BROOKINGS – It was pretty much a typical night for Jacob Schoon – the Bobcat senior handled his opponent, dominating throughout in a 10-0 major decision.
The only difference was Thursday marked his final home match.
The defending 170-pound state champ was honored prior to Brookings’ dual with Aberdeen Central at the BHS Auxiliary Gymnasium, as he nears the 200-win mark for his career.
“When I was younger, I never really thought about it,” Schoon said. “But it’s cool to be able to achieve something like that.”
Schoon is the school’s record-holder with 196 career victories.
“Everything I do – in the summer, I’m always wrestling, always having some way to work out and incorporate it with wrestling,” he added.
That work ethic combined with his natural gifts have helped Schoon become one of the Bobcats’ all-time greats.
“He’s by far, I think, the best we’ve had,” BHS head coach Scott Miller said. “We talk about it as a coaching staff and he has just been solid.
“I remember having conversations with his dad when he was in seventh-grade wondering if we wanted him to wrestle varsity or not. He wrestled varsity and qualified for state.
“Five-time placewinner. We’re hoping to get a three-time finalist, two-time champion out of him. So with a writeup like that, there’s nobody that can match that.
“A lot of people look at him – he’s a very natural athlete but at the same time, that kid has put in a lot of hours in the weight room, he’s put in a lot of hours in the practice room in every sport that he does. He’s a well-rounded athlete that wrestles very, very well.
“Since I’ve been head coach, he is definitely the best wrestler we’ve had.”
The Golden Eagles defeated the Bobcats 43-28 in the Eastern South Dakota Conference dual, taking advantage of five forfeits.
Brookings prevailed in six of the nine contested matches, including Schoon’s 10-0 major decision versus Brock Baker in the 182-pound bout.
“It was pretty good,” Schoon said of the match. “He’s a good wrestler; I’ve wrestled him my whole life, so we kind of know what each other is going to do.”
Schoon had a takedown and a two-point nearfall in the first period. He used a reversal and another nearfall in the second to push the margin to 8-0. Schoon finished it off with a takedown in the third.
“He’s the kid that you know you’re getting a win,” added Miller. “The last couple of years – other than the match down at the Madison Tournament – he has been spot on. There hasn’t been a young man that has come close to him. We look for bonus points out of him every time he steps foot on the mat.
“His leadership capabilities have made a lot of other people a lot better throughout the year. Logan Bowes owes him a big thank you. Logan gets beat up every single day up in the wrestling room and it’s just made him better and it’s made him one of the best 160-pounders in the state.”
Schoon improved to 28-0 as the season begins to wind down – Brookings has two regular-season events remaining.
“Just keep going. Don’t hold anything back; just keep working for the goal,” he said are the keys down the stretch.
Aberdeen Central’s Brenden Salfrank won by fall in 2:54 against Gavin Klinkhammer at 113 pounds.
Brookings’ Nolan Archer (126 pounds) and Jaxon Bowes (138) turned early takedowns into pins as Archer dropped Ethan Allen in 1:12 and Bowes finished Logan Beadle off in 1:18.
In between, Koby Bartels ground out an 8-4 decision over Calvin Beadle at 132. He used a three-point and a two-point nearfall to open up a 5-0 advantage in the second period and then held on down the stretch.
The Golden Eagles’ Will Jarrott edged Logan Bowes in a highly-anticipated 160-pound matchup. Jarrot had a takedown in the first period and Bowes escaped in the second. Jarrot escaped and then recorded a takedown in the third to move ahead 5-1.
The Bobcats’ Luke Rasmussen followed with a 10-7 defeat of Dillon Stoebner in an entertaining 170-pound match. Rasmussen had a reversal and a two-point nearfall in the first but trailed 5-4, before getting another nearfall in the second to go on top by a 6-5 margin. Rasmussen’s reversal in the third made it 8-5.
Stoebner got back in it with a reversal of his own; however, Rasmussen sealed the deal with yet another reversal.
Gus Miller came out aggressively and never looked back at 220, putting Alex Hopfinger on his back in 2:54. He led 6-1 at the time of the pin.
AC’s Kaden Johnson closed things out with a 13-4 major decision versus Tucker Christie.
“We wrestled well; there were a couple matches we knew could go either way,” Miller said. “At 132, we knew that would be a good match. We ended up getting a few back points, which saved it for us. Koby wrestled a much better match than he wrestled this weekend.
“The other match that could’ve went either way was 170. (Stoebner) has been wrestling for them a long time; he’s been a little bit hurt. You send Luke out there and Luke just kind of finesses him all night long and did an excellent job.
“Probably the biggest match of the night was No. 2 vs. No. 3 in the state – not sure who’s No. 2, who’s No. 3 – at 160. Logan Bowes got caught kind of flat on his feet a couple times.
“There are a lot of things we need to work on and having four days off with snow and wind and stuff was not a good way to start the week. But we’ll come back, wrestle a good hard practice (Friday) night and then get back at it Saturday down in Yankton.”
The Bobcats were open at 106, 120, 145, 152 and 195.
Brookings competes in the Yankton Invitational on Saturday at 9 a.m. It then has a triangular versus Harrisburg and the host Lynx on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Brandon Valley.
The Region 1A Tournament is Saturday, Feb. 16, at Dell Rapids. The Class A State Tournament is Friday, Feb. 22-Saturday, Feb. 23, at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City.
ABERDEEN CENTRAL 43, BROOKINGS 28
106 pounds – Logan Opitz, AC, forfeit [6-0]
113 – Brenden Salfrank, AC, wbf Gavin Klinkhammer, 2:54 [12-0]
120 – Brock Martin, AC, forfeit [18-0]
126 – Nolan Archer, B, wbf Ethan Allen, 1:12 [18-6]
132 – Koby Bartels, B, dec. Calvin Beadle, 8-4 [18-9]
138 – Jaxon Bowes, B, wbf Logan Beadle, 1:18 [18-15]
145 – Garrett Mitzel, AC, forfeit [24-15]
152 – Samuel Calvert, AC, forfeit [30-15]
160 – Will Jarrott, AC, dec. Logan Bowes, 5-2 [33-15]
170 – Luke Rasmussen, B, dec. Dillon Stoebner, 10-7 [33-18]
182 – Jacob Schoon, B, maj. dec. Brock Baker, 10-0 [33-22]
195 – Richard Steuck, AC, forfeit [39-22]
220 – Gus Miller, B, wbf Alex Hopfinger, 2:54 [39-28]
285 – Kaden Johnson, AC, maj. dec. Tucker Christie, 13-4 [43-28]
