Other sports: Track, cross country, baseball.
Future: Go to college (undecided), will run or wrestle.
Honor Roll: Here is a list of past state wrestling champions from Aberdeen Central.
- 2013, Griffin Hieb, 138 pounds.
- 2009, Nathan Little, heavyweight.
- 2005, Corbin Surat, 112.
- 2003, Ryan Kotzea, heavyweight.
- 2002, Ryan Kotzea, heavyweight.
- 1998, Joey Krause, 189.
- 1989, Mike Sorenson, 103.
- 1980, Jim Fryer, heavyweight.
- 1974, Rob Anderson, 126.
- 1973, Steve Lovrien, 185.
- 1969, Stan Opp, 95.
- 1968, Stan Opp, 95.
- 1968, Craig Hayes, 145.
Championship season: Here is Griffin Hieb's season (34-2 with 26 pins) at 138 pounds.
- State A Tournament (Central fourth): Defeated Caleb Stoltenburg of Pierre 6-2 in championship. Pinned Skyler Castilleja of Sioux Falls Lincoln in 4:21 in semifinals. Def. Zach Determan of SF Roosevelt 10-0 in quarterfinals. Pinned Mason Strahl of Yankton in 1:39.
- Region 3A Tournament (Central second): Defeated Stoltenburg 8-4 in championship. Pinned Nick Christensen of Huron in :24.
- Eastern South Dakota Conference Tournament (Central third): Pinned Stoltenburg in 3:32 in championship. Pinned Strahl in 1:41. Pinned Christensen in 1:46.
- Huron dual won by Central: Pinned Christianson in :47.
- Yankton dual won by Central: Pinned Strahl in 2:56.
- Lee Wolf Tournament (Central first): Lost 6-2 to Spencer Rausch of Webster in championship. Def. Nolan Donahue of Winner 5-2. Pinned Derek Dilts of Canton in 1:24. Pinned Nahom Abebe of SF O'Gorman in 1:07.
- West Central Tournament (Central first): Pinned Brock Stein of Lennox in :57. Pinned Carter Kratz of Vermillion in 3:26. Pinned Determan in 3:43.
- Watertown dual won by Central: Pinned Taylor McLaughlin in 1:02.
- Brandon Valley dual won by Central: Pinned Braiden Smith in 1:16.
- Brookings dual won by Central: Pinned Ty Johnson in :52.
- Bismarck Rotary Tournament (Central fifth): Lost 4-2 to Cole Mehring of Fargo Davies in championship. Def. Jordan Stevens of Sidney 7-3. Pinned Forrest Pifer of Bismarck High School in 1:28. Pinned Jason Lepp of Bismarck Century in 1:12.
- Rapid City Invitational (Central 10th): Def. Stoltenburg by default in championship. Pinned Pifer in 4:50. Pinned Ethan Parr of Mitchell in 1:34. Pinned Caleb Karrels of Sturgis in 3:41. Pinned Nathen Mieners of Hill City in 2:26.
- Sturgis dual won by Central: Pinned Karrels in :26.
- Rapid City Central dual won by RCC: Pinned Ty Welsch in 3:21.
- Watertown Dual Tournament (Central third): Def. Casey Skillingstad 8-0 in dual win over Yankton. Def. Stoltenburg 4-2 in dual lost to Pierre. Pinned Travis Dinius in :39 in dual win over Canby, Minn. Pinned McLaughlin in 1:10 in dual win over Watertown.
In an individual, grueling sport, it was a few minutes of team elation that stands out the most in Griffin Hieb's championship season.
The Aberdeen Central senior became his school's 13th state champion in the history of the Golden Eagles wrestling program. But it was last Saturday's State A Tournament semifinals at the Watertown Civic Arena that Hieb will always remember.
In a matter of minutes, Aberdeen Central sent three wrestlers to the state finals in back-to-back-to-back wins in the semifinals. First at 138 pounds, Hieb pinned his opponent. Then at 145, Mitchell Johnson of Aberdeen Central won a 4-3 decision. Finally at 152, John Frisco of Central pinned his opponent in 15 seconds.
"Everyone was jacked up," Hieb said. "We started the round in fourth place, and by the time I stepped on the mat, we were in ninth place. After John got done, we were back in third place. It was fun and it was exciting."
Hieb said after his semifinal win, his focus turned immediately to his teammates. "I wasn't really feeling anything special after my win in the semifinals," he said. "I knew that I had another match to take care of in the finals."
Central finished fourth in the state. Hieb did his job by winning the state title. "It feels great to have won, but I think I feel more relieved than anything," he said.
Hieb said he felt a lot of pressure to win a state title. It was his sixth year of wrestling in the state tournament after finishing second as a sophomore, fifth as a junior, sixth as an eighth-grader and eighth as a seventh-grader. He did not place as a freshman.
Central wrestling coach Rocky Burkett said Hieb provided a road map for every wrestler chasing a gold medal to follow. "Griff is a tough kid who set his goal to be a state champion and that really drove him to work hard throughout the season," Burkett said. "His work ethic and toughness in practice really sets an example for our team and how they need to train every day in order to be successful."
Hieb said this year was special because of his teammates, including his younger brother Trevor who finished eighth at 120 pounds. "I was happy to see him place, because he wrestled pretty well," Griffin said. "Next year, I think he will place even higher."
Hieb said he was proud of all of his teammates. "We came together more as a team this year. Everyone worked hard, and did the job they were supposed to do."