Lynx boys rule Pierre Governors on home mat

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You win some and you lose some.

And that was the storyline that unfolded Thursday night on the Lynx mat, where the Brandon Valley varsity boys ruled the Pierre Governors 48-25, and the Pierre girls dealt the Lady Lynx a 42-25 loss.

BV boys

BV’s boys’ wrestling team appears to be peaking at exactly the right moment.

Coming off an intense and strategically complex dual against Pierre on Thursday night, head coach Tom Meester said the Lynx handled both the pressure and the puzzle that the Governors presented with impressive composure.

Pierre made last-minute lineup moves at weigh-ins in an effort to gain an edge, forcing the Lynx to scramble to counter. Meester credited assistant coaches Morgan Brecht and Joel Evans for their work in sorting out the matchups.

“That part is really stressful for me,” Meester admitted. “They’re really, really good at that sort of thing, and I’m really not. They knew exactly where our guys should be, and they knocked it out of the park.”

The strategy paid off.

Several BV wrestlers delivered standout performances. 

“Isaac (Weerheim, 113 pounds) has been on a terror over the past 10 days, defeating three ranked opponents despite not being ranked himself,” Meester said.

Meester added that Weerheim didn’t just win those matches – he won them convincingly.

Gunner Deffenbaugh (132) picked up a key victory against Joey Franks, pinning him in 3:14, and Aaron Tucker (144) earned a particularly meaningful pin over a Rowdy Menning, who had beaten him at last year’s state tournament. Tucker pinned Menning in 3:38.

At 157 pounds, Pierre bumped up its No. 2-ranked 150-pounder, and BV countered by moving Braden Shoemaker into that slot. Shoemaker responded with a technical fall, which proved to be a major momentum swing for the Lynx.

Even in defeat, senior Joe Anderson impressed at 175 pounds, wrestling a strong match against Damen Horsley that Meester called “heartbreaking” to lose.

Overall, the performance has positioned the Lynx to clinch the South Dakota state dual title if they took care of business against Harrisburg on Tuesday night.

“Harrisburg is good – especially from about 126 to 157,” Meester said. “But we’re wrestling really well right now. If we come prepared, we’ll be fine. They definitely want to beat us, so it will be a dogfight.”

BV girls

Once again, vacancies in the Lady Lynx lineup were points easily won by the Governors. In this dual, BV was open in just two weights, while Pierre had just one opening, and both teams did not field a 235-pound wrestler.

“The girls competed hard and they wrestled pretty well,” summed up head coach Derek Outland. “I think there were a couple matches that we’d like to get back and could have made it even a little bit better match than what it ended up being, and that’s some of what we’ve been talking about. I’ve been trying to let the girls know that they’re wrestling well and some of these top teams in the state, like Watertown, they’re not too far off of them. They’ve just got to keep on working and keep on pulling in that direction.”

Shaylee Arredondo (110 pounds) bumped up a weight and reeled off a series of points to start before her opponent, Aubrey Fischer rallied back. With time ticking down, Arredondo fended off any moves the Lady Governor attempted to make to earn the 11-10 decision. Gracie Peters, who wrestled up a weight at 115, out-scored Evelyn Coughlin 10-0. Three matches later, Brenna Reker (130) chalked up a pin in 1:51 against Jersey Lewis, followed by a Kendall Clayton (135) tech fall over Lexie Hillmer.

At that point, Pierre took charge, claiming victory in the next three weights, before Lily Hamner (170) got the easy win by forfeit, and Sally Beal (190) pinned Bailee Taft in a mere 34 seconds.

“We put Avery Christensen in at 105 and then Shaylee went up to 110 and Gracie went up to 115,” Outland explained. “That was a bit of strategy on our part that we were hoping to maybe get all of those matches and try to get some good matchups for us. It didn’t quite turn out the way that we wanted, but again, the girls wrestled aggressively and are willing to go out there and get after it, whatever the team needs.”

Coming off of Tuesday’s “Senior Night” home dual against Harrisburg, the Lady Lynx will compete Thursday at Harrisburg but they won’t see action against the Tigers. Instead, BV will wrestle duals against Sioux Falls Roosevelt and Sioux Falls Washington.

BV will host the ESD Conference Championships starting at 5 p.m. next Thursday, Feb. 12 before heading into post-season action. Regions are Feb. 19 in Salem at McCook Central-Montrose High School, starting at 4 p.m. Wrestlers quality at regions to advance to the state tournament on Feb. 26-28 in Sioux Falls.

The BV boys compete Thursday at an O’Gorman-hosted quadrangular where they’ll wrestle Roosevelt and Washington, and on Friday, Feb. 13, the boys will compete in Pierre at the Class A State Team Duals. Meester predicts the Lynx will be the No. 2 or 3 seed, depending on the outcome of Tuesday’s home dual against the Tigers.

Sturgis is a likely shoe-in for the top seed. BV, Aberdeen Central, Watertown, Pierre and Harrisburg are also sure-bets to be in the top tier mix.

Asked if his team is where he wants them to be at this point of the season, Meester didn’t hesitate.

“Right now, we’re spot on,” he said. “They’re focused, they’re wrestling hard, and they’re trusting their training.”

The Region 2A tournament will be wrestled in Harrisburg on Feb. 20, where wrestlers will qualify individually for the Feb. 26-28 state tournament, also in Sioux Falls.

Varsity boys

BV 48, Pierre 25

106: Noah Horsley (P) p. Jagger Rehorst, 3:39; 113: Isaac Weerheim (BV) md. Daniel Mason, 15-2; 120: Brendon Oehme (BV) p. Gable Uhrig, 3:09; 126: Beckett Rehorst (BV) tf. Jyles Auble, 19-4 (2:46); 132: Gunnar Deffenbaugh (BV) p. Joey Franks, 3:14; 138: Walker West (P) dec. Braylon Bach, 7-0; 144: Aaron Tucker (BV), p. Rowdy Menning, 3:38; 150: Alex Oedekoven (P) tf. Garrett Van Dusen, 15-0 (2:00); 157: Braden Shoemaker (BV) tf. Jordan Schafer, 16-1 (2:57); 165: Porter Hunsley (P) tf. Harmon Kramer, 18-2 (5:55); 175: Damen Horsley (P) p. Joe Anderson, 5:55; 190: Levi Veskrna (BV) tf. Will Eilers, 17-1 (5:45); 215: Cody Lindekugel (BV) tf. Alec Eilers, 21-5 (4:34); 285: Elijah Schunke (BV) p. Devin Binger, 0:27.

Varsity girls

BV 25, Pierre 42

100: Shaylee Speck (P) wins by forfeit; 105: Sydney Caven (P) md. Avery Christensen, 10-0; 110: Shaylee Arredondo (BV) dec. Aubrey Fischer, 11-10; 115: Gracie Peters (BV) md. Evelyn Coughlin, 10-0; 120: Gemma Stangeland (P) dec. Leah Nelson, 8-3; 125: Layne Heasley (P) p. Cordelia Hofer, 1:32; 130: Brenna Reker (BV) p. Jersey Lewis, 1:51; 135: Kendall Clayton (BV) tf. Lexie Hillmer, 16-0 (5:08); 140: Kezrey Benning (P) p. Grace Carson, 1:15; 145: Lela Lindquist (P) wins by forfeit; 155: Abbigail Lewis (P) p. Lariana Mora-Robles Valle-Macias, 0:46; 170: Lily Hamner wins by forfeit; 190: Sally Beal (BV) p. Bailee Taft, 0:34; 235: Double forfeit.