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Nine Pony Hills wrestlers placed at state last weekend. Shown left to right, back row are Kaddilac Coleman (3rd place), Dally Nickels (4th place), Kash Woodin (8th place), Kix Coleman (5th place), McCrae Nickels (7th), Mary Tanke (2nd). Front row: Kactus Coleman (8th) and Presley Wilde (4th). PHOTO COURTESY EMMA WILDE -
Zayden Wolfcale stands atop the podium after winning 1st in the state in his weight class. PHOTO COURTESY SUMMER SCHOOLER
Eleven wrestlers represented Pony Hills at the South Dakota State AAU wrestling tournament last weekend with a whopping nine bringing home a medal, including a new state champion in the tots 67 pound weight group, Zayden Wolfcale.
“They really worked their tails off and showed up at the state tournament in Rapid City. With 1700 wrestlers from across the state, it’s a brutal deal out there. There were a lot of tough kids and the whole arena was full. It’s a lot to keep the kids attention, help prevent them from getting nervous and staying focused,” said Shawn Coleman, Head Coach for Pony Hills Youth Wrestling. “Everyone we took scored some team points and it was a really good showing.”
Out of 143 teams at state, Pony Hills rounded out the tournament with enough points to claim 41st place.
“The little guys wrestled their hearts out. On that big stage at The Monument of course there’s nerves but they all did so well. All kids had a 16-man bracket in each weight class and in order to place, you have to make the top eight in double elimination,” said Cole Nickels, Assistant Coach for Pony Hills. “ I attribute their success to the kids showing up, listening and wanting to get better. Some of the toughest matches they wrestle are each other in practice. All the kids are continually making each other better.”
Pony Hills medals won in their respective weight classes are: Zayden Wolfcale - 1st, Mary Tanke - 2nd, Kaddilac Coleman 3rd, Presley Wilde - 4th, Dally Nickels - 4th, Kix Coleman - 5th, McCrae Nickels - 7th, Kactus Coleman - 8th, Kash Woodin - 8th.
“To qualify, you have to place in the top three in your region. We felt like we stuck out because we didn’t have that many kids and we placed almost all of them,” explained Nickels, who pointed out that there are no classes in youth wrestling no matter the size of a school. “We are wrestling Pierre, Spearfish, Sioux Falls — some are taking 80 kids to state.”
Nickels said there are currently 19 kids in the Pony Hills program.
“Hopefully the kids’ success in wrestling will get people’s attention and encourage more kids to come out,” Nickels said about the program offered to children in Pre-K through eighth grade. “Shawn and I are extremely proud of them and lucky to be their coaches.”
Coleman said that continued growth of the program helps Pony Hills wrestlers excel.
“We took three girls to state and they placed second and two fourths. We need some more girls to come out so they have practice partners,” he said. “Zayden Wolfcale is a state champ and he’s not one until he gets to practice and wrestle his partner every week. The kids get tougher every time we have practice.”
Practice begins between Christmas and New Year’s during winter break on Tuesdays and Thursdays with most tournaments held on Sundays. Coleman said they will also be holding summer practices and parents interested can contact him at 605-661-2973.
“I want to thank all the parents for their hard work and letting us have the time with their kids,” Coleman said. “And I want to thank the kids for a great season and state tournament. They all showed up, wrestled and did their jobs.”