Completed Event: Wrestling versus NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships - Day 2 on March 20, 2026 ,
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FINAL
Wrestling
vs NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships - Day 2
South Dakota State University Athletics
Jacks face No. 2 Iowa, in-state programs
12/3/2015 9:30:00 AM | Wrestling
The South Dakota State University wrestling team faces a busy weekend as it is scheduled to wrestle four duals in a three-day span.
The Jackrabbits, 1-4 in duals so far this season, open the weekend by squaring off against second-ranked Iowa Friday night in Iowa City. Action is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, with video streaming carried by Big Ten Network Plus.
The perennial national championship contender Hawkeyes enter the matchup with a 6-0 dual record and feature six wrestlers ranked in the top 20 of their respective weight classes, according to WIN Magazine, including Brandon Sorensen, who is the top-ranked wrestler at 149 pounds..
Iowa is the third consecutive team currently rated among the top four in the WIN Magazine rankings that the Jackrabbits have faced in dual action this season. SDSU dropped home duals to No. 4 Virginia Tech on Nov. 21 and No. 3 Oklahoma State on Nov. 27. The Jackrabbits' other two dual losses have been to two more top-25 squads — No. 21 Minnesota and No. 22 Virginia.
The Jackrabbits return to the Rushmore State on Sunday to compete in the South Dakota Showcase at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls. SDSU will take on each of the other three in-state college wrestling programs, starting with a noon dual against Dakota Wesleyan. The Jackrabbits also are slated to take on Northern State at 1:30 p.m. and Augustana at 3. The quadrangular will feature action on two mats.
Video streaming of all three South Dakota State duals will be available through a subscription service offered at FloWrestling.org.
THE SERIES: The matchup against Iowa will mark the fifth dual meeting between the Jackrabbits and Hawkeyes. Iowa has won each of the previous four duals at neutral sites, starting with a 29-6 Hawkeye victory in 1996.
The Jackabbits are a combined 69-16-1 in dual action against their three opponents at the South Dakota Showcase. SDSU holds a 37-15 record against Augustana, including a 30-3 victory in Sioux Falls last season. Against Northern State, the Jackrabbits lead the all-time series by a 28-1-1 mark and lead Dakota Wesleyan 4-0 in head-to-head matchups. SDSU defeated DWU, 54-0, in a dual at Frost Arena last season.
RANKINGS UPDATE: Four South Dakota State University wrestlers are ranked in the top 20 of their respective weight classes this week by a variety of publications and ranking services.
Luke Zilverberg became the latest Jackrabbit to crack the rankings, appearing at No. 20 in the 165-pound ratings conducted by Amateur Wrestling News.
Following are SDSU's other individual rankings:
• Cody Pack (157) — 6th by WIN Magazine and Amateur Wrestling News, 7th by Intermat and 9th by FloWrestling;
• Nate Rotert (197) — 10th by FloWrestling, 12th by Amateur Wrestling News, 13th by WIN Magazine and 14th by Intermat;
• Brance Simms (133) — 15th by WIN Magazine
NATIONAL MENTION: The South Dakota State University wrestling team reached a milestone in its Division I pursuits as the Jackrabbits received mention in the USA Today/ NWCA Division I Coaches Poll for the first time on Nov. 17.
The Jackrabbits were among six teams to receive votes in the poll but not crack the top 25.
LAST WEEK: South Dakota State's three ranked wrestlers all recorded victories, but the Jackrabbits dropped a 20-15 decision to fourth-ranked Oklahoma State Nov. 27 at Frost Arena.
OSU evened its dual record at 1-1, while the Jackrabbits fell to 1-4. All four of SDSU's dual losses have been to teams currently ranked in the top 25.
After losing by technical fall in the opening match at 125 pounds, the Jackrabbits got on the board as 16th-ranked Brance Simms recorded a 7-5, sudden-victory decision over Gary Wayne Harding in the 133-pound bout.
The Cowboys grabbed an 11-3 lead after back-to-back 5-3 decisions in the next two weight classes, but Cody Pack pulled SDSU back to within 11-6 with an 11-5 decision over Nick Blees in the 157-pound matchup. Pack, ranked seventh in the Intermat rankings, improved to 9-1 on the season.
Oklahoma State sealed the victory by opening the second half of the dual with three straight victories, including a 6-1 decision by top-ranked Alex Dieringer over SDSU's Luke Zilverberg at 165 pounds.
Nate Rotert recorded his first dual win of the season for the Jackrabbits in the 197-pound weight class. Rotert, ranked 14th by Intermat, defeated Jordan Rogers by decision, 15-10.
The dual ended on a strange note as Oklahoma State heavyweight Austin Marsden was disqualified for misconduct in the first period of his match against Alex Macki, which also resulted in the deduction of a team point.
#4 Oklahoma State 20, South Dakota State 15
125: Eddie Klimara (OSU) def. Kahlen Morris (SDSU), by tech. fall (20-2)
133: #16 Brance Simms (SDSU) dec. Gary Wayne Harding (OSU), 7-5 (SV-1)
141: #1 Dean Heil (OSU) dec. Seth Gross (SDSU), 5-3
149: #8 Anthony Collica (OSU) dec. Alex Kocer (SDSU), 5-3
157: #7 Cody Pack (SDSU) dec. Ryan Blees (OSU), 11-5
165: #1 Alex Dieringer (OSU) dec. Luke Zilverberg (SDSU), 6-1
174: #3 Kyle Crutchmer (OSU) dec. David Kocer (SDSU), 7-2
184: Nolan Boyd (OSU) major dec. Brady Ayers (SDSU), 11-2
197: #14 Nate Rotert (SDSU) dec. Jordan Rogers (OSU), 15-10
[Note: Rogers ranked No. 15 at 184 pounds]
285: Alex Macki (SDSU) def. #4 Austin Marsden (OSU) by DQ
[Note: Marsden disqualified for misconduct; OSU also deducted one team point]
BIG 12 TICKETS: Tickets for the 2016 Big 12 Wrestling Championship are now on sale. This season's championship, which will take place March 5-6 at Sprint Center in Kansas City, marks the first neutral-site conference championship for the sport.
Tickets can be purchased at Big12Sports.com/buytickets, SprintCenter.com; charged by phone at 888-929-7849 and Price Chopper Box Office at Sprint Center.
Tickets start at $40, with premium seating priced at $60 and VIP seats available for $100. The two-day event will feature four sessions of action, two on Saturday and two on Sunday. Each ticket purchased gains access to all four sessions. Special group rates are available for groups of 10 or more. For information on group tickets, call 816-949-7175, or email grouptickets@sprintcenter.com.
One hundred student-athletes will compete across 10 weight classes for a chance to be a Big 12 Champion and for automatic berths into the NCAA National Championship tournament. Big 12 programs have a rich history of wrestling success garnering 49 NCAA team titles and crowning 277 individual national champions.
South Dakota State will be competing at the Big 12 Wrestling Championship for the first time. SDSU was accepted as an affiliate member in July.
COACH BONO: Chris Bono has engineered a successful rebuilding process during his tenure as head coach of the South Dakota State University wrestling program.
Now in his fourth season, Bono has helped mentor Jackrabbit wrestlers to qualify for the NCAA Championships seven times and has posted a 23-32 dual record.
During the 2014-15 season, the Jackrabbits posted their first winning dual record in nine seasons and three SDSU wrestlers — Cody Pack, Nate Rotert and J.J. Everard — qualified for the NCAA Championships. Pack reached the national tournament for the third consecutive year at 157 pounds and was one win away from achieving All-America status.
SDSU also had three national qualifiers during the 2013-14 season as Pack, Joe Brewster and Alex Kocer all qualified out of the NCAA West Regional/Western Wrestling Conference Championships.
While leading the Jackrabbits, Bono was also tabbed as coach for the U.S. Men's Freestyle team at the 2013 Pan American Championships. In the world event, Coach Bono led Team USA to a 13-point victory.
Overall, Bono has a 62-47 dual record in six-plus seasons as a collegiate head coach. He previously served three seasons at Chattanooga (Tenn.), where he led the Mocs to three Southern Conference titles and coached two All-Americans and 19 NCAA qualifiers from 2006-09.
Bono also served nine seasons as an assistant coach at Iowa State after a standout career for the Cyclones. He lettered from 1994-97, finishing his career with 130 victories. A four-time NCAA qualifier, Bono won a national championship at 150 pounds as a junior, adding a runner-up finish as a senior and fifth-place showing as a sophomore.
THE ROSTER: The 2015-16 SDSU wrestling roster features 32 student-athletes from nine different states plus one Canadian province. Of the 32 wrestlers, 10 are from South Dakota, seven are from Minnesota and five are from Iowa. California is represented by three wrestlers, while two hail from Illinois. Kansas, Nebraska, New Jersey and Washington each have one wrestler. In addition, one wrestler hails from the Canadian province of British Columbia.
By class, three are seniors, four are juniors, seven are sophomores, four are redshirt freshmen and 14 are true freshmen.
A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits return home for their final dual of the calendar year, hosting North Dakota State on Sunday, Dec. 13. Action is slated to begin at 4:30 p.m., and will follow the SDSU-UC Santa Barbara men's basketball game at Frost Arena.
The telecast of the first of two meetings against the Bison this season will be aired regionally on Midco Sports Network.
SDSU and North Dakota State also are scheduled to wrestle Feb. 21 in Fargo, in what will be the Jackrabbits' final dual of the season.
Players Mentioned
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