Two wrestlers win titles at BHC Tournament

Holding Him Back — Brent O'Dell tries to hold back Philip Area wrestler Lane Blasius in an early round match. O’Dell finished in seventh place in his 138-pound weight class. [PN Photo/CARRIE MOORE]

By Chad Ronish

Hill City took 11th place at the Black Hill Classic Tournament with 77 points, but the highlight of the event was two Rangers winning individual championships.
Dominick Schooler (113 pounds) defeated Strugis wrestler Tanner Brengel in a 13-2 match and Marshall Swanson (120) defeated Grady Carley from Philip Area, 4-2.
Mario Lupercio placed third in the 182-pound bracket while Brent O’Dell battled through the brackets to claim seventh at 138 pounds.
“The Rangers hit the home stretch this week, where all of our energy will be focused on preparing for the district tournament this weekend in Philip,” coach Chad Ronish said.
Philip claimed the team championship this year and the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler was Seth McCann from Newell.
Ronish was pleased with the way the Black Hills Classic wrestling tournament went last weekend.
“On behalf of the Hill City Wrestling community, I want to offer a huge thank you to the businesses, individuals and volunteers that contributed so much to make the 2012 Black Hills Classic a giant success,” Ronish said.
Hill City hosted 16 teams and over 1,000 people and treated them to a first class event.
“The wrestling was outstanding and we put the ‘house’ in hospitality,” Ronish said. “Every comment received was a positive about our facility, our tournament, our community and our people.”
According to Ronish, the weekend and season couldn’t have been so successful without so much volunteer involvement.