Titan wrestlers look to continue success in upcoming season

As the Tea Area High School wrestling team gears up for another season, Head Coach John Niesen enters his ninth year leading the Titans. With an overall coaching record of 87-68, Niesen aims to guide his team to continued success this season. Niesen brings a wealth of experience, including stints as an assistant coach in Madison and Dell Rapids from 2009 to 2014 and a head coaching position at DC West in Nebraska. Supporting him are Assistant Coaches Todd Gannon (5th year), Jakob Nikolaisen (8th year), Josh Sundall (4th year), Jordan Biehn (3rd year), and Volunteer Coach Blake Bietz (2nd year).

The Titans’ journey this season begins next Friday, Dec. 6, with duals against Mitchell and Chamberlain in Mitchell, followed by a Saturday, Dec. 7 competition in Watertown starting at 10 a.m.

The Titan wrestling team closed last season with impressive achievements, including a sixth-place team finish at the state tournament for the second consecutive year, racking up a record-breaking 105 points. They also celebrated an all-time high of 10 state medalists—eight boys and two girls—and crowned two state champions: Sam Werdel and Brianna Johnson, with Johnson making history as the program’s first female state champion.

The Titans look for success to continue with returning State place winners: Dawson Eimers, Sam Werdel, Chase DeBoer, Tyler Woodring, and Lainey Haines.  

This year’s team, however, will be without several graduating seniors, including Austin Eimers, Keegan DeYoung, Carson Lohr, Fenell Sworr, Jackson Tschetter, Gavin Van Emmerick and Brianna Johnson. 

“We lost a good chunk of our lineup to graduation, so we’re looking for a lot of young kids to take the next step and fill their shoes in the varsity role this year,” said Niesen. “There will be a learning curve, but they are eager and competitive and want to make an immediate impact.”

New talents, such as Hayden Hostetler (11th grade), Brayden Gniffke (10th grade), Robbie Hall (8th grade), Brody Lee (8th grade), Adam Giles (7th grade), Braylon Hoyer (7th grade), Drake Mitchell (7th grade), Anders Munoz (7th grade), Carsyn Peterson (7th grade) and girls Sydney Brown (10th grade), Lilli Matthews (10th grade), Bella Preheim (9th grade), Bailey Miller (9th grade), along with returning wrestlers are poised to make an impact.

“We bring back a ton of experience, even in our younger kids, and they’ve put in a ton of time and effort into getting better, getting stronger, and preparing for the season,” said Niesen. “This group, collectively, has probably done more offseason wrestling than any team we’ve had in our program to date.”

Coach Niesen is confident about the program’s trajectory. 

“I feel like we’ve established ourselves as a great program over the past few seasons, and now it’s time to take the next step and become a championship-caliber team. It starts winning some of those close matches and beating the kids we’re ‘not supposed to beat,’ said Niesen. “We’ve got the kids and staff in place and a great club behind us and I firmly believe we’ll go as high as the leaders on our team take us this year. We expect our kids to be fighters – to make every match the toughest one their opponent has had to face.”

With a strong roster and determined coaching staff, the Tea Area Titans are ready to leave their mark this season and continue building their legacy.

The Titan’s roster this year includes Boys—Seniors: Gabriel Bastemeyer, Colton Duffy, Braeden Dunkelberger, Dawson Eimers, Sam Werdel, Parker Wilson; Junior: Chase DeBoer, Ryder Henriksen Hayden Hostetler, Ashton Smit, Jaeden Waltner, Tyler Woodring; Sophomores: Samuel Bullis, Brayden Gniffke, Jeremiah Wilgers; Freshmen: Michael Bastemeyer, Trevor Cordell, Kade Eimers, Thiik Lual, Moris Wasesa, Beau Werdel, Slater Wilson; eighth graders: Dalton Cooper, Kooper Dumdei, Henry Fortin, Aaron Halbur, Robbie Hall, Brody Lee, Mason Smit, Mason Woodring; seventh graders: Adam Giles, Braylon Hoyer, Drake Mitchell, Anders Munoz, and Carsyn Peterson; Girls—Sophomores: Sydney Brown, Lillia Matthews; Freshmen: Lainey Haines, Bailey Miller, Isabella Preheim; Eighth Grader: Emery Voelker. 

This mix of seasoned athletes and rising talent positions the Tea Area Titans for an exciting season.