BHSA's Peyton Hellmann, Britney Rueb return to top of girls wrestling podium
Feb. 25—SIOUX FALLS — After a year-long pause in their simultaneous girls wrestling state title reigns, the Bon Homme/Scotland/Avon girls wrestling duo of Peyton Hellmann and Britney Rueb are back on top together.
With Hellmann's victory at 138 pounds and Rueb's triumph at 120 pounds on Saturday at the Premier Center, it marks the third time in four years that BHSA's standout practice partners — who now have seven total state championships between them — both stand atop their respective classes.
"It's an amazing feeling," Hellman said. "And it's truly amazing what we can do as teammates when we push each other."
"You don't get a partner like that every day to help push you to get back to the top," Rueb added. "That really helped me a lot."
Peyton Hellmann's facial expressions told the story of a wrestler on a mission, one to complete an undefeated season and leave no doubts in the process.
The straight-faced result was resounding, as top-seeded Hellmann set the tone early and cruised to a 16-3 major decision over Sturgis' Madison Snyder, the 3-seed, in the girls 138-pound championship match. With the victory, Hellman rounded out a flawless 42-0 campaign and is now four-for-four in collecting state championships in her prep career.
"My mindset was I love what I do," Hellmann said afterward. "This was about getting out there and finishing the business trip to bring home a fourth (championship)."
Even after her arm was raised in victory and Hellmann was greeted by her coaches, she hardly cracked a smile. But the BHSA junior made sure to note that winning never gets boring as a wide grin spread across her face, she just had reached a rare state of calm knowing that she accomplished precisely what she set out to do.
"I haven't had a match much like that all year, so it just didn't hit me a whole lot at first," said Hellmann, who had won 39 of 42 matches this season, including all three prior state tournament matches, by fall. "As soon as I was done, my mind just went blank. It's not boring for me ever, but I just didn't have a lot on my mind."
Hellmann, who had spent a total of 3 minutes and 33 seconds on the mat to reach the final, said she didn't quite know what to expect from her match. Hellmann had never wrestled Snyder before but knew the Sturgis grappler would be among the most challenging opponents she's faced during a run that now stands at 83 wins in a row.
Behind an opening salvo that included three takedowns in the first period, Hellmann was always in control. She added a reversal in the second period and polished off the effort with another reversal, another takedown and four total near-fall points. Hellmann neutralized Snyder, who had advanced to the final with quarterfinal and semifinal wins by fall in a combined 2:44.
Hellmann says she'll remember the path to title No. 4 for the confidence she gained from freestyle wrestling at the national level. Last offseason, Hellmann won the USA Wrestling Northern Plains Regionals at 127 pounds, and she's ranked in the top 10 nationally in the USA Wrestling girls high school rankings.
"This year was different knowing I could come here (to the state tournament) and do what I do," Hellmann said.
But Hellmann was also quick to say that there's more work to be done, as she still has her senior season to shoot for a five-peat. It'll be difficult to top an undefeated run to a state championship, but the possibility of doing it again is tantalizing.
"It's exciting. Not many people can say they went undefeated," Hellmann said, again with a big smile. "But I've got one more season, and I'm hoping to do the same. It's even more exciting knowing I have the possibility of No. 5 ahead of me."
After a year away from the highest platform of the medal stand in 2023, Britney Rueb is back on top.
In the featured match of the girls championship session, Rueb used a three-point third period to hold off Lemmon/McIntosh's Quinn Butler in a 5-2 decision to claim the 120-pound title and cap off a 28-2 sophomore season.
The championship match win — Rueb's first state tournament match to go the distance after pinning her way to the final — avenged an earlier loss to Butler, who defeated Rueb via a 6-4 decision on Feb. 9 at the Black Hills Girls Last Chance Tournament. It was also a rematch of the 113-pound final at the 2022 state tournament, won by Rueb.
"Someone once told me, 'Shoot fast, shoot first,'" Rueb said. "You always have to wrestle your match, never wrestle theirs, and doing that definitely helped. ... I knew if I wrestled my game and fought hands — that's something I lost (in the past matchup) — and got into my offense a little more while staying with my defense, I'd do well."
Rueb's only other defeat this season came at 126 pounds to Harrisburg's Regina Stoeser, who won the state title in that weight class on Saturday.
In renewing her claim to a state championship, Rueb dedicated herself to training with the Legends of Gold gym, which she credited with setting her up for success.
Her training paid off one final time late in the title match. Leading 3-1, Rueb recorded a takedown with 31 seconds left in the third period to go ahead 5-1 and effectively seal the match win. Both Butler's points game via escapes.
"I needed that, because I knew if I got it, it was going to be hard coming back," Rueb said.
Moments after stepping off the mat, Rueb cracked open a celebratory Dr. Pepper, one that tasted much sweeter knowing the meaning behind the beverage and the path Rueb took to her third state championship.
"I wrestle for my grandpa who passed away. His last sentence to me was 'Never stop wrestling,'" Rueb said. "... Having this Dr. Pepper waiting for me is kind of (my way) of celebrating with him, so celebrating with a Dr. Pepper is the way to go."
