Schneck, Bien Crowned NEC Wrestling Champs

Seventh grader Barrett Schneck and junior Alec Bien were crowned Northeast Conference wrestling champions last night, Thursday, January 25, during the NEC meet in Clark.

Schneck won the NEC title at 113 pounds. He is the first seventh grader in Milbank High School history to win a conference title. He upset the number-two seeded Isaiah Grim from Sisseton with a pin in 2:58 to earn the title.

Bien was the champ at the 160 pound weight class. He received a first round bye before rolling over his opponents from Redfield and Clark-Willow Lake.

Five other grapplers also placed in the top four for the Bulldogs. Eighth grader Kaden Krause took third place while fellow eighth grader Layton Rafferty placed fourth. Sophomores Brodie Holtquist and Angel Chen placed third in their respective weight classes, and senior Tanner Kettwig finished second in his overtime match at 220 pounds.

“The wet behind the ears young guys stepped up and competed like crusty old veterans,” stated Bulldog head coach Jeremy Tostenson.
Milbank finished fifth in the team standings with 104.5 points. Redfield Area was crowned NEC team champions with 171 points. Sisseton was close behind with 165 points.

Rounding out the team totals were Clark-Willow Lake, 125; Webster Area, 121; Britton-Hecla, 47; Deuel, 39; Groton Area, 33, and Hamlin, 3.
Following are the complete results for the Bulldog wrestlers:
106 – Noah Garcia fell 6-0 to Tyan Johnson, Sisseton; lost 2-0 to Gunner Kvistad, Clark-Willow Lake.
113 – Barrett Schneck won by fall over Naethan Lovre, Deuel, 1:46; won 6-2 over Dragr Monson, Groton Area; won by fall over Isaiah Grim, Sisseton, 2:58. NEC Champion.
120 – Brady Femling lost by fall to Dominic Constant, Deuel, 5:04; fell by 13-1 major decision to Zack Strong, Britton-Hecla.
126 – Kaden Krause won by 20-5 technical fall over Hayden Niles, Webster Area, 5:31; lost by fall to Bradyn Robbins, Redfield Area, 1:46; won by fall over Chase Chambers, Hamlin, 3:33; won 4-1 over Dylan Hagberg, Deuel. Third place finish.
132 – JD Lusk fell 11-7 to Andy Johnson, Webster Area; lost by fall to Hunter Kloos, Deuel, 4:29.
145 – Layton Rafferty won 4-2 over Levi Boyko, Britton-Hecla; lost by fall to Colbey Lehrke, Sisseton, 1:18; won by fall over Logan Kreger, Deuel, 3:00; lost by fall to Zack Mulder, Clark-Willow Lake, :51. Fourth place finish.
160 – Alec Bien won by fall over Brexton Roth, Redfield Area, :56; won 6-2 over Landon Werdel, Clark-Willow Lake. NEC Champion.
170 – Brodie Holtquist won by fall over Grady O’Neill, Groton Area, :58; lost by fall to Caleb Orris, Clark-Willow Lake, 2:24; won 9-4 over Drew Masat, Redfield Area. Third place finish.
195 – Elijah Fraasch lost by fall to Vincent Herberg, Sisseton, 1:48; lost by fall to Tristen Bent, Webster Area, 3:41.
220 – Tanner Kettwig won 3-0 over Wyatt Locke, Groton Area; lost 3-2 in double overtime to Kaeden Metz, Sisseton. Second place finish.
285 – Angel Chen won 3-2 over Seth Strong, Britton-Hecla; lost by fall to Brandyn Anderson, :28; won by fall over Gabe VanWormer, Deuel, 3:46; won by fall over Riley Schmidt, Clark-Willow Lake, :43. Third place finish.

Pictured is Barrett Schneck (file photo).