Hettinger, area teams get ready for state wrestling tournament

DICKINSON - A dominant performance at the Region 4 wrestling tournament has set the stage for the Hettinger Black Devils.

Hettinger qualified 13 wrestlers for the Class B state

tournament, which starts today at the Bismarck Civic Center.

“Thirteen out of 14 isn’t so bad,” Hettinger coach Randy Burwick

said. “We had a good weekend.”

The Black Devils’ first-place finish in the region tournament

marked the fifth consecutive year the team has won the title.

Only one other team from the region has ever pulled it off five

consecutive years.

“Beach a few years back won five in a row,” Burwick said. “We

know how hard it is to do that. We wanted to get five in a row.”

With that goal out of the way, Burwick and his boys have set

their aim higher. Seven of the 13 wrestlers who qualified are

seeded. Senior Eric Ormiston, who is seeded second at the 152-

pound class with a 31-9 record, leads the way.

“He’s had a real quiet year,” Burwick said. “He’s real

dependable, not flashy by any stretch. He wants to get into a

finals match and get an opportunity to be a state champion.”

Senior teammate Justin Wolff is seeded third at 140 pounds after

finishing the regular season with a record of 36-4.

“You’ll see him come to wrestle,” Burwick said. “When he steps

on the mat, whoever steps in front of him, that’s the only match

that counts.”

Hettinger seniors Norman Strehlow (285) and Cole Miller (189)

are seeded fourth and seventh, respectively. Burwick said Miller

will be wrestling with a broken hand. He defaulted to Killdeer

senior Amos Buehner in the regional finals.

“We decided he wasn’t going to gain a seed (in the state

tourney),” Burwick said. “If he was a junior, we might say to

him that he should sit it out and wait until next year, but he

doesn’t have that luxury. For the most part, he still wrestles

tough with it. He’s shown a lot of courage and a lot or

character.”

Junior 215-pounder Zach Morast is seeded third with a 31-9

record.

“If he shows up, he could be a really big force for us,” Burwick

said. “He’s in a great bracket.”

Before the Black Devils can make any headway in individual

competition, they must try and get past Hillsboro in the state

duals, which start at 9 a.m. MST.

“We have to finish matches,” Burwick said. “We have to make sure

that if we get them on their back, we get the fall.”

Hillsboro is sending 10 wrestlers to the state tournament,

individually. The Burros have just four seeded wrestlers, but

those four know how to get the job done. Hillsboro has a pair of

top-seeded wrestlers in Anthony Von Ruden (32-5 at 135) and

Andrew Grothman (40-0 at 189).

Junior Jake McLean is seeded second at 160 pounds with a 35-3

record while sophomore Tanner Boeddeker is the fourth seed with

a 30-8 record at 145 pounds.

The most intriguing match of the dual is at 189 pounds where

Grothman and Miller could face off. That will be the first match

of the dual as first-day action starts at 189.

“The first five matches (are) vital to winning this dual,”

Burwick said. “There is a couple that could go either way. My

goal is to go 5-0. If my guys show up and wrestle, I wouldn’t

put it past them.”

Region 4 at state

Center-New Salem and Beulah-Hazen are both sending eight

wrestlers and Killdeer qualified seven.

Beulah-Hazen has a pair of No. 2 seeds in junior Ben Maliske

(112) and senior Marshall Krebs (215). Sophomore Jordan Mann is

seeded fourth at 103 pounds.

New Salem is led by third-seeded Nate Seeger at 145 pounds. Last

year, Seeger made a remarkable run to the state finals as a six

seed before falling to Watford City’s Rowdy Lund. Senior Tanner

Werchau (135) and sophomore Mike Rusk (119) are both seeded

fourth in their respective weight classes.

Killdeer has two grapplers who are No. 3 seeds in Buehner (189)

and junior Corde Fredericks (171). Junior Josh Armitage is

seeded fifth at 119.

Tags: class, b, wrestle, hettinger, black, devils, state, new, salem, killdeer