Wildcat boys win conference championship

With two team victories on the mat, the Custer Jr./Sr. High School boys wrestling team had a banner week.
Things kicked off with the Custer Triangular at the Armory Tuesday, Jan. 13, for the last home tournament of the season.
“That was a good night. It’s nice to be able to wrestle at home in front of a crowd, and the kids performed well,” said head coach Jared Webster.
In the dual against the Badlands Brawlers, featuring athletes from Philip, Kadoka Area and Wall, Custer won 40-34.
The Badlands Brawlers are one of the top teams in the state. 
Webster said, “They had a couple out with some sickness, and we just took advantage of it. A lot of kids stepped up, so that was good,” he said.
In the 144 weight class (WC), Wildcat Bodie Vanderboom won by fall over Joe Trask at 3:59. Wildcat Riley Scott (150 WC) won by major decision 11-0 over Kason Barry. Tel Gropper (157 WC) won by major decision 14-2 over Wildcat David Lewis. Wildcat Blaise Arp (165 WC) won in sudden victory 8-5 over Rayler Fitch.
Tyce Gropper (175 WC) won by fall over Wildcat Carter Kern at 2:22. Oakley Menzel (190 WC) won by forfeit over Custer. Patrick Trask (215 WC) won by fall over Wildcat Logan Olson at 59 seconds. Wildcat Zayden LaPlaca (285 WC) won by fall over Coy Andrews at 1:05.
Wildcat Cole Scott (106 WC) won by fall over Camo Kochersberger at 1:17. Wildcat Myles Woodward (113 WC) won by fall over Logan Smith at 51 seconds. Wildcat Relic Bailey (120 WC) won by fall over Coy Hoffman at 4:32. Gatlin Cordes (126 WC) won by fall over Wildcat Riley Trout at 1:50. Wildcat Ayden Dooley (132 WC) won by decision 3-1 over Shay Weber. Aven Fitch (138 WC) won by fall over Wildcat Archer Vershure at one minute.
In the dual against New Underwood, Custer won 60-20.
Wildcat Henry Bell (150 WC), Carson Hanis (157 WC), Robert Carter (165 WC), Kern (190 WC), Olson (215 WC), LaPlaca (285 WC) and R. Scott (144 WC) all won by forfeit over New Underwood.
Carl Coats (175 WC) won by decision 10-6 over Arp. C. Scott (106 WC) won by fall over James Edoff at 48 seconds. Tommy Studt (113 WC) won by fall over Woodward at 2:44. Tel Elshere (120 WC) won by fall over Wildcat Jackson Trant at 1:24. Trout (126 WC) won by fall over Trik Elshere at 3:33. Dooley (132 WC) won by fall over Braxton Trople at 1:36. Coy Eddy (138 WC) won by technical fall 15-0 over Vanderboom.
The Philip Invitational Boys Tournament was cancelled due to wind gusts, so the Wildcats headed to the Black Hills Conference Boys Tournament in Spearfish Saturday, Jan. 17. They took first place as a team in the tournament with 181 points.
“A lot of kids won matches that they’ve been getting beat by their opponents at the beginning of the year. Hot Springs has a heck of a team. They wrestled very well also. It was fun to go back and forth with them,” said Webster.
C. Scott (106 WC) placed first and scored 23 team points.
In the quarterfinal, C. Scott won by fall over Wace Kammerer of Lead-Deadwood at 52 seconds. Scott then won by fall over Nixin Carter of Douglas-Rapid City Christian at 3:45 in the semifinal. Then, in the first place match, Scott won by major decision 12-2 over Caden Swaney of Belle Fourche.
Woodward (113 WC) placed third and scored 16 team points.
In the quarterfinal, Woodward won by fall over Jace Olson of Belle Fourche at 1:59. Nate Gallardo of St. Thomas More won by decision 2-1 over Woodward in the semifinal. In the consolation semi, Woodward won by fall over Max Keller of Lead-Deadwood at 40 seconds. Then, in the third place match, Woodward won by fall over Blaine Anderson of Douglas-Rapid City Christian at 53 seconds.
Bailey (130 WC) placed second and scored 16 team points.
In the quarterfinal, Bailey won by decision 11-5 over Jackson Winieckie of Spearfish. Bailey won by fall over Max Thompson of Douglas-Rapid City Christian at 2:42 in the semifinal. Then, in the first place match, Layton Ringstmeyer of Hot Springs won by decision 19-14 over Bailey.
Trout (126 WC) placed first and scored 22 team points.
Trout received a bye in the quarterfinal. In the semifinal, Trout won by fall over Jhett Nordick of Hot Springs at 2:17. Then, in the first place match, Trout won by fall over Cooper Conry of Belle Fourche at 1:21.
Dooley (132 WC) placed third and scored 12 team points.
In the quarterfinal, Dooley won by fall over Preston Lake of Belle Fourche at 1:36. Alejandro Martinez of Douglas-Rapid City Christian won by major decision 15-5 over Dooley in the semifinal. Dooley received a bye in the consolation semi. Then in the third place match, Dooley won by decision 1-0 over Brayden Mosier of Spearfish.
Vanderboom (138 WC) placed first and scored 20 team points.
Vanderboom received a bye in the quarterfinal. In the semifinal, Vanderboom won by fall over Garet Huston of Belle Fourche at 5:11. Then, in the first place match, Vanderboom won by decision 7-3 over Kaden Gonzales of Spearfish.
“Bodie at 138 ended up beating a kid that he hasn’t beat all year. Wrestled very well,” said Webster.
Bell (144 WC) placed second and scored 18 team points.
In the quarterfinal, Bell won by fall over Cameron Shade of Douglas-Rapid City Christian at 1:39. Bell won by fall over Braylon Conroy of Mahpiya Luta at 2:32 in the semifinal. Then, in the first place match, Emmett Edwards of St. Thomas More won by fall over Bell at 2:40.
“Henry Bell wrestled well to get in the finals,” said Webster.
R. Scott (150 WC) placed first and scored 22 team points.
He received a bye in the quarterfinal. In the semifinal, Scott won by fall over Kolby Tibbs of Belle Fourche at 26 seconds. Then, in the first place match, Scott won by fall over Dain Alldredge of Hot Springs at 53 seconds.
Lewis (157 WC) placed fourth and scored 11 team points.
In the quarterfinal, Lewis won by fall over Thomas Rausch of St. Thomas More at 18 seconds. Riley Dighton of Belle Fourche won by tech fall 16-0 over Lewis in the semifinal. In the consolation semi, Lewis won by fall over Kane Clark of Spearfish at 1:25. Then, in the third place match, Holden Luper of Hot Springs won by fall over Lewis at 58 seconds.
Arp (165 WC) placed fourth and scored seven team points.
Arp received a bye in the quarterfinal. In the semifinal, Thor Fish of Hot Springs won by major decision 9-1 over Arp. In the consolation semi, Arp won by fall over Antonio Kills In Water of Mahpiya Luta at 2:58. Then, in the third place match, Koby Bowden of Belle Fourche won by decision 7-0 over Arp.
Kern (175 WC) placed second and scored 14 team points.
Kern received a bye in the quarterfinal. In the semifinal, Kern won by fall over Charlie Volk of Spearfish at 59 seconds. Then, in the first place match, Dean Nathan of Hot Springs won by tech fall 15-0 over Kern.
At this point in the season, Webster said, “We’ve still got a lot of stuff to learn and grow on, but we’re getting where we need to be. I’m happy with where we’re at right now, but we just got to keep getting better each week.”
Webster also said he “saw a lot more improvement and a lot more heart.”
Next up, the Wildcats are heading to the Winner Invitational at Winner High School Saturday, Jan. 24.
“They have some tough, solid kids at certain weights, so it’ll be fun to see what happens,” said Webster.