There might be safety in numbers, but ri]ght now the Parkston Trojans are feeling anything but safe.
The pre-tournament favorites own a 15-point lead and have more wrestlers remaining than anyone after the opening day of the State B wrestling tournament Friday at Wachs Arena. However, the Trojans wish they had more of a safety net.
"It's a lot of wrestling left. I'm not comfortable with the lead we have," said Parkston coach Jared Digmann. "We've definitely got a lot of work to do."
Parkston, which has 10 members still competing today, has 77 points. Philip Area is second with 62 and Canton is third with 61. However, both Philip and Canton have five wrestlers in today's semifinal round while Parkston has four.
"We had a good day," said Canton coach Jeremy Ask. "Five in the semis, couldn't be happier with that. We all know what that round does. It separates the men from the boys."
Canton has seven wrestlers remaining and Philip has eight.
"We placed eight overall," said Philip coach Matt Donnelly. "We lost that (last match of the second-round wrestlebacks) in double overtime, so we could have placed nine total, but eight out of nine's not bad."
Like Ask, Donnelly believes the semifinal round will play a key role in the team chase.
"We'll see what tomorrow brings," Donnelly said. "Tomorrow is a big round for us in the semis and wrestlebacks. A lot can happen tomorrow."
Digmann for one is hoping something major happens for his squad.
"Ten guys placing, it's not a bad thing by any means, but it's not enough," Digmann said. "We have to get them more than just eighth place. We can't just be content with bringing that medal home."
The Trojans got off to a shaky start on Friday, losing three of their first four matches to start the day before finishing strong in the wrestlebacks.
"We came here with 12. We've still got 10 going," Digmann said. "That's not a bad day, but it definitely wasn't the day we were looking for."
Canton is the defending champion and it appears the C-Hawks won't concede anything. If Parkston wants to win the state title, the Trojans will have to earn it.
"They're wrestling really well. You can't take that away from them," Ask said of the Trojans. "They're doing their job. As long as our kids go out and wrestle hard, I just can't worry about what Parkston or other teams are doing. All we can do is win our matches."
All of the defending state champions made it through unscathed and Aberdeen Roncalli's Tyson Mitzel is still on track for a possible state title at 160 pounds.
Mitzel dominated a pair of opponents, scoring a first-period pin and first-period technical fall.
"Tyson came out and just does what Tyson does," said Roncalli coach Justin Briese. "He's definitely goes with his eyes on the prize, but he knows he has a task at hand first in the morning (in the semifinals)."
Roncalli's other wrestlers, Zach Sumner and Matt Schlosser both lost twice and missed out on placing.
"They came out and wrestled some of their best matches of the year," Briese noted.
"Zach came out and wrestled a great match against his first kid, a kid that earlier in the year might have beaten him by more or pinned him."
Schlosser dropped a two-point decision, then pinned an opponent before getting pinned in his final match.
"He beat a quality opponent," Briese said. "He just didn't beat some kid that happened to lose the first round. He beat a really good guy."
Action resumes at 10 a.m. today and the sparks will be sure to fly. Among the matches on the schedule is a battle between defending state champions Ryan Schuman of Tri-Valley and Nolan Richie of Webster at 126 pounds.
State B semifinals
|10 THIS MORNING|
|WACHS ARENA, ABERDEEN|
106: Bon Homme sophomore Duncan Stoebner (39-0) vs. Philip sophomore Jed Brown (32-11). Canton sophomore Jordan Sehr (38-15) vs. Hot Springs eight-grader Brice Harkless (35-7).
113: Beresford freshman Jared Lyle (39-10) vs. Bon Homme freshman Alex Caba (35-9). Parkston eighth-grader Blake Bietz (45-3) vs. Howard sophomore Bailey Neises (33-3).
120: Howard sophomore Luke Loudenburg (47-1) vs. Faulkton junior Oliver Aesoph (31-8). Burke/Gregory sophomore Kurt Braun (33-1) vs. Britton-Helca sophomore Nathan Jones, Britton-Hecla (34-2).
126: Tri-Valley junior Ryan Schuman (52-1) vs. Webster sophomore Nolan Richie (34-2). Winner sophomore Tyrel Haley (30-20) vs. Bon Homme senior Lincoln Stoebner (38-3).
132: Tri-Valley senior Austin Oyen (47-2) vs. Stanley County freshman Michael Scott (42-7). Clark/Willow Lake junior Jakob Weisbrod (38-1) vs. Beresford senior Josh Manning (38-5).
138: Bennett County sophomore Sam Ireland (37-4) vs. Wagner senior Tyler Dion (35-2). Flandreau senior Tate Lacey (39-2) vs. Winner senior Nolan Donahue (37-15).
145: Flandreau junior Jace Christiansen (46-3) vs. Parkston sophomore Weslee Dvorak (35-4). Newell senior Seth McCann (39-3) vs. Canton junior Alex Davies (48-4).
152: Faulkton senior Kent Hall (34-6) vs. Philip junior Lane Blasius (31-3). Parkston junior Mitch Heisinger (43-4) vs. Tri-Valley senior Zach Schuman (53-1).
160: Wagner junior David Kocer (34-1) vs. Burke/Gregory sophomore Jonah Beck (31-12). Aberdeen Roncalli junior Tyson Mitzel (44-1) vs. Philip junior Chandler Sudbeck (33-8).
170: Philip senior Clint Everett Stout (35-8) vs. Wagner sophomore Trevor Lensing (33-9). Winner senior Tate Novotny (40-4) vs. Custer junior Clayton Wahlstrom (23-5).
182: Canton senior Kase Jacobs (38-1) vs. Philip senior Chance Knutson (28-10). Bennett County senior Dalton McCullam (28-1) vs. Beresford junior Josh Casperson, Beresford (35-4).
195: Kingsbury County senior Eugene Martin (44-1) vs. McCook Central/Montrose senior Tad Reiner (39-4). Webster senior Chad Sjurson (37-3) vs. Elk Point-Jefferson junior CJ Geary (30-7).
220: Parkston sophomore Brady Reiff (42-0) vs. Canton freshman Ryley Ostbye (34-10). Clark/Willow Lake senior Logan Tonak (36-1) vs. Lemmon/McIntosh junior Brody Peterson (43-1).
285: Harding County senior Tate Gress (30-1) vs. Redfield/Doland junior Cody Friese (32-7). Canton junior Tanner Broughton (43-8) vs. Groton senior Dalton Locke (36-2).