PACA Athletes of the Week for Feb. 22-27

The Pierre wrestling teams and Addison Cumbow are selected as PACA-Avera’s Athletes of the Week. Here are their nominations:

Boys Team 

In a season of ups and downs the boys wrestling team decided to save the best for last.  In the individual tournament the boys had 9 place winners led by Senior Reagan Bollweg winning his first state championship, followed by fellow senior Tyson Johnson and Junior Blake Judson each placing 2nd.  Senior Preston Taylor placed 3rd, Senior Kahlor Hindman placed 4th, Junior Hayden Shaffer 4th, Sophomore Deegan Houska 6th, Senior Jacob Larson 7th, and Sophomore Gavin Stotts 8th.  As a team they placed 3rd.  The highlight of the State Tournament was the State Dual Championship match.  Providing one of the greatest comebacks ever the Boys Team never gave up and were down by 13 points with only 3 matches left. Blake Judson started the rally with a pin in the 1st period followed by a major decision by Kahlor Hindman cutting the deficit to 3 with only one match left.  In the final match Hayden Shaffer was down by the score 4-1 going into the final period when he locked a cradle up and pinned his opponent giving Pierre the 3 point victory and winning the State Dual Championship.  The boys team worked as a team all year and it showed during the final dual.

Girls Team 

This is the first year for Girls Wrestling to be included by the SDHSAA and with a little hesitation Pierre had 28 girls decide to give it a try.  The seven girls that made the state wrestling tournament went from not knowing anything about wrestling to all seven placing in the top three at the state tournament.  The passion these girls have shown to learn all year is incredible.  They have all wanted to learn and get better every day. With just starting a sport the ceiling for what is expected can be low but these girls set their goals high at the beginning of the year and all worked hard to make those goals a reality.  In their first state tournament the girls proved that the lights were not too bright for them and four girls made the championship match, with two becoming the first champions in Pierre Girls Wrestling History. Leading the way for the Govs were Sophomore Marlee Shorter and 8th grader Ciara McFarling both winning State Championships.  They were followed by Sophmores Gianna Stangland and Hattie Baldwin both placing 2nd.  The final three competitors were Freshman Sydney Uhrig, Sophmore Mary Mehlhaff, and Freshman Emalee Larson all placing 3rd.  The future is bright for the Governor Girls Wrestling program.

Addison Cumbow (Basketball):  Addison Cumbow  is one of the most improved players on the basketball team.  She is a player that comes to practice every day with a positive attitude.  She is always willing to work hard to make herself and her teammates better.  She is a team first player who is not only willing to do whatever is asked of her, she does it to the best of her ability and with enthusiasm. Her hard work was rewarded by her steady play in the JV games.  Her defensive efforts and contributions on the offensive side were crucial to securing a win against a quality opponent.  Cumbow is not only someone we can always depend on for her defense and for many of the “little” things make a huge difference in games (she has also worked to develop into a threat on the offensive end as well) but more importantly for her commitment to the team and the way she represents Pierre Governor Basketball.