HARDY WRESTLES HIS WAY TO 8TH AT STATE

          Britton-Hecla sophomore Tucker Hardy brought home an eighth place finish from the South Dakota Class B wrestling tournament held in Sioux Falls last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

          Hardy, who was making his first state trip, defeated Owen Vandeweerd (42-8) of  Sioux Valley in the first round of the 285-pound bracket 3-1.  The two matmen had also tangled in the third place match in the Region 1B tourney a week earlier with Hardy also coming out on top in that contest 3-0.  Hardy lost to Traun Cook (50-4) of Canton in the second round by pin but battled back to post a pin in the wrestlebacks to earn his way into the placing rounds, losing one of those matches in overtime.  He finished with a 37-17 season record.

          “Getting eighth place was a great accomplishment for Tucker,” said B-H coach Josh Hawkinson.  “I believe he was the only non-senior that was on the podium in the 285-pound class.” 

          Sophomore Bryce Hawkinson was the Braves other state qualifier, advancing to the state tourney for the third time.  He also met an opponent that he had wrestled in the Region 1B tournament – Christian Ehresmann of Groton Area – and lost to the eventual fourth place finisher by pin.  Hawkinson rebounded with an 11-4 decision but was eliminated in the second round wrestlebacks on a close 4-3 decision right at the buzzer.  Hawkinson wrapped up the season with a 39-12 mark.

          “Bryce made a mistake that he knew he couldn’t make in that first match and ended up getting pinned, but he came out to wrestle and wrestled the next kid well.  We knew the third match was going to be tough and it came down to the last seconds.  After having re-watched the film on it, in my eyes, there was no time on the clock when he was credited with two points and the win and he went on to the placing rounds.

          “I thought both kids wrestled really well and they wrestled hard,” added Hawkinson.  “You could tell that they were there to wrestle and in their zone, and it’s fun to coach kids like that.

          “Now we’re hoping that some of the younger kids that went along to the tournament got some experience of what it’s like at that level and what the hype is about,” concluded Hawkinson.  “The more people you bring the bigger the crowd will get, and I can’t wait to see what happens when we get four or five kids there.”

          Collin Beaner, who earned an alternate state spot at 150 pounds but did not compete, is the only senior on this year’s squad.