Lusk, and Spencer Sarringar;
Lincoln Turman and Michael Lusk were the first Governors to repeat as champions at the Rapid City Invite since Tyler and Toby Bryant in 1997;
Every Governor wrestler earned bonus points during the first day of the tournament, with a total of 27 pins awarded resulting in 54 bonus points on the first day;
Placing nine wrestlers at the event broke the record set in 2015 when the Governors had 8 placers;
The Governors broke the record for points scored by a team with 235.5. The previous record had been set by the 2015 Governor Wrestling team when they scored 225.5 points.
Spencer Sarringar, Michael Lusk, and Lincoln Turman pose with their championship brackets following their finals victory at 195lbs, 132lbs and 113lbs.
The individual performance and finish for each Governor wrestlers at the Rapid City Invite were as follows:
Governors will see their next action with an important ESD dual against Aberdeen on Thursday December 15th, and then will compete in Elk Point on Saturday December 17th.
