Riley Scott takes third at state tournament

Custer’s very own senior wrestler Riley Scott took third place at the South Dakota High School Activities Association Boys State Wrestling Championship in Sioux Falls Feb. 26-28.
“I’m very proud of Riley. It’s kind of sad to see the last year, but he went out with a bang,” said head coach Jared Webster.
Scott competed in the 144-pound weight class and scored 17.5 team points.
In the championship round one, Scott won by fall over Eli Ekroth of Burke-Gregory at 1:59. Scott won by decision 7-1 over Cody Zell of Kingsbury County in the quarterfinal. In the semifinal, Chase Hurd of Miller-Highmore-Harrold won by decision 5-0 over Scott. Scott won by tech fall 18-2 over Cole Hendrixson of Tri-Valley in the consolation semi. Then, in the third place match, Scott won by decision 10-8 over Ethan Rearick of Wessington Springs-Woonsocket-Wolsey-Wessington, which Webster said, “was a heck of a match.”
Eight other Custer Jr./Sr. High school boys wrestling team members competed as well, with two taking eighth place.
Webster said the competition is always tough at state, and several Wildcats were just one match away from making it on the podium.
“It could have always went better, but it went good. The kids went out, and we got some placers,” said Webster.
Cole Scott competed in the 106 weight class and scored three team points.
In the championship round one, Gabe Miller of Howard won by decision 7-5 over Scott. In the consolation round one, Scott won by fall over Caleb Hoffman of McCook Centra-Montrose at 0:29. Then, in the consolation round two, Will Hosman of Miller-Highmore-Harrold won by decision 7-1 over C. Scott.
Myles Woodward competed in the 113-pound weight class and scored three team points. In the championship round one, Rhys Truman of Kimball-White Lake-Platte-Geddes won by fall over Woodward at 3:05. In the consolation round one, Woodward won by fall over Jeff Knight of Stanley County at 2:58. Then, in the consolation round two, Judd Hansen of Winner won by fall over Woodward at 32 seconds.
Relic Bailey competed in the 120 weight class. He lost by fall in the first match and by tech fall in the second match.
Riley Trout placed eighth and scored three team points. Webster said he wrestled really well.
In the championship round one, Teague Bergjord of Flandreau won by major decision 13-4 over Trout. Trout won in sudden victory 9-6 over Aykre Piotter of Sisseton in the consolation round one. In the consolation round three, Trout won by decision 12-8 over Tayten Kurkowski of Webster Area. Hayes Holter of Kimball-White Lake-Platte-Geddes won by decision 3-0 over Trout in the consolation round three. Then, in the seventh place match, Shay Weber of Philip-Kadoka Area-Wall won by fall over Trout at 2:29.
Ayden Dooley competed in the 132 weight class. He lost by major decision in the first match and by decision in the second match.
David Lewis competed in the 157 weight class. He lost by fall in both matches.
Blaise Arp competed in the 165 weight class and scored one point.
In the championship round one, Blake Jennings of Kingsbury County won by decision 7-2 over Arp. Arp won by decision 9-2 over Lawrence “Quincy” Emery of Chester in the consolation round one. Then, in the consolation round two, Wyatt Tuntland of Canton won by decision 7-4 over Arp.
“Blaise wrestled really well and was close to being on the podium, one match away,” said Webster.
Zayden LaPlaca placed eighth and scored six team points, competing in the 285 weight class.
In the championship round one, LaPlaca won by decision 15-12 over Jaspur Gran of Wessington Springs-Woonsocket-Wolsey-Wessington. Tristen Baloun of Faulkton Area won by major decision 9-1 over LaPlaca in the quarterfinal. In the consolation round two, LaPlaca won by fall over Randall Powers of Bon Homme-Avon at 2:52. Luke Nehlich of Tri-Valley won by decision 6-1 over LaPlaca in the consolation round three. Then, in the seventh place match, Breyten Johnson of Kingsbury County won by decision 4-1 over LaPlaca.
“Zayden got on the podium, so that was big to see. He had a couple of close matches, could have even climbed higher up the podium, but I’m proud of him for getting eighth,” said Webster.
Overall, Webster said the state tournament “went excellent. I’m very proud of all of them that made it. We’re close with a lot of those young ones coming up. So they just need to put in the work this summer and hopefully set their goals high.”
With that, the Custer Wildcats have wrapped up another wrestling season.
Webster said, “It was a great season. The kids wrestled well, and it was a lot better than I thought it was going to go. They stepped up, and we actually had a wonderful team that was bonded well together. That was great. We’ve got a lot of young ones returning.”
This was the last Wildcat wrestling season for seniors Riley Scott, Arp and LaPlaca.
“I’m very proud of all of them, proud of the seniors, the leadership, their hard work and dedication with the sport. I’m just excited to see the next chapter of their lives. I’m very blessed to have them,” said Webster. “We’re gonna miss them.”