#SDSportsAwards, wrestling: Kyle Yasgar’s impact on the sport looms large

Kyle Yasgar is one of the most decorated wrestlers to emerge from Sioux Falls, and his success on the mat reverberated around the state.

Roosevelt’s 160-pound senior won his third individual state championship at this year’s state meet – each coming in different weight classes – a personal feat that helped elevate the Rough Riders to a runner-up finish in the team standings. He became the first Sioux Falls wrestler ever to reach 200 career varsity wins.

Yasgar won a 132-pound title as a freshman, and was the state’s Class A 145-pound champ last year as a junior. In those days he was something of a conservative and methodic wrestler, but by his senior year he’d transformed himself into a more confident, aggressive, offensive attacker on the mat. That was evident when Yasgar moved up to the 170-pound class to take on then-undefeated (and later Class A runner-up) Bradley Nelson of Aberdeen Central in a midseason duel, and scored a 19-8 major decision.

MORE: See other winners of the S.D. Sports Awards

Yasgar went undefeated against in-state competition as a senior, suffering only a single loss to an out of state opponent to finish with a 50-1 mark on the season. Skilled as he is, Yasgar made a mark on the Rough Rider squad as much for his lead-by-example maturity and toughness. As a result, he was named the South Dakota Sports Awards wrestler of the year.

“He learned pretty young that there’s going to be somebody better at some point in time,” said Rider coach Darrell Kortan. “He understands that you’re going to make a slight mistake here or there and you’ll get caught. I think he’s learned that, and he wraps himself around it. I really think he’s beyond winning — it’s about the growth and experience for him.”

Having wrestled for Kortan since early grade school, Yasgar spent a decade building toward a record-setting senior season, and now he’ll look to continue that success at Augustana, where he’ll wrestle for the Division II Vikings.

“In the past he has battled through some serious injuries and still has been able to accomplish some outstanding things on the mat,” said Augustana assistant coach Tom Meester. “We really like the toughness that Kyle will bring to our room and with a little bit of growth could make an immediate impact on our program.”