Fischer and Folk Named NEC Wrestling Champs

Milbank High School wrestlers Riley Folk and Eli Fischer were named Northeast Conference wrestling champions during the individual NEC tournament January 26, in Groton. Fischer, a freshman, pinned his opponent from Sisseton to enter the finals where he beat Gage Burke of Clark-Willow Lake by a score of 8-2. Folk beat John Tolle of Sisseton with an 11-3 major decision to send him to the finals. He then rolled over Branden Roe of Redfield-Doland with a 9-1 major decision.

Two seniors, Tyler Krause and Jose Chen, were close to winning titles, but finished second in their respective weight classes. Alec Bien finished in third place and Toby Schneck, Cole Dockter, and Ben Nelson each placed fourth.

Milbank landed in fourth place in the team standings with 104 points. Sisseton was crowned the NEC team champ with 153 points. Redfield-Doland was the runner-up with 137, and Webster Area placed third with 131.5.

The Dawgs have been plagued with injuries and lineup changes this season. Despite that, head coach Jeremy Tostenson stated, “I am very proud of the way the guys competed in this tournament.”

Milbank travels to Aberdeen Saturday, January 28, to take part in the Lee Wolf Invitational at Aberdeen Central High School. Watch the Valley Express for results.

Complete results from the NEC tournament:
Team scores – Sisseton, 153; Redfield-Doland, 137; Webster Area, 131.5; Milbank, 104; Clark-Willow Lake, 97; Groton Area, 75; Deuel, 53; Britton-Hecla, 30.
106 – Eli Fischer won by fall over Andrew Tolle, Sisseton, 0:49; won 8-2 over Gage Burke, CWL. Northeast Conference champion.
113 – Tyler Krause won by fall over Dragr Monson, Groton Area, 5:42; won 11-4 over Cullen McNeil, Redfield-Doland; fell 3-2 to Braimen Steen, Sisseton. NEC runner-up.
120 – Toby Schneck won by injury default over Hunter McClean, Groton Area; lost by fall to Dylan Whitley, Redfield-Doland, 3:21; won by fall over Charlie Speiker, Clark-Willow Lake, 2:00; lost by injury default to Hunter Kloos, Deuel. Fourth place finish.
126 – Kaden Krause lost by fall to Trevor Pray, Groton Area, 0:46; fell 9-4 to Mason Fey, Redfield-Doland.
132 – Breyden Miller fell 10-6 to Dylan Hagberg, Deuel; lost by fall to Colbey Lehrke, Sisseton, 0:57.
138 – Jose Chen won by fall over Norvin Moreno, Sisseton, 5:26; lost by fall to Riley Binger, Redfield-Doland, 1:29. NEC runner-up.
145 – Alec Bien fell 3-1 to Cade Shoemaker, Webster Area; won by fall over Kailen Kirk, Sisseton, 2:21; won by fall over Carter Wegner, Redfield-Doland, 3:35. Third place finish.
160 – Cole Dockter fell 4-3 to Ben Boyko, Britton-Hecla; won 4-3 over Brandan Gerhke, Clark-Willow Lake; lost 4-3 to Barrett Wren, Redfield-Doland. Fourth place finish.
170 – Brodie Holtquist lost by fall to Barrett Nelson, Redfield-Doland, 5:06; lost by fall to Zach Rucktaeschel, Webster Area, 2:16.
195 – Riley Folk won by 11-3 major decision over John Toelle, Sisseton; won by 9-1 major decision over Branden Roe, Redfield-Doland. Northeast Conference champion.
220 – Ben Nelson lost by fall to Wyatt Locke, Groton Area, 1:48; lost by fall to Alex Cruz, Redfield-Doland, 1:51. Fourth place finish.
285 – Angel Chen lost by fall to Kaeden Metz, Sisseton, 1:40; lost by fall to Tate Shape, Clark-Willow, 1:37.

Riley Folk and Eli Fischer