Jackrabbits, Bison renew wrestling rivalry

The South Dakota State University wrestling team returns to Western Wrestling Conference dual competition Wednesday night, when it travels to North Dakota State.
Start time is slated for 7:30 p.m. at the Bison Sports Arena on the NDSU campus in Fargo.
The Jackrabbits remain in search of their first dual victory of the season. SDSU enters the matchup with an 0-5 overall record, including an 0-2 mark in WWC duals.
NDSU enters its WWC opener with a 6-7 overall record. The Bison won their last dual, defeating Minnesota State, Moorhead, 23-12, on Jan. 18.
Wednesday's dual is scheduled to be available on video webcast via a feed from North Dakota State through the Jackrabbit Extra subscription service at the official website of Jackrabbit athletics, www.GoJacks.com. Cost of the subscription service is $9.95 per month, and includes access to coaches' shows, student-athlete features and audio broadcasts of select Jackrabbit athletic events.

SERIES RECORDS: Wednesday's dual will be the 52nd dual meeting between NDSU and the Jackrabbits. North Dakota State leads the all-time series by a 32-18-1 count on the strength of an 11-match unbeaten streak against the Jackrabbits. SDSU's last win in the series was a 24-10 victory during the 1996-97 season, although the teams battled to a 19-all tie in the Jackrabbits' season finale last season.

LAST YEAR: The Jackrabbits and NDSU wrestled a home-and-home series during the 2006-07 season. NDSU won on its home mat, while the season finale ended in a 19-all tie.
North Dakota State 30, SDSU 14
South Dakota State gave up forfeits in three weight classes to North Dakota State, but managed to win four bouts in a 30-14 defeat at the hands of the Bison on Dec. 15, 2006, in Fargo.
The Bison received a forfeit at 141 pounds to start the match, then SDSU won four of the next five matches to take a 15-10 lead. Dan Bonte put the Jackrabbits on the board with a 4-0 decision over Gabe Mooney in the 149-pound weight class.
After Brad Gregory lost by major decision at 157 pounds, Ryan Meyer in the 165-pound division and 174-pounder Nate Althoff won by decision for SDSU. Tyler Sorenson then followed with the lone fall of the night, pinning Matt Wetterling in the 184-pound match at the 4 minute, 30 second mark.
SDSU's lead was short-lived, however, as Jacob Bryce decisioned the Jackrabbits' Travis Gottschalk, 9-5, at 197 pounds, and SDSU was deducted a team point for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The Bison then closed out the match by sandwiching two forfeits around an Eric Hoffman technical fall victory over the Jackrabbits' Marcus Waters at 125 pounds.
141: Ryan Klinger, NDSU, won by forfeit
149: Dan Bonte, SDSU, dec. Gabe Mooney, 4-0
157: Adam Aho, NDSU, major dec. Brad Gregory, 11-1
165: Ryan Meyer, SDSU, dec. Ben Imdieke, 10-4
174: Nate Althoff, SDSU, dec. Matt Hermann, 5-4
184: Tyler Sorenson, SDSU, def. Matt Wetterling, by fall 4:30
197: Jacob Bryce, NDSU, dec. Travis Gottschalk, 9-5
HWT: Justin LaGosh, NDSU, won by forfeit
125: Eric Hoffman, NDSU, tech. fall Marcus Waters, 15-0 (1:46)
133: Eric Sanders, NDSU, won by forfeit
Note: SDSU deducted team for unsportsmanlike conduct during 197-pound match
North Dakota State 19, SDSU 19
South Dakota State won six of the 10 matches, but the Jackrabbits had to settle for a 19-all tie with North Dakota State in Western Wrestling Conference action Feb. 18 at Frost Arena.
Nate Althoff put the Jacks on the board defeating Matt Hermann, 6-2, at 174 pounds. Chris Moran then pushed the Jackrabbit lead to 6-0 by upending Warren Gall, 5-2.
Heavyweight Jason Stripling downed Justin LaGosh, 9-5, to give the Jacks a 9-3 advantage over the Bison.
North Dakota State proceeded to take the lead in the match following a technical fall at 125 pounds and a forfeit victory at 133.
Derek Pirner brought the Jacks within two by downing Gabe Mooney, 5-0, at 141. After NDSU's Ryan Adams defeated Sean Flynn at 149 pounds, senior Andy Everson closed out his career at Frost Arena by posting a 17-4 major decision over Adam Aho at 157 pounds. The Mitchell native defeated Aho, 17-4, to bring SDSU within three.
Ryan Meyer secured the tie for SDSU by downing Mike Quamme, 7-0, at 165 pounds. The tie was SDSU's first since the 2000-01 season.
125: Eric Hoffman, NDSU, tech. fall Marcus Waters, 18-2
133: Eric Sanders, NDSU, win by forfeit
141: Derek Pirner, SDSU, dec. Gabe Mooney, 5-0
149: Ryan Adams, NDSU, tech. fall Sean Flynn, 20-5
157: Andy Everson, SDSU, major dec. Adam Aho, 17-4
165: Ryan Meyer, SDSU, dec. Mike Quamme, 7-0
174: Nate Althoff, SDSU, dec. Matt Hermann, 6-2
184: Chris Moran, SDSU, dec. Warren Gall, 5-2
197: Jacob Bryce, NDSU, dec. Travis Gottschalk, 4-2
HWT: Jason Stripling, SDSU, dec. Justin LaGosh, 9-5

ROSTER CHANGES: The Jackrabbits have had a couple roster changes since the beginning of the new calendar year.
Joining the team recently was Jeremy Swier, who is filling the 197-pound weight class. He is a sophomore from Colton, S.D., and a graduate of Tri-Valley High School.
Also joining the team is former Jackrabbit football player Mitch Pontrelli, who won his collegiate debut at heavyweight against Northern State on Jan. 18. A native of St. Paul, Minn., Pontrelli was a two-time state placewinner in wrestling for Johnson High School.
Pontrelli closed out his football career this fall by earning second-team all-Great West Football Conference honors after tallying 56 tackles, including eight sacks, from his interior defensive line position for the conference championship squad. Pontrelli, who never redshirted for football, is a junior eligibility-wise for wrestling. He would wrestle in the heavyweight division.
Coach Jason Liles also announced that 141-pounder D.W. Bradshaw and 149-pounder Nick Herrboldt have left the team.

SORENSON RETURNS: The Jackrabbits regained the services of sophomore 184-pounder Tyler Sorenson, who wrestled for the first time in nearly a year when he made his season debut during SDSU's duals at Utah Valley State and Northern Colorado in early January. Sorenson has gone on to post a 3-1 record in duals with a three-match winning streak.
A Garretson native, Sorenson ranked among the team leaders in victories with an 18-6 record during the 2006-07 campaign before suffering a season-ending injury in February 2007. Despite missing the final month of the season, Sorenson led the team with 247 match points and eight victories by technical fall.

STRIPLING LIKELY TO REDSHIRT: South Dakota State heavyweight Jason Stripling is a candidate to redshirt this season.
A regular in the Jackrabbit lineup since his true freshman season in 2004-05, Stripling has wrestled only in open tournaments during the 2007-08 campaign. During his first three seasons, the Minneota, Minn., native has posted a 51-30 record with 16 pins. He led the team in victories during the 2005-06 season with a 26-13 record, then was second on the squad with a 22-6 overall record during the 2006-07 campaign while earning second-team all-Western Wrestling Conference honors.

MEYER IMPRESSIVE AGAIN: Sophomore Ryan Meyer has picked up where he left off following an impressive redshirt freshman season in which he became the first Jackrabbit wrestler in the Division I era to qualify for the national championships.
Meyer, who began the season ranked 20th at 165 pounds by WIN Magazine, has compiled a 16-7 record, good for second on the team in victories. He opened the season by placing second in the 174-pound division at the season-opening Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open on Nov. 3, and won the 165-pound division a week later at the DWU Open in Mitchell.
Meyer ended the 2006-07 season with a 23-13 mark.

EVERSON LEADS TEAM: Redshirt freshman Adam Everson has been the team's top wrestler in terms of the number of victories this season. The Mitchell native has posted a 19-9 record, including a 2-3 mark in duals, while wrestling at 141 pounds. Everson opened the season with a fifth-place finish at the Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open, following that performance with a third-place effort before a hometown crowd at the DWU Open on Nov. 10.

A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits return to competition by hosting a doubleheader on Feb. 2 at Frost Arena. SDSU is slated to wrestle Dakota Wesleyan at 4 p.m., followed by a 7 p.m. matchup with Western Wrestling Conference foe Wyoming.

Calendar

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Players Mentioned

Adam Everson

Mitch Pontrelli

Tyler Sorenson

Jason Stripling

Jeremy Swier

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