SIOUX FALLS – The Governors crowned four individual champs on the way to defending their Class A team title with 181.5 points as Aberdeen Central edged Sturgis, 144.5-144 for second place.

Brookings scored 81.5 points for eighth place as six wrestlers placed, led by Eddie Miller’s second-place finish at 285 pounds.

“We didn’t think anything above fifth or sixth (was possible),” said Bobcat head coach Scott Miller. “Realistically probably, about a sixth or seventh-place finish would be where we were at, but when seeds came out, we didn’t get a couple of kids seeded – we didn’t Cole Eidem at 195, which we thought he was probably the sixth or seventh best kid in the state; he got put into a spot on the bracket that wasn’t conducive to scoring many points, but other than that, if everybody was true to form, we probably would have been ninth or 10th place.”

In addition to Miller’s second-place finish, Kesmond Willer (152) and Jacob Schoon (170) finished fourth; Tate Coon (160) placed fifth; while Sam Lehman (126) and Logan Hadley (182) finished in sixth place.

“One of the worst draws we had was Sam Lehman (at 126) – he had to wrestle third-seeded Jacob Hanssen of Harrisburg right away; went overtime with him and lost but to lose a match like that, you come back and you’re pretty excited,” Miller said. “He wins the first wrestleback match and for Sam to come back and win the second one on Friday afternoon – some people think it was a surprise but we look at Sam and thought he could it all along – he did a couple of things he wasn’t supposed to do.

“I think Sam really stands out; and another unseeded kid that ends up not only placing, but winning another match on Saturday morning was Logan Hadley. You take those two kids – we always preach about doing something you haven’t done before – and those kids definitely did something they weren’t supposed to do, so they stepped up. That probably moved us up from ninth/10th place to seventh/eighth place and got us in the hunt for a team trophy on the last day.”

Miller won his semifinal match, 1-0, over Dane Stahl of Watertown before dropping a 3-1 decision to Chamberlain’s Nash Hutmacher in the title match. Miller, a senior and the defending 285 champ, closed his season with a 27-4 mark.

Willert lost by fall in 25 seconds to eventual champion Carter Lohr of Roosevelt in the semis before coming back with a 3-2 win over Colton Jackson of Douglas/Rapid City Christian. The Bobcat senior then dropped the third-place match by a 3-2 to Aberdeen Central’s Collin Haar to finish 25-11 on the year.

Schoon lost 6-2 in the semifinals to Dante Colicheski of Rapid City Stevens but advanced to the third-place match with a win by fall in 4:29 over West Central’s Jason Simon. The sophomore lost 3-1 to Rapid City Central’s Zach Solano to finish fourth and end the season with a 33-4 mark.

Coon posted an 8-1 decision over Branson Taylor of Douglas/RC Christian in the third-round wrestlebacks before losing by fall in 7:21 to Rapid City Central’s Blake Anderson to drop to the fifth-place match. The senior beat Harrisburg’s Nick Schirado, 6-4, to take fifth and compile a 32-11 season record.

In the third-round wrestlebacks, Lehman won a 3-2 decision over Mitchell’s Logan Sparks but fell, 11-1, to Aydan Mack of Watertown in the consolation semis. In the fifth-place match, the sophomore lost 2-1 in overtime to Hanssen to finish sixth and end the season with a 26-19 mark.

Hadley beat West Central’s Jared Mettler, 4-2, in the third-round wrestlebacks, but lost 8-3 to Tate Gatzke of Belle Fourche consolation semifinals. The senior then dropped a 6-1 decision to Watertown’s Mason Wickherst to finish sixth and close the season with a 27-19 record.

CLASS A STATE WRESTLING TOURNAMENT

Team scores

Pierre 181.5, Aberdeen Central 144.5, Sturgis 144, Rapid City Central 123.5, Rapid City Stevens 116, Sioux Falls Roosevelt 86, Watertown 85.5, Brookings 81.5, Lennox 81, Vermillion 77, Madison 67, Huron 66, Harrisburg 65.5, Brandon Valley 54, Chamberlain 41, Spearfish 41, West Central 37, Mitchell 36, Sioux Falls Washington 34, Sioux Falls Lincoln 28, Douglas/Rapid City Christian 26, Belle Fourche 15, Milbank Area 15, Dakota Valley 14, Sioux Falls O’Gorman 8, Yankton 7.5, Dell Rapids 7, Pine Ridge 0.

Championship matches

106 – Jacob Wood (43-3), Sturgis, So., dec. Jacob Moore (20-1), Aberdeen Central, So., 4-3

113 – Lincoln Turman (46-1), Pierre, Jr., dec. Lucas Anglin (47-4), Vermillion, Fr., 1-0

120 – William Turman (25-4), Pierre, Jr., dec. Cody BeVier (33-8), RC Stevens, Jr., 1-0

126 – Spencer Stockman (43-4), RC Stevens, Jr., dec. Victor Padilla (23-10), Aberdeen Central, Sr., 8-3

132 – Michael Lusk (34-4), Pierre, Jr., dec. Tyson Stoebner (44-7), Lennox, So., 3-2 (TB-1)

138 – Tyler Waterson (43-0), Spearfish, Sr., dec. Trey Hage (38-1), Vermillion, Jr., 7-3

145 – Bailey Brengle (40-8), Sturgis, Jr., dec. Noah Guse (27-4), Madison, Sr., 3-2

152 – Carter Lohr (36-0), SF Roosevelt, Jr., wbf Trent Francom (38-4), Huron, Sr., :55

160 – Kobe Kortan (31-6), SF O’Gorman, Sr., dec. Winston Brown (42-4), Sturgis, Sr., 5-3 (SV-1)

170 – Bradley Nelson (47-4), Aberdeen Central, Sr., dec. Dante Colicheski (42-10), RC Stevens, Jr., 8-3

182 – Braiden Nelson (45-1), Aberdeen Central, Sr., wbf Kolby Kost (31-2), RC Central, Jr., 3:20

195 – Spencer Sarringar (42-1), Pierre, Sr., wbf Logan Warzecha (38-4), Harrisburg, Jr., 4:37

220 – Timmy Paris (47-2), RC Stevens, Sr., dec. Joel Carpenter (41-4), Sturgis, Jr., 3-1 (SV-1)

285 – Nash Hutmacher (44-0), Chamberlain, Fr., dec. Eddie Miller (27-4), Brookings, Sr., 3-1