Titan wrestlers to compete in State dual championships this Saturday

The 2024 SDHSAA state wrestling team dual championships will take place this Saturday, Feb. 10 at both Watertown and Brookings.

Similar to football, basketball, and other sports, the state uses a seed point system to select the teams that will compete. They then select the top eight teams based on criteria (head-to-head dual wins, record vs. common opponents, etc.).

Tea Area High School is among the top teams that has been chosen to participate. 

“We’re excited for the opportunity to compete and believe that we can battle with the best in the state. Sturgis is a tough matchup right off the bat, but then again, everyone is top-tier at the state tournament,” said Titan head coach John Niesen. 

In Class A, where the State Wrestling Team Duals will be held at the Dacotah Bank Center in Brookings, Sturgis is the No. 1 overall seed, taking on Tea Area in the opening round. Pierre, which has won the 2021 and 2023 Class A dual titles, is seeded second and will take on West Central in the quarterfinals. No. 3 Rapid City Stevens faces No. 6 Watertown in the opening round, while last season’s runner-up, No. 5 Brandon Valley, takes on No. 4 Aberdeen Central.

All quarterfinal duals will take place at 11 a.m., with the semifinal round to follow. The championships are tentatively slated for 2 p.m. This is the first season since the state dual format returned in 2020 that the dual competition is on its own weekend. The South Dakota state individual tournament remains on its usual weekend this year, taking place on Feb. 22-24 in Sioux Falls.

Complete schedule is as follow:  Quarterfinal matchups—No. 1 Sturgis (10-1) vs. No. 8 Tea Area (12-4), 11 a.m.; No. 4 Aberdeen Central (16-2) vs. No. 5 Brandon Valley (13-4), 11 a.m.; No. 2 Pierre (9-2) vs. No. 7 West Central (14-2), 11 a.m.; No. 3 Rapid City Stevens (8-2) vs. No. 6 Watertown (10-4), 11 a.m.; Consolation round—Sturgis/Tea loser vs. Aberdeen/BV loser, noon; Pierre/West Central loser vs. Stevens/Watertown loser, noon; Semifinal round; Sturgis/Tea winner vs. Aberdeen/BV winner, noon; Pierre/West Central winner vs. Stevens/Watertown winner, noon; Placement round: Fifth-place dual, 2 p.m.; Third-place dual, 2 p.m.; Championship—Semifinal winners, 2 p.m.

South Dakota Public Broadcasting will provide streaming of all eight mats throughout the duration of the quarterfinal, semifinal, consolation, and championship matches at sdpb.org/wrestling. The championship matches for both classes, which are scheduled for 2 p.m. CT on Saturday, will also air live on television. The team dual championship for Class B will air live on SDPB1-TV, while the championship for Class A will air live on SDPB2-TV.