The Britton-Hecla wrestling squad opened its season on the right foot on Saturday with a strong showing in the Clark-Willow Lake Tournament.
Ten matmen cracked the top four and Ben Suther brought home the 175-pound title. The Braves scored 129 team points which placed the squad third in the 10-team field.
Coach Josh Hawkinson’s crew was supposed to be back in action last night Tuesday against Redfield and Clark-Willow Lake but the triangular was postponed due to weather. This week the local grapplers travel to Faulkton for a Saturday tournament and compete at Webster Area on Monday.
Earning second place finishes for Britton-Hecla on Saturday were Henry Kilker at 106, Lincoln Kilker at 113, Tanner Atkinson at 138, Bryce Hawkinson at 157, and Colton Chapin at 175. Placing third were Max Suther at 175 and Tucker Hardy at 190. Fourth placers were Jarrik Jones at 120 and Carter Grobe at 132.
“It was a good day and I was extremely pleased with the way it went,” said Coach Hawkinson. “Everybody just kind of put it together and going into the final round we were in first place. We had a few upsets in the finals but finished third behind two very well-respected teams, and it’s the most points we have scored in my eight years of coaching.”
Kingsbury County won the team championship with 155.5 points, followed by Clark-Willow Lake with 146, Britton-Hecla 129, Groton Area 104.5, Faulkton Area 76, Webster Area 74.5, Canton JV 61.5, Pierre JV 34, Tiospa Zina 14, and Ortonville 0.
“We’re still a little out of shape, which I knew would be the case since we’ve spent more time on drilling in the room,” noted Hawkinson. “Now we need to get our wind under control. But I thought we looked really good on our feet and it was fun to see some kids trying new things they’ve been working on in the room that worked for them. I’m extremely proud of the kids and it is a huge confidence builder for us heading into the season. We have some tougher tournaments coming up but I think we can hang with about everybody.”
106 POUNDS: Henry Kilker (BH) pinned Garret Smith (Kingsbury County) Fall 3:29; pinned Tilden Edgar (Faulkton Area) 2:39; pinned by Willy Miller (Kingsbury County) 2:29
113 POUNDS: Lincoln Kilker (BH) dec. Remington St. Sauver (Kingsbury County) 8-7; dec. Emerson Sine (Tiospa Zina) 15-14; lost dec. to Maverick Clausen (Clark/Willow Lake) 3-0
120 POUNDS: Jarrik Jones (BH) pinned by Cade Gaikowski (Clark/Willow Lake) 1:49; pinned Carson Eichler (Kingsbury County) :56; lost dec. to Wyatt Hagen (Groton Area) 11-0
132 POUNDS: Carter Grobe (BH) lost dec. to Cooper Auble (Pierre JV) 12-1; tech fall over Noah Vig (Kingsbury County) 17-2, 2:54; tech fall over Aksel Gjerde (Clark/Willow Lake) 18-3, 3:26; won by forfeit over Cooper Auble (Pierre JV); pinned by Lane Albrecht (Kingsbury County) 1:32
138 POUNDS: Tanner Atkinson (BH) pinned Aiden Strom (Groton Area) 3:19; pinned Cutler Davis (Kingsbury County) 2:59; pinned by Logan Foster (Clark/Willow Lake) 2:54
150 POUNDS: Corbin Dawson (BH) dec. Braeden Karels (Ortonville) 9-3; pinned by Haeden Jorgenson (Webster Area) :45; pinned by Mason Severson (Clark/Willow Lake) 2:13
157 POUNDS: Bryce Hawkinson (BH) pinned Leyton Omundson (Ortonville) :43; dec. Donavon Block (Groton Area) 12-0; lost dec. to Greyson Nielson (Kingsbury County) 7-6
175 POUNDS: Ben Suther (BH) pinned Max Suther (BH) 1:42; pinned Colton Chapin (BH) :26
175 POUNDS: Colton Chapin (BH) pinned Liam Gunnon (Kingsbury County) 4:37; pinned Behrett Ahrens (Clark/Willow Lake) :57; pinned by Ben Suther (BH) :26
175 POUNDS: Max Suther (BH) pinned Legend Geist (Faulkton Area) 2:00; pinned by Ben Suther (BH) 1:42; pinned Liam Gunnon (Kingsbury County) 4:31; pinned Behrett Ahrens (Clark/Willow Lake) :34
190 POUNDS: Tucker Hardy (BH) pinned Ridge Moe (Clark/Willow Lake) :25; lost dec. to Gage Baumgarn (Webster Area) 14-7; pinned Lennox Rumpca (Webster Area) 1:55); pinned Isaiah Scepaniak (Groton Area) 1:36
215 POUNDS: Liam Paxton (BH) pinned by Tristen Baloun (Faulkton Area) :47; pinned by Layne Johnson (Groton Area) 2:14
285 POUNDS: Ryan Maxwell (BH) pinned by Micah Woods (Canton) 1:00; pinned by Jaymison Brown (Canton JV) 1:21
