TSCHETTER SETTLES FOR 8TH AFTER 7-2 LOSS
A wrestler Easton Tschetter hadn’t seen before — Britton-Hecla junior Bryce Hawkinson — muscled his way to a 7-2 decision over the Freeman freshman in the 144 lb. seventh-place match late Saturday morning, March 1 — the final day of the three-day State Wrestling Tournament in Rapid City.
This is the second year in a row Tschetter has returned from state with eighth place.
Hawkinson took a 2-0 lead on a reversal in the second period and then went up 5-0 on a takedown in the third before Tschetter got a pair of points back on a reversal of his own. And, trailing 5-2 with the third period winding down, Tschetter had Hawkinson turned on his shoulder, but the Britton-Hecla junior was too strong for Tschetter to get him on his back for a possible late pin. Tschetter made one last desperation offensive move in the final seconds, but Hawkinson turned that into a reversal to bring the match to its final score of 7-2.
Tschetter ends his season with a 50-9 record.
Hawkinson finishes 38-5.
Friday afternoon
Freeman High School’s Easton Tschetter will take the mat one last time his freshman season in a battle for seventh place at state in the 144 lb. weight division. Tschetter will face Britton-Hecla junior Bryce Hawkinson (33-5) in the medal round that begins at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Tschetter lost to Gavin Risse 10-3 in the third round wrestleback late Friday afternoon.
Earlier Friday
Easton Tschetter will return to the podium.
Logun Pankratz and Keaton Preheim will return without a medal.
Competing on the second day of the 2025 State Wrestling Tournament on Friday, Tschetter earned a guaranteed spot in the top eight with a 4-3 win over Bon Homme/Avon freshman Jaden Bult (34-20) in the second round wrestleback. The Freeman freshman, who won his first match before falling in the quarterfinals on Thursday, will next face Bennett County senior and top-seed Gavin Risse (34-3) later on Friday. Risse was upset 4-3 in the quarterfinals after giving up three points in the closing seconds of the match.
The loser of the Tschetter/Risse match will wrestle for seventh place on Saturday. The winner is guaranteed a top five finish and could place as high as third.
As for Pankratz and Preheim — who both lost their opening match on Thursday — both finished 1-1 on Friday. Pankratz won his first match of the day by technical fall (16-0) over Lemmon freshman Maxwell Anderson (21-20) and nearly pulled off an upset against No. 5 seed Connor Glassford (40-11), a sophomore from Tri-Valley, but lost a 5-3 decision.
Preheim won his first scheduled match by medical forfeit before losing to Parker senior Alek Kuchta (35-16) by fall at 4:28.
Action resumes at 3:30 p.m. Mountain Time and again at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Thursday second round
Freeman freshman Easton Tschetter dropped a 6-0 decision to Kimball/White Lake/Platte-Geddes junior Johnny Lenz in the quarterfinal round of the 144 lb. weight class late Thursday afternoon and will need to fight his way back through the consolation bracket on Friday in order to return to the podium at the 2025 State Wrestling Tournament in Rapid City.
The second day of the tournament starts at 9:30 a.m. Friday.
Thursday first round
Easton Tschetter (43-6) won his opening match of the 2025 State Wrestling Tournament in Rapid City late Friday morning, pinning Parker senior Jeremiah Friman (21-14) at the 5:20 mark. The Freeman freshman advances to the 144 lb. quarterfinal round later on Friday where he will face Kimball/White Lake/Platte-Geddes junior Johnny Lenz (36-7) with a trip to the semifinals on the line.
Also Friday, Marion/Freeman’s other two wrestlers both lost by fall and will face elimination matches Friday morning.
Wrestling at 126 lbs., sophomore Logun Pankratz (38-15) was pinned by Potter County senior Lane Stowe (35-12) at 4:00 while senior Keaton Preheim lost to Custer senior Tray Weiss (47-2) — the No. 1 seed at 132 lbs. — at the 1:18 mark.
Preheim will face Stanley County sophomore Witt Myers (25-11) while Pankratz will battle Lemmon freshman Maxwell Anderson (21-18). If both win, they will advance to a second elimination match, where a victory would guarantee them a spot on the podium.
