Beresford junior Brad Bogue is a versatile, talented athlete.
He had been on the wrestling team, but decided to play basketball in 2011-12.
This year, he decided to switch back. He won more than 30 matches and qualified for this weekend's State B in Aberdeen.
Opening day produces large crowd
Everywhere you looked there were wrestling fans during the opening-round session of the State B tournament at Wachs Arena on Friday morning. In fact, this year marked the first time anyone could remember that all of the reserved seats were sold out.
"There were no reserve seats for us to sell. They sold them all in Pierre before they got here," said tournament director Gene Brownell.
"We do have a very good crowd," he noted. "Whenever you see the south side filled up except for the very west end of it, you know you're in good shape. And then when you have a lot of people in the north balcony, this is a very good opening round."
Brownell estimated the opening-round attendance at about 4,000 spectators and expected that number to grow as the tourney goes on.
"I think it's a combination of things," Brownell explained of the large attendance. "You have a lot of people that love wrestling. Then you have a great place to have a wrestling tournament, and you've got some very good teams here. So the result of that is you're going to have some very good fans. They've been following the kids all year long and they want to see the culmination of the kids' year."
Today's schedule
State champions in 14 weight classes will be crowned today at Wachs Arena. The semifinals will start at 10 a.m. and the face-offs for the placing matches at 3:45 p.m. The championships will begin at 6:15 p.m. The State A at the Watertown Civic Arena will follow the same schedule.
Flandreau stats
The Flandreau wrestling statistics are in capable hands this weekend.
Flandreau senior Lea Clark has been keeping them for four years. Before that, she wrestled until the seventh grade.
"You just have to stay focused," Clark said about keeping stats during a super-loud atmosphere like the state tourney.
She likes all the mental aspects of wrestling. "Even if you lose, you have to keep your head into the next match. Wrestling is good for developing a person's mental skills."
Missing in action
There are countless numbers of standout wrestlers competing in this year's State B tourney, but there are also numerous others who have been relegated to spectators this weekend.
Among those who were planning to compete, but were sidelined along the way are Robbie Aesoph of Faulkton (first at heavyweight last season), Sean Bice of Winner (second at 120 pounds last season) and Spencer Rausch of Webster (third at 132 pounds last season).
Aesoph broke his forearm in a four-wheeler accident while chasing cattle, then rebroke his arm while wrestling. Bice broke his thumb in the closing seconds of a match at the Lee Wolf Invitational in January, and Rausch (along with teammates Mark Meland and Austin Grout) came down with mononucleosis.
"It's pretty difficult to sit here and watch," Rausch said, "especially it being my senior year. (Saturday) is going to be the toughest day, though."
Like Rausch, Aesoph found himself cheering on his teammates instead of preparing for his own match.
"It's nothing you want to do, but being a leader on the team, you have to support them," Aesoph said. "But it's never fun to watch, that's for sure."
Unlike Aesoph and Rausch, Bice still has another year of school remaining, but that did not make this weekend much easier.
"I was pretty bummed," Bice said when he found out he would need season-ending surgery. "You train all year for this. You give a lot of hours for this kind of thing."
Aesoph said he was happy that he was able to obtain at least one state championship before he finished, but that his heart went out to Rausch.
"I'm feeling for Spencer," he said.
Naturally, Rausch had a difficult time digesting the news that his wrestling career was over.
"I was pretty heartbroken," Rausch said. "I guess I just never saw my senior year ending like this."
Rausch said the conclusion to his season gave him a different perspective on life.
"You never know if you're going to get tomorrow," he said. "You have to live each day to the fullest, that's for sure, because you never know when something's going to be taken from you."
On TV
SDPB 2 Television will air the B finals live starting at 4 this afternoon. Both of today's B sessions will be on NVC's Special Events Channel 64. The same is true of the State A (SDPB 1 and Special Events Channel 63).
Cheering a Winner
One of the many cheerleaders at the State B is Winner senior Ciera Bennett.
"I just love the sport because it is so intense and exciting," she said. "And being here to cheer in this atmosphere is such a thrill. When our wrestlers are on the mat, we cheer as loud as we can to get the attention focused on them and their match. We try to give them as much support as possible. It is just a rush to be a part of this."
Bennett said she will miss being a wrestling cheerleader. "It is very sad this is my last tournament. I am going to miss being so close to everyone. Everyone in our program is like a family member to me and we are together every weekend. So it is going to be tough not to be around all these people all the time."
Divided duties
Aberdeen Roncalli coach Justin Briese found himself needed in two spots at once Friday morning.
Briese was coaching Zach Sumner's opening-round match at 182 pounds when Matt Schlosser went on for his 195-pound title on the mat right beside it. Briese turned over the coaching reigns to his assistant Derek Mitzel in the Sumner match and then went over to guide Schlosser.
"It is tough," Briese said. "You have to trust that your assistant coaches are going to help out and they're going to do what's best for the other guy on the other mat. I got pulled away from Zach's match to run over and help out with Matt's match. That's the way it goes sometimes. That's a good problem to have."
Briese said he snuck a quick peek at Sumner's score just before Schlosser started and then his sole focus was on his mat.
"I knew Derek was over there giving him good instruction," Briese said, "so I kind of turned all my focus on to Matt and made sure he had my undivided attention."
When asked what he would do if he ever had kids in all 14 weight classes to tend to, Briese responded, "That would be an awesome problem to have. I would be OK with that. I wouldn't care. Put them all on at the same time, that's fine."
Air Force recruiters
The Air Force needs a several good soldiers.
They are looking for them this weekend at the State B wrestling tournament in Aberdeen. They specifically are looking for Battlefield Airmen at their recruiting booth at Wachs Arena.
"Battlefield Airmen positions are hard to fill, due to the demanding requirements to qualify," U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Bobbie J. Guthrie wrote in an email to the American News. "An individual has to not only be physically tough, but also mentally prepared to endure some of the most challenging training within special operations.
"Wrestlers are not just physically fit, but it also takes a lot of heart and dedication to be successful in the sport. Attending the state championship is the perfect venue to get this information out to the athletes and their families."
Free newspapers
There was another benefit to being among the first in line Friday morning at Wachs Arena in Aberdeen.
Thanks to the Aberdeen Convention and Visitors Bureau buying 400 newspapers for the first fans in the doors (they are in racks inside Wachs until they last), fans got treated to a free dose of the American News' extensive wrestling coverage in Friday's edition. American News circulation director Mark Herman was at Wachs at 8 a.m. Friday handing out free newspapers to those waiting in line and said that fans were very appreciative of the gesture.
The process will be repeated this morning.
State B coming back
The rotation schedule for state wrestling tournaments has had the State B tourney in Aberdeen every other year and the State A tournament in the Hub City once every four years, meaning Aberdeen hosts a state wrestling tournament three out of every four years.
Next year was supposed to be the off year for Aberdeen, but those plans have changed.
"We had originally contracted that next year would be that off year, and then in 2015, the B was going to return to Aberdeen," said John Krogstrand, assistant executive director of the South Dakota High School Activities Association. "There was a conflict with Sioux Falls and the Arena. So from that, basically it worked out where Gene (Brownell, tournament director in Aberdeen) and the staff here at Central were willing to take it back again in back-to-back years and then '15 will be the off year for Aberdeen."
The fact that the State B will be back in the Hub City next year probably does not disappoint anyone involved with the tourney.
"Obviously, the facility is phenomenal and the work that Gene and his staff and the entire Aberdeen District puts on is second to none," Krogstrand said. "Everybody appreciates that atmosphere and loves coming to the Barnett Center and what they have here. I think we all know it will go well and look forward to being back here next year."
Quickly
There are a lot of Schaunamans on the mats and in the stands at the State A wrestling tournament in Watertown this weekend. Family members are watching Sam Schaunaman wrestle for Aberdeen Central and his first cousin Chad Schaunaman of Aberdeen officiate.
Four mats are being used at the tourneys. Each mat has seven sections heavily taped together.
Breakdowns by grades of the 224 B wrestlers: 71 seniors, 61 juniors, 44 sophomores, 21 freshmen, 23 eighth-graders and four seventh-graders.
The 2013 Eastern South Dakota Conference Wrestling Tournament won by Pierre in Mitchell was most likely the last one. Huron coach Dan McCarty was in the minority in wanting to continue the tournament, but McCarty is hopeful that the Tigers can replace the event with an invitational of their own.