Area boys and girls grapplers seek successful seasons on the mat

A state Class A runner-up finish by Watertown High School's wrestling team last February was the program's top finish since they captured the state title in 2003.

The question in 2003-24 is: Can the Arrows climb the final step of the ladder?

"It should be a very interesting year," Watertown coach Chas Welch said. "I really do the think the state title is up for grabs and there are plenty of teams who have a chance. I'd certainly put us in the mix."

Three-time defending champion Brandon Valley and returning Class A dual team champion Pierre also should be formidable along with Aberdeen Central, Tea Area, Rapid City Stevens and West Central.

Watertown begins its quest on Thursday when it hosts Beresford/Alcester-Hudson and Yankton in a triangular starting at 5 p.m. in the Civic Arena. Watertown will wrestle Yankton first and close the triangular by facing BAH.

The Arrows will also host the Marv Sherrill Duals on Saturday, starting at 10 a.m. Watertown will wrestle Huron, Mitchell and Canby (Minn.) in its pool with Aberdeen Central, Yankton, Milbank and Tea Area in the other pool.

After the weekend, the Arrows will have only one remaining home appearance (home dual against Brookings on Dec. 14) on their schedule. The Region 1A tourney is set for Saturday, Feb. 17 at Madison.

The state Class A dual team tourney is slated for Feb. 10 at the Swiftel Center in Brookings with the state individual tourney Feb. 22-24 at Sioux Falls.

A look at Watertown's early lineup

Watertown returns a talented group of wrestlers from last winter including state champions Sloan Johannsen and Gage Lohr, state runner-up Micah Hach and fellow place winners Derek Hanson and Brock Eitreim.

Johannsen is looking to cap his stellar high school career by joining Rick Jensen (1971-74) as the program's only wrestlers to win four state championships. The three-time defending champion is 135-1 in his career with a 132-match winning streak. Lohr, a freshman, won a state title at 106. Hach was second at 285, Eitreim third at 195 and Hanson seventh at 138.

State qualifiers Leo Stroup, a junior, and Markus Pitkin, a sophomore, are also back.

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Newcomers are expected to fill in the blanks in a lineup that is expected to feature this week (with some new weight classes adopted by the state): Freshman Chase Mathews at 106 pounds, freshman Max Stroup at 113, Lohr at 120, Johannsen at 126, sophomore Keslar Swenson at 132, Hanson at 138, Leo Stroup at 144, freshman Landen Lewis at 150, Pitkin at 157, senior Tucker Urdahl at 165, senior Andrew Stricker at 175, Eitreim at 190, junior Ethan Wientjes at 215 and Hach at 285.

"We definitely have some high place winners back and we have to fill in around those guys," Welch said. "We'll have some new faces, but they should be very capable. It's time for them to show people what they've got."

Aaron Althoff, Scott Stone, Dexter Gaikowski, Nate Althoff and Nick O'Connor are Welch's assistants for Watertown team that went 13-4 in duals, won the Region 1A championship and placed third in the state Class A dual team tourney last February.

How about Watertown's girls?

Wrestling isn't just for the Arrow boys anymore. Watertown had its first girls team in program history last winter and had four state place winners on the way to an eighth-place finish. Gaikowski is the head coach for Watertown's girls.

Eighth-grader Olivia Anderson (fourth at 106) and sophomores Katelyn Yexley (eighth at 132) and Allison Konrad (fifth at 190) are back for an Arrow team that has nearly doubled in size from last year.

"We have 16 girls out this year after having nine that consistently competed last year," said Welch. "That should help us certainly fill our lineup and win some duals."

The girls' state tourney is also Feb. 22-24 in Sioux Falls. There is no dual team tourney for girls.

What about Aberdeen Central?

Welch thinks the Golden Eagle boys will also be formidable under head coach Donnie Bowden.

Eighth-grader Porter Lozenksi (eighth at 113), senior Rayden Zens (sixth at 126), junior Tate Huff (fifth at 132), junior Mason Schrempp (third at 145) and freshman Cole Dunlavy (sixth at 182) are each returning place winners for Aberdeen Central, which placed ninth in last year's state Class A individual tourney.

Samson Flakus, a senior, is also a previous state place winner.

Aberdeen Central's girls, coached by Jake Flakus, have two returning state place winners back from a team that finished 11th. Senior Katrina Gibson is a returning state champion at 154 pounds and senior Madyson Gillen is a three-time state place winner who took sixth at 113.

The Golden Eagles compete in Region 3A along with area schools Sisseton and Milbank, who each also return state place winners. Sisseton finished 17th and Milbank 20th in last year's state tournament.

What about area Class B teams?

Most of the Watertown and Aberdeen area teams are in Region 1B including Britton-Hecla, Clark-Willow Lake, Deuel-Deubrook Area, Doland, Faulkton Area, Groton Area, Hamlin-Castlewood, Herreid, Ipswich-Bowdle, Kingsbury County, Potter County, Redfield, Sioux Valley, Sully Buttes, Tiospa Zina, Warner-Northwestern and Webster Area. Mobridge-Pollock competes in Region 4B.l

Redfield led area teams by placing seventh behind six-time defending state champion Canton. Canton is also the returning Class B dual team champion. Mobridge-Pollock finished 18th, Kingsbury County 19th and Warner-Northwestern 20th.

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The state Class B dual team tourney will be held on Saturday, Feb. 10 in the Watertown Civic Arena. Class B individual regions are set for Feb. 17 with the state tourney Feb. 22-24 in Sioux Falls.

A number of other area schools will compete in girls wrestling included Britton-Hecla, Clark-Willow Lake, Doland, Gettysburg, Groton Area, Hamlin, Kingsbury County, Milbank, Mobridge-Pollock, Sioux Valley, Sisseton, Tiospa Zina and Warner-Northwestern.

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Preview of Watertown, Aberdeen Central and area wrestling squads