On Feb. 22, 23, and 24 the top wrestlers in the State from Class A and B flocked to the Denny Sanford Premier Center to participate in the 2024 State Tournament.
Lennox brought three wrestlers to compete in Class A, Ramsey Williams and Grant Larson representing the boys and Jocelyn Thoms representing the girls. Both Williams and Thoms reached the podium.
“I can’t put into words how proud our coaching staff is of our wrestler’s performance at the state tournament. Placing two out of three qualifiers and both in the top five, that’s a pretty stinking good start,” said LHS head coach Matt Hanson.
For the boys, Williams had a strong State Tournament at 138 pounds. Williams won by decision, 6-4, in the opening round over Watertown’s Leo Stroup. This win sent him into the quarterfinals were he again won by decision, 4-0, over Sturgis Brown’s Beau Peters. Williams had reached the semifinals with back to back wins. In the semifinals, Williams went up against a strong Pierre T.F. Riggs’ Tristan Spencer who, despite a strong fight from Williams, won by major decision, 9-1. Spencer went on to win the State title, defeating Madison’s Caleb Hodges by decision, 7-3.
Williams fought back in the consolation semifinals where he won by decision, 4-1, over Ridley Waldo. This win placed him in the third/fourth place match where he faced off against Rapid City Stevens’ Joe Juenger. It was a back and forth battle with Juenger just edging Williams by decision, 4-3, to take third. Williams finished with a respectable fourth place at State.
“Ramsey has done everything within his ability to get better and learn the sport of wrestling over the recent years. He has shown that not only offseason work but in season growth is important,” said Hanson.
“Williams closed the gap on many talented wrestlers throughout the season and wrestled some of his best matches when it mattered most. Region 2A Champion, and placing fourth in a very challenging weight class is quite the accomplishment,” added Hanson.
For the girls, Thoms competed at 114 pounds. Thoms won her first match at State pinning Madison’s Capri Johnson in 3:16. In the quarterfinal, however, Thoms lost by fall in 1:15 to Harrisburg’s Hadley Bryant. In the consolation rounds, Thoms fought back pinning Brookings’ Bailey Tekrony in 3:56 and pinning Spearfish’s Madelynn Schlup in 2:36 to advance to the consolation semifinals. There she faced off against a strong wrestler from Canton, Sara Schroder, who had just six losses on the season. Schroder won by decision, 5-3, putting Thoms in the fifth/sixth place match.
Thoms had a strong performance winning by decision, 5-2, over Rapid City Central’s Langston Huffman, to take fifth place at State. Winning the girls’ 114 pound State title was Lexi Bryant of McCook Central Montrose who won by decision, 3-0, over Dani Ringstmeyer of Pierre.
“Thoms has now wrestled competitively for two years. She’s a two-time state qualifier and placed 5th as an 8th Grader. Watching her develop over the next four years is going to be exciting,” said Hanson.
Emotions ran high with both Williams and Thoms reaching the podium.
“It was more of a challenge than I thought it would be to keep my emotions in check after they clinched their spots on the podium. Knowing what they have endured throughout the season, and how much we as coaching staff wanted all their sacrifices to be rewarded. But no one should be shocked by Ramsey and Jocelyn’s accomplishments, they are the two hardest working kids in our room and deserve every ounce of the honors and recognition coming their way,” Hanson added.
Also competing at State for the Orioles was Larson wrestling at 132 pounds. Larson took on Parker Graven of Spearfish in the opening round and lost by major decision, 11-1. In the consolation round, Larson was pinned by Tyler Wurth of Harrisburg in 34 seconds, ending his State run. Winning the State title at 132 pounds was Bentley Williams of Sioux Falls Lincoln pinning Nolan Miles of Brookings in 4:57.
Hanson is already looking forward to next season.
“It’s only going to grow from here, we have some deeply talented younger classes that will help restore and solidify LHS wrestling for many years to come,” said Hanson.