The Bon Homme/Avon AAU wrestlers had an excellent season and ended their season at the AAU State Wrestling Tournament on March 15th -17th in Rapid City at The Monument. 16 wrestlers qualified for the AAU State Wrestling Tournament and 13 of those 16 came home with medals. Of those 13 wrestlers to bring home medals were two that brought home State Championship titles in their respective divisions and weight classes. They were Thayne and Tucker Tjeerdsma. Thayne Tjeerdsma Thayne Tjeerdsma is the son of Travis and Hillary Tjeerdsma. He is 13 years old and is an 8th grader at Avon. Thayne wrestled in the Schoolboy division in the 160-pound weight class. What Thayne enjoys most about wrestling is meeting new people and getting to go and wrestle at tournaments. Thayne started wrestling when he was four years old and because his older brother wrestled. Thayne’s favorite part of the AAU State Wrestling was winning first place and getting to go and enjoy the WaTiki Indoor Water Resort in Rapid City. One thing that Thayne would tell other kids that may be interested in wrestling would be to try it and do not give up because you will learn as you practice. His favorite wrestling moves are the fat man roll and spladle. Thayne will definitely be wrestling next season. Tucker Tjeerdsma Tucker Tjeerdsma is the son of Travis and Hillary Tjeerdsma. He is 12 years old and a 6th grader at Avon. Tucker wrestled in the Novice division in the 150-pound weight class. What Tucker enjoys the most about wrestling is being with his friends and all the people that he meets at tournaments. He still talks to kids that he wrestled against when he was five even though they are all in different weight classes now. Tucker started wrestling when he was three years old. He said that he started because his older brothers wrestled so it was just something that he did. Tucker’s favorite part of the AAU State Wrestling Tournament was willing his fourth state championship title. This was his third title in a row. When asked how he felt when he got to stand at the top of the podium as a state champion, Tucker said that he was happy. One thing that Tucker would tell other kids interested in wrestling or just learning would be that wrestling is a lot of work and the practices are not fun. Do not get him wrong, wrestling is fun, but one has to put a lot of work into it. Tucker’s favorite wrestling move is the cradle. He is planning on wrestling again next year. Congratulations to all the Bon Homme/Avon AAU wrestlers on a fantastic season. Thank you to all the coaches who dedicated their time and skills to help the youth wrestlers. Also a big thank you to the parents, fans and community for supporting the AAU wrestling program.