Brandon Valley wrestling has its sights set on a state championship
BRANDON, S.D. (BVM) — It is early into the 2020-21 SDHSAA wrestling season, and although it has been off to a good start, Brandon Valley wrestling still feels like it’s adjusting to what a COVID-19 season looks like.
“This year is going to be unusual in a number of ways with the COVID limitations we are under,” Lynx head coach Derek Outland said. “I think we’re still adjusting to some of those changes. We hope to be hitting our stride as a team soon.”
With that stride, the Lynx hope to continue down the path they have been going, which has led them to entering the upper echelon of South Dakota high school wrestling.
“I do think we are definitely a program on the rise,” Outland said. “Going back ten years, we have slowly been making improvements , winning individual state titles and improving our team finishes.”
Back in February, the Lynx had one of their best seasons ever as a program. However, it ended in heartbreak at the state tournament.
“Entering the state tournament we felt confident we could win a state title,” Outland said. “We also knew that Rapid City Stevens and Watertown were going to be a real challenge. I think if you looked at the rounds throughout the tournament, each of us led at different points.”
It was the most contested state tournament that Outland had witnessed personally, but in the end, Brandon Valley lost by just one point to RC Stevens, which won its second straight state title.
Although it didn’t end the way the Lynx wanted, they still had a lot to hang their hat on. Finishing second at state was the best finish in program history. The team also won the Metro Conference for the fourth year in a row, won the Eastern South Dakota Conference for the first time and broke a program record with 16 dual wins. Brandon Valley takes pride in all of that, but is not satisfied.
“We have our eyes set on improving our team performance this season,” Outland said.
Besides the adjustments to COVID regulations, the Lynx also have some other hurdles they will need to get over on their way to their first-ever state championship. The team has had some injuries early on that have had them looking for others to step up, including the loss of junior Damion Schunke to season-ending knee surgery due to an injury he sustained during the football season.
“Damion is definitely one of our leaders and helps set the tone for our program,” Outland said. “He’s still doing what he can to help push his teammates and lead in a different capacity.”
Schunke won the state championship at the 182-pound weight class last year, and the year before as a freshman, he won state in the 160-pound class. With only two seniors on the roster, Schunke will still be a source of leadership off the mat.
On the mat, Schunke’s brother Navarro will have to help set the tone for the rest of the team. Navarro joined the team as an eight grader last year and instantly began to make a name for himself.
“We went out to the RC Invite early on in the season, which is a highly competitive tournament,” Outland said. “When he won that convincingly, we knew he was going to have a chance to win state as an eighth grader.”
Navarro lived up to the expectation of winning state at the 220-pound weight class as an eighth grader. Now as a freshman, he will be a big contributor to achieving the team goals the Lynx have made.
The road will be tough as RC Stevens is still a favorite to complete the three-peat this year, and within the ESD, Pierre looks to be strong this year as well. But Brandon Valley knows this, and is up for the challenge.
“Winning a state championship is never an easy feat,” Outland said. “We need to be the best version of Brandon Valley Wrestling if we are going to come out on top this season.”
