BROOKINGS The Brookings Bobcats had a successful senior night as they swept a home dual against Brandon Valley in the auxiliary gym at Brookings High School on Tuesday night.
The boys team picked up a 40-33 win over the Lynx to improve its dual record to 4-2 while the girls team won 39-18 to improve to 4-1 on the season.
Both teams will be in action on Saturday heading to the Kingsburg County Invitational in Arlington.
Boys
Brookings 40, Brandon Valley 33
The Bobcats scored a big upset in the boys dual, defeating Brandon Valley in the nightcap of Tuesdays doubleheader. The Lynx entered the dual with a 4-0 record and were ranked second in Dakota Grapplers Class A Dual rankings, but Brookings earned the win with an altered lineup and a new sense of confidence.
Its big, Brookings head coach Matt Hanson said of the win. Theyre a very good wrestling team and I know theyre battling injuries and other things right now, but we asked the kids today if they wanted to do something they werent supposed to do and send our seniors out. Every single kid went out there and did what they were supposed to do and theyre a great team when that happens.
The match opened with Micah Stern opening the dual by pinning Mary-Katherine Joseph in 1:15 at 100 pounds and Tate Helmbolt won by forfeit at 113 to give the Bobcats a 12-0 lead. Brandon Valley answered when Brendon Oehme earned a 22-5 technical fall over Jacob Milliron in 5:01 at 120 pounds and Braden Shoemaker pinned Levi Quam in 5:30 at 126 pounds to make it a 12-11 dual.
Sawyer Johnson earned another bonus point for Brookings with a 15-3 major decision over Garret VanDusen at 132 pounds and set the stage for Miles to wrestle up a class against Brandon Valleys Hayden McGuire at 138 pounds.
Miles put forth a strong effort going up against McGuire, taking a 2-1 lead at the end of the first period and a 5-1 lead after two periods on the way to a 5-2 decision. The win helped Miles improve to 16-1 on the season and continued to build momentum for the Bobcats.
We asked him with it being senior night if he wanted to move up, Hanson said of Miless win. He said if that was the best opportunity for us to win, he would step up and do it and he stepped up for us.
Zander Nielsen pinned Jurren Hansen at 144 pounds to help Brandon Valley make it a 19-18 dual but momentum started to build after Mason Mathiss 6-4 decision over Xavier McGuire at 150 pounds. With back-to-back pins by Logan Straub over Ethan Tucker in 2:43 at 157 pounds and Blake Kannegieter over Christopher Joseph in 1:54 at 165 pounds, the Bobcats bench erupted as the possibility of an upset became a reality.
Andrew Gray went on to pin Zach Hagemann in 1:06 at 175 pounds, Elijah Schunke earned an 11-3 major decision over Joey Fitzpatrick at 190 pounds and Navarro Schunke pinned Dylan Reynolds in 1:35 at 285 pounds but with Carson Loehrs forfeit victory at 215 pounds, the Bobcats had pulled off the upset.
We talked about it on paper that if we do this or we do that, it would give us a chance, Hanson said. We asked them and they wanted to go for it, so we moved some kids around and they said after the dual, This is a team win, coach. It was nice to see that.
With a big win under their belt, the Bobcats will now prepare for the Kingsburg County Invitational in Arlington on Saturday afternoon. With the final weeks of the season ahead of them, the Bobcats are motivated to make it count and head down the final stretch.
One of my sophomores mentioned that if we get better every day, things will start to stack together, Hanson said. Theyre starting to believe and theyre starting to work hard. They can start to see the end of the year, which means everybodys intensity is starting to rise to the level it needs to be at.
Girls
Brookings 39, Brandon Valley 18
The Bobcats didnt have a lot of action in the dual with the Lynx but they continued to build as they started to head down the stretch of the regular season.
Were really going to put our foot to the floor here in the next few weeks, Brookings girls wrestling coach Eric Toft said. Weve got a lot of matches coming against some tough competition and were really getting into the meat of the season.
Brandon Valleys Kendall Clayton opened by pinning Claire Milliron in 42 seconds in the opening match at 100 pounds but Lily Toft scored a pin in the second match over Leah Nelson at 107 pounds to even the dual.
Ramsie Hinricher scored a win over Brandon Valleys Grace Carson via injury time at 126 pounds before Cierra Strand had the match of the night against Brandon Valleys Brenna Reker.
Strand fought through regulation to force the extra session before both wrestlers fought through a scoreless sudden victory period. In the second extra period, Strand didnt allow Reker to score a point with a takedown before gaining control to score an escape and a takedown in the third sudden victory period to earn the win.
She really battled through the first three periods and wasnt looking her best, Toft said. However, when it came down to it, she had to do a gut check and decide if she was going to win or lose. She decided to win and she did what she had to do to get the W.
Toft also mentioned that the victory should help Strand build confidence going forward.
It doesnt always have to look pretty, Toft said. But its a good gut check for her and confidence going forward that when she gets in those situations, she can win.
Johanna Steinlicht (145 pounds) and Maizy Mathis (165 pounds) earned forfeit victories for Brookings while Lillian Hamner (185 pounds) and Jenessa Skyberg (250 pounds) earned forfeit victories for Brandon Valley to close the dual.
With another win in the books, Toft likes what he is seeing from the Bobcats as they head into the Kingsbury County Invite on Saturday and into the busiest weeks of the season.I think our girls are ready, Toft said. They are excited for the competition. So were just staying healthy, keeping positive and keeping the pressure moving forward. Were going to push through the next few weeks and I think were going to come out with a lot of wins.
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