Badlands Brawlers take second in the State Duals

The Brawlers headed to Watertown last week to take part in the State B Dual Tournament on Saturday, Feb. 10th. To qualify for state duals, a team must have competed in at least 8 duals throughout the year. They then take the top 10 in PowerPoints and seed the top 8. The Brawlers went into the tournament with a 9-1 record and was seeded #4. They faced off against Kimball/White Lake/Platte-Geddes in the first round. The Brawlers came through with a win in a very tight matchup, winning 30-28. The #1 seed, Winner, got knocked off by #8 Custer in the first round, so the Brawlers had a rematch from earlier this year in their hands. Custer changed up a few things in their lineup and was able to close the gap from before ultimately tying up the dual at 34-34 as the matches finished up. The Brawlers were able to come out on top due to the first tie breaker criteria which is total wins. Brawlers finished with 8 to their 6 putting the score at 35-34. 

To end the day, the Brawlers went up against the #2 seed, Canton. This was a tough matchup for the Brawlers and after having to grind all day they were unable to get the win, losing 45-16 to place 2nd in the dual tournament. In the end, it was a good day for the Brawler team. “We did as good as we were probably gonna do since, we were missing one of our leaders, Thane Simons, but we had some good teammates that stepped up and filled the gap. The boys wrestled their hearts out and gave everything for the team. It was a complete team effort and they represented our communities well. We are very proud of each and every one of them.” said assistant coach, Beau Ravellette. 

The Brawlers are now off to Regions in Ft. Pierre this coming weekend and then The State B tournament in Sioux Falls on Feb. 22nd-24th.