At the end of the second round, the Pipestone Area Arrows were trailing Howard, S.D. and host Flandreau S.D. by 27 points in the team standings of the Flandreau Invitational Wrestling Tournament.
Needing to make up ground in a hurry, the Arrows (140 points) dominated the wrestlebacks and forged a 9-point lead over the Flandreau Fliers and a 13 ½-point advantage over the Howard Tigers (126 ½).
With several head-to-head matches against the two teams in the consolation finals and finals, the Arrows simply had to perform to expectations. Not only did the veterans step up to the challenge, but also the younger, less experienced Arrows met the task head on as Pipestone Area (176 points) claimed the team title by nearly 30 points.
Arrow senior Dustin Hachmann (152 pounds) and junior Jon Gorter (215) claimed individual titles on the day, while senior Brandan Alfson (160) and junior Jadon Evans (145) finished as runners-up. Eighth-graders Walker Kor (112) and Brady Bos (119), senior John Bush (125), freshman Cole Nordmeyer (130), senior Ryan Miessen (135), sophomore Nathan Dubblede (140) and junior Tyler Evans (189) placed third in their respective weight classes, and junior Dylan Kor (171) and sophomore Brandon Baker (Hwt.) finished fourth.
“I went through the brackets before the tournament, added up the team points and figured out we could score 189 points, best case scenario,” Pipestone Area head coach Brian Bos said. “Last year’s champion was 178, so I said to the guys, ‘we need to walk in there Saturday and expect to win this thing, have the attitude that we’re going to win and don’t expect anything less than that.”
However, despite the hype prior to competition, the Arrows didn’t necessarily look like they’d be crowned champions that evening. Elijah Everson (103), Walker Kor and Miessen were all pinned in the opening round, and Bush, who was given a first-round bye, lost a close decision in his first bout of the morning.
“We always have one bad round a tournament, but I knew we could bounce back from that,” Bos said. “Some of the kids were seeded in the fourth and up against the No. 1 seeds, so I kind of expected it. I knew we were going to take some lumps there, but we’ve always done really well in the wrestlebacks. Looking over it, I knew we would, and things worked out well.”

The youngsters step up
Walker Kor bounced back from his first-round defeat with a pair of pinfalls, the second against Luverne’s Spencer Oeltjenbruns, to advance to the consolation finals against Elk Point/Jefferson’s Nick Weis. In his final tilt, Kor made a strong move in the second round and held on for a 5-4 decision to claim bronze.
“It felt really good because it was my first varsity tournament” Kor said. “I won by pin in Thursday’s dual, so it’s been a pretty good start to the year. My goal is to finish the season with a winning record.
“I look up to, and watch, the older wrestlers. Some of them give me advice, and I know I can learn from their experience.”
Arrow 119-pounder Brady Bos eked out a 2-1 victory over Garretson’s Cody Bonte in his opener, but fell by a score of 5-8 to Deuel’s Jordan Stahn in the semis – forcing him into the wrestlebacks. There, Bos blanked Howard’s Tyler Genzlinger to earn a bout with Flandreau’s Jake Scofield for third place. Bos earned some points with takedowns and managed to score a few points on the bottom against Genzlinger to claim bronze with a 7-3 victory.
“I went from not winning a match last year to getting third and up two weights, so that was pretty good,” Bos said. “I think another year of varsity experience was a big difference. This time last year, I was wrestling in my third and fourth varsity matches of my career. On Thursday, I didn’t get one escape, and I wasn’t too happy with that. So, my main goal for the tournament was to get out more and look for reversals.”
Having placed fourth in this tournament last year, Nordmeyer was hoping to improve on his place this season.
“Another year of experience really helped me with the speed of varsity wrestling,” Nordmeyer said. “I had to do things a lot quicker and wrestle a lot smarter. I’m trying to stay off my back and be a little quicker on my feet. I have to put in some hard work to improve on my takedowns.”
Nordmeyer didn’t earn too many points in the first round from a neutral position, but rather worked his pinning moves to perfection in the second and third rounds. Against Luverne’s Dakota Aanenson in the wrestlebacks, Nordmeyer earned a second-round pinfall to advance to the consolation finals. There, Nordmeyer mimicked his earlier performance, pinning Casey Johnson (wrestling unattached) early in the third round to finish a place above where he did last year.
Dubblede shot out to a quick start with a pinfall victory over Flandreau’s Kyle Scofield, but hit a roadblock in Howard’s James Jungwirth in the semis – losing by technical fall. In the 140-pound wrestlebacks, however, Dubblede pinned Luverne’s Michael Hup to advance to the third-place tilt against EP/J’s Wyatt Chicoine. Dubblede turned the tables on the Huskies junior in the second round to earn the bronze by pinfall two minutes, 46 seconds into the bout.

The veterans follow suit
The only Arrow veteran in the lighter weight classes, Bush, who also had to make his way back through the wrestlebacks, was pitted against EP/J’s Eric Limoges in the consolation finals. Bush and Limoges went to the wire before the Arrow 125-pounder could garner third place with an 8-6 decision.
From 135 pounds on up, with the exception of Dubblede at 140 and Baker in the heavyweight class, the Arrows have juniors and seniors in the lineup, and they didn’t fail to wrestle like veterans.
Miessen struggled in his opener, but roared back in the consolation bracket to battle Deuel’s Dwayne Redlin for third place. Miessen appeared to have the upper hand on Redlin and was hampering the Cardinal grappler with aggressive advances. In the second period, Miessen took Redlin to the mat and the Deuel sophomore landed awkwardly on his left knee. Coaches and trainers agreed Redlin shouldn’t return to the bout after the injury – giving Miessen the victory by injury default.
Jadon Evans advanced to the finals of the 145-pound bracket with a 6-2 victory over Garretson’s Isaac Lukes. Unfortunately for Evans, Howard senior Dan Noonan found an opening and took it. A mere 11 seconds into the second round, Noonan had Evans on his back, and the Arrow junior couldn’t escape and had to settle for a runner-up finish.
Hachmann made up the ground in the team standings at 152 pounds. Hachmann cruised to victories over Deuel’s Eric Kruse and Garretson’s Dylan Severson (pinfall) to earn a shot at Flandreau’s Mike Jopson in the finals. The lanky Arrow senior was strong on the mat in the second and third rounds against the Flier junior and claimed the title with a 10-3 victory.
“I was kind of nervous coming off the loss to a freshman in our first dual match; it’s kind of demoralizing,” Hachmann said. “The first match at the tournament helped me get back some confidence.
“I can’t shoot a takedown for anything, so it always comes down to a reversal or an escape and keeping him (opponent) down when I’m on top, and that’s what I had to do Saturday. I like to use a cradle for a pinning move. My long limbs help with that a little bit.”
Alfson knocked off Luverne’s Ethan Johnson by pinfall to open his 160-pound run, and followed that performance with a hard-fought 9-7 decision over EP/J’s Gavin Lee to advance to the finals against Howard’s Bradyn Neises. As many of the Howard grapplers did on the day, Neises scored early points and then stalled. Needing a third-period escape to knot the score at 3-all, Alfson appeared not to have enough left in the tank after his bout with Lee and finished as runner-up with a 3-2 loss.
Dylan Kor also felt the effects of his earlier matches. The Arrow junior earned a first-round pinfall victory, but bowed out to Garretson’s Brady Bonte in the semis, 5-0. Kor came back to pin Sioux Valley’s Spencer Kruger in the wrestlebacks, but was ineffective against Howard’s Kyle Moe in the consolation finals, falling by a score of 8-0 to finish fourth at 171 pounds.
Tyler Evans traveled a similar route in the 189-pound weight class, winning by pinfall and losing a match by pinfall to drop into the consolation bracket. By pinning Howard’s Garret Werkmeister in the wrestlebacks, Evans earn a third-place tilt with Deuel’s Zach Witte. Evans controlled the Cardinal senior throughout the bout and claimed bronze with a 12-3 decision.
Defending champion at 215 pounds, Gorter had his mind set on making it two in a row at the Flandreau Invitational.
“Bos is looking for me to be a three-time winner, so I had to get the second Saturday,” Gorter said. “I felt confident coming in, and I knew if I wrestled smart I could get it again.”
Gorter earned a quick pinfall against Flandreau’s Jesse Simon in his opener and followed with a 20-4 technical fall over Matthew Bankes of Garretson – placing him in the driver’s seat for the finals against Howard’s Alan Kramer. The Tiger junior gave Gorter a good match and stayed out of situations where the Arrow junior could put him on his back, but in the end, Gorter managed takedown and a reversal en route to a 6-2 victory and his second straight individual title.
“I’d get his leg, but he was a lot taller than me,” Gorter said. “I was trying to dump him, but he kept going out of bounds, so I had to try something different. I didn’t want to do anything that would let him get me on my back, tried to wrestle smart, and it all worked out.”
In the heavyweight division, it was feast or famine for Baker. The Arrow sophomore received a first-round bye, but fell in his semifinal tilt by pinfall to Flandreau’s Jordan Rusk. No matter, Baker regrouped to advance to the consolation finals by sticking Luverne’s Michael Diaz. In the finals, Baker just couldn’t keep pace with Sioux Valley senior Levi Larsen and had to settle for fourth place.
Arrow eighth-grader Elijah Everson represented the team at 103 pounds. Everson took his lumps on the day losing his first tilt by pinfall, Everson came back to pin Luverne's Cody Hess, but fell to Howard's Bailey Neises in the consolation semis. Senior Cody Schulze (unattached) also suffered a pair of losses in the heavyweight division. Alan Hachmann, also wrestling unattached, bowed out in his match.
Overall, the team met personal and team expectations, and the fledgling grapplers did a fantastic job after taking it on the chin in the early rounds.
“Some of them got bad draws, but really wrestled their butts off in the wrestlebacks,” Gorter said of the younger Arrows. “As it says on the backs of our shirts, ‘Champions never rest.’
“This was a great way to prepare for our dual with Jackson (County Central) on Thursday. Everybody is fired up, and we’re going to go in there expecting to give them a good battle.”