Governors Defeat Huron Tigers 57-13 in Final Home Dual

Although the high school wrestling season doesn't come to an end for another four weeks, around the state during the next two weeks senior wrestlers are experiencing the opportunity to compete in front of their home crowds one last time.  For the five current Governor senior wrestlers, the home ESD dual last night against Huron presented one last chance to strap on the kelly green singlets and compete in front of the Governor faithful.  "Senior night is always special," said head coach Shawn Lewis.  "It is the first time you come to the realization that your season is coming to a close.  You want them to be at their best as many memories come flooding in.  As you hope you have done everything you can to make them a better person."  The five Governor seniors in Aric Williams, Lucas Stoltenburg, Levi Stoltenburg, Spencer Sarringar and Ty Paulsen each finished their final home appearance in style with victories which propelled the Governors to a 57-13 win over an aggressive Huron Tiger team.

Governor Varsity seniors who competed at their final home dual at Riggs include Aric Williams, Lucas Stoltenburg, Ty Paulsen, Levis Stoltenburg, and Spencer Sarringar.

Jack Van Camp and Lincoln Turman helped open a 12-0 lead with first period pins against Lucas Hofer and Tyson Lien, and William Turman extended that to 18 after Huron forfeited at 120lbs and shifted Daynon Huber to 126lb to wrestle Jace Bench-Bresher.  Huber secured the Tiger's first points with a 9-3 decision, with the win serving as a prelude to a rematch of the Rapid City Invitational championship between #1 ranked Michael Lusk and #5 Chipper Shillingstad.  Shillingstad scored first with a counter to a shot from Lusk and closed out the first period with a 5-0 lead following a takedown and backpoints from a feet-to-back scoring opportunity.  For the time remaining, Lusk earned four takedowns to finally take back the lead with six seconds remaining, but was reversed in the closing seconds resulting in a 10-13 loss in an action-packed match.  "That match had everything a fan could want," said assistant coach John Wayne Kalda.  "For us as coaches it was an emotional roller coaster.  What's exciting about this level of wrestling is that one little slip, one little let down could ultimately cost you a match.  And we need to be focused every time we do step on the mat for a full six minute, because the guy across the mat is looking for one thing which is to knock us off.  You can bet that Huron is going to bring their best so for the novice fan it doesn't get any better than that."  

Michael Lusk squares off against Chipper Shillingstad during thier 132lbs match-up.  Shillingstad secured the 13-10 victory following a late reversal in the closing seconds of the match.

Following the match Austin Senger and Aric Williams extended the Governor lead by another 12 points with pins over Nathan Sowle and Mathew Katz. Trent Francom closed the gap against slightly with a major decision of 10-0 against Maguire Raske, then the teams traded wins at 160lb and 170lbs with Garrett Leesman winning by pin over Nick Christensen and Travis Kleinsasser defeating Gabe Gehring 8-2.  Lewis noted when reflecting back on a few of the key match-ups that "Leesman beating Christiansen will almost guarantee him a second or third seed at regions.  Christensen is a former state place winner and getting a win over a quality kid like that should be a great confidence boost for Garrett."

Aric Williams works to pin Natthew Katz during thier 145lbs match-up.  William's went on to secure the fall in 1:30 of the first period).

From that point forward the Governors scored 21 points to close out the dual with a 6-2 win by Lucas Stoltenburg over Wyatt Larsen, and pins by Spencer Sarringar over Jacob Rieger and Levi Stoltenburg who pinned Marshal Simons in the second period to overcome a 8-1 deficit.  "Levi pinning Simons will lock up the number one seed for the region tournament," said Lewis.  "They will most likely see one another again in the finals.  Stoltenburg does a great job of finishing matches and putting opponents away.  He did that tonight and being down early and not giving up shows a ton of heart and determination.  Levi also not wrestling at 100% shows his dedication to this team and his desire for wanting to lay it all out there on Senior night." At the conclusion of the dual Ty Paulsen won by forfeit.   and Levi beating Simmons will be important matches when it comes to region seeding."  Individual results for each of the matches included:

• 106lbs - #7 Jack Van Camp won by pin over Lucas Hofer (0:44)
• 113lbs - #1 Lincoln Turman won by pin over Tyson Lien (1:19)
• 120lbs - #2 William Turman won by forfeit
• 126lbs - #7 Daynon Huber won by decision over Jace Bench-Bresher (9-3)
• 132lbs - #5 Chipper Shllingstad won by decision over Michael Lusk (9-3)
• 138lbs - #2 Austin Senger won by pin over Nathan Sowle (4:29)
• 145lbs - #2 Aric Williams won by pin over Matthew Katz (1;30)
• 152lbs - #2 Trent Francom won by decision over Maguire Raske (10-0)
• 160bls - Garrett Leesman won by pin over Nick Christensen (1:29)
• 170lbs - Travis Kleinsasser won by decision over Gage Gehring (8-2)
• 182lbs - #4 Lucas Stoltenburg won by decision over Wyatt Larsen (6-2)
• 195lbs - #1 Spencer Sarringar won by pin over Jacob Rieger (0:30)
• 220lbs - #4 Levi Stoltenburg won by pin over Marshal Simons (2:31)
• 285lbs - #7 Ty Paulsen won by forfeit.  

Levi Stoltenburg sprawls against Huron's Marshal Simons, and went on to win by fall during the second period despite a 8-1 deficit in the match.

When reflecting back on the evening Lewis concluded that "This group of seniors has been a long time coming.  They are a tight knit group that has really stuck together through the years.  Seeing them grow up out on the wrestling mat and in the classroom has been a pleasure.  They are a real laid back crew that likes to have a lot of fun but also win." As there assistant coach for the last three years Kalda also found the evening to be bittersweet.  "There's a lot of good memories with this group of kids," said Kalda.  "It's fun to sit back and think about this tough road they have traveled as these guys have been around each other for a lot of years with some good stories.  I hate to see it come to an end, but we as coaches are proud of how they have developed and the men they have become.  We like to think we had a little bit to due with that development."  The Governors will be back in action on Saturday as they travel to Yankton for their Invitational.