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South Dakota State University Athletics
Jackrabbits return to duals at UNC
1/13/2016 2:41:00 PM | Wrestling
For the first time in more than a month, the South Dakota State University wrestling team will compete in dual action, traveling Friday to Northern Colorado for a matchup against a fellow first-year Big 12 Conference member.
Start time is slated for 7 p.m. Mountain Time (8 p.m. Central) at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley, Colorado. The match can be viewed at http://eversport.tv/big-12
The Jackrabbits have won four consecutive duals and enter their first competition of the new year with a 5-5 dual record, including an 0-1 mark in Big 12 action. In its last dual, on Dec. 13, SDSU recorded a 24-15 home victory over rival North Dakota State in a non-conference dual.
Northern Colorado, meanwhile, has not wrestled a dual in nearly two months and enters its first home competition of the season with a 1-2 overall record and 0-1 mark against Big 12 foes. The Bears dropped a 38-3 decision at Oklahoma on Nov. 19 in their last dual.
SDSU PROBABLE WRESTLERS:
125: Ben Gillette, Sr., Redfield, S.D. (13-7 overall, 1-1 dual record)
133: #18 Brance Simms, Sr., Gilmore City, Iowa (9-7 overall, 5-3 dual record)
141: Seth Gross, R-Fr., Apple Valley, Minn. (12-10 overall, 3-5 dual record)
149: Alex Kocer, Jr., Wagner, S.D. (14-6 overall, 6-3 dual record)
157: #6 Cody Pack, Sr., Quincy, Calif. (16-2 overall, 7-1 dual record)
165: Luke Zilverberg, So., Belle Plaine, Minn. (17-7 overall, 5-3 dual record)
174: David Kocer, So., Wagner, S.D. (17-9 overall, 5-4 dual record)
184: Brady Ayers, Jr., Waterville, Minn. (14-8 overall, 4-5 dual record)
or Ben Schwery, Jr., Underwood, Iowa (7-7 overall, 2-1 dual record)
197: #14 Nate Rotert, So., Spearfish, S.D. (16-6 overall, 4-3 dual record)
285: Alex Macki, So., Cambridge, Iowa (6-9 overall, 3-6 dual record)
THE SERIES: Friday's dual will mark the 36th meeting between South Dakota State and Northern Colorado on the wrestling mat, a series that dates back to the 1972-73 season.
The Jackrabbits hold a 23-12 series advantage and have won the last three meetings, including a 29-10 victory on Jan. 18, 2015, at Frost Arena. Back-to-back pins by Alex Kocer and Cody Pack at 149 and 157 pounds, respectively, paced the SDSU victory.
UNC had won won the first eight matchups between the two squads as Division I foes from 2004-05 through 2011-12.
RANKINGS UPDATE: Three 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.
| Wrestler | WIN Magazine | FloWrestling | Intermat | Amateur Wrestling News |
| Brance Simms (133) | 18th | NR | NR | NR |
| Cody Pack (157) | 6th | 7th | 8th | 6th |
| Nate Rotert (197 | 14th | 9th | 13th | 11th |
As a team, the Jackrabbits are currently ranked 27th in the Tournament Power Index rankings compiled by WIN Magazine. SDSU was ranked 31st in the preseason TPI and rose to as high as No. 25 after its Dec. 13 dual win against North Dakota State.
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. SDSU again received a vote in the Dec. 14 poll.
MIDLANDS RECAP: Cody Pack finished second in the 157-pound weight class and two other South Dakota State wrestlers advanced to placing matches during competition at the 53rd Ken Kraft Midlands Championships Dec. 29-30 in Evanston, Illinois.
Pack, a senior from Quincy, California, dropped a 4-2 decision to second-seeded Thomas Gantt of North Carolina State in the championship match. It marked only the second loss of the season for Pack, who posted a 4-1 record at the Midlands to run his season mark to 16-2.
The top-seeded Pack reached the championship match at Midlands for the second year in a row with a 6-2 decision over fourth-seeded John Boyle of American University.
Also advancing to placing matches were 174-pounder David Kocer and Nate Rotert at 197 pounds. Kocer wound up in sixth place after falling 4-1 to ninth-seeded Phil Bakuckas of Rutgers (N.J.) in the final session's fifth-place match. The sophomore from Wagner recorded two victories in the afternoon session, downing seventh-seeded Taylor Lujan of Northern Iowa, 5-4, then blanking Trace Engelkes from Northern Illinois, 9-0. Kocer later dropped a 3-2 decision to top-seeded Alex Meyer of Iowa in the consolation semifinals.
Rotert, seeded third, opened the final day of competition with a pin of eighth-seeded Michael Boykin of North Carolina State, but was later upended by fourth-seeded Brett Harner of Princeton (N.J.), 10-4. In the seventh-place match against No. 13 Ryan Wolfe of Rider (N.J.), Rotert gave up an early takedown, but came back to notch a 7-3 decision.
Two other Jackrabbits had their tournament runs end at the hands of wrestlers from Old Dominion (Va.) in their first action of the day during the second day of the tournament. At 125 pounds, Ben Gillette suffered a loss by technical fall to 11th-seeded Brandon Jeske, while 141-pounder Seth Gross dropped a narrow 4-3 decision to top-seeded Chris Mecate.
Over the two-day tournament, 13 Jackrabbit wrestlers combined for a 33-26 record. SDSU finished 10th out of 43 teams with 57 points and second among four Big 12 Conference teams competing in the two-day tournament. Iowa won the team title with 152 points, followed by fellow Big Ten Conference members Nebraska (135) and Rutgers (110).
PACK REACHES 100-WIN MARK: Three-time NCAA qualifier Cody Pack became the first Jackrabbit wrestler to reach the 100-win mark for his career in the Division I era, hitting the milestone in dramatic fashion at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships on Dec. 29.
After notching two decisive victories in the early runs to run his career win total to 99, Pack trailed ninth-seeded Markus Scheider of Columbia (N.Y.), 5-2, entering the third period of their quarterfinal match. Pack managed an escape seven seconds into the period and followed moments later with a takedown and pin to secure his 100th career win and a place in the tourament semifinals.
A senior from Quincy, California, Pack has compiled a 101-33 overall record, including a 16-2 mark so far during the 2015-16 campaign. Pack was granted an eligibility extension by the NCAA last spring after his first two seasons were cut short due to injury. His 37 wins last season tied for eighth-most in a single-season in program history.
Pack enters Friday's dual at Northern Colorado tied for 11th place on the Jackrabbit career wins chart with the late Mike Engels (101-14-1 record from 1971-74) and stands one win away from tying Tyler Jones (102-17 from 2000-03) for 10th place. A four-time NCAA Division II All-American, Jones was the last Jackrabbit wrestler to reach the 100-win milestone.
Following are Pack's year-by-year records:
2011-12: 5-1 (missed most of season due to injury)
2012-13: 15-16 (NCAA qualifier)
2013-14: 28-8 (NCAA qualifier)
2014-15: 37-6 (NCAA qualifier)
2015-16: 16-2
Career Totals: 101-33 (includes 46-12 dual record)
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 27-33 dual record.
During the 2014-15 season, the Jackrabbits posted their first winning dual record in nine seasons with an 11-8 mark, 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 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 65-50 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 29 student-athletes from eight different states. Of the 29 wrestlers, 10 are from South Dakota, five are from Minnesota and five are from Iowa. California and Illinois are each represented by three wrestlers, while Kansas, Nebraska and Washington each have one wrestler.
By class, four are seniors, four are juniors, seven are sophomores, four are redshirt freshmen and 10 are true freshmen.
A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits return to home action with three duals over a three-day span at Frost Arena. SDSU will host a triangular against Southern Illinois-Edwardsvile and Bakersfield on Jan. 22, followed by a Big 12 Conference matchup Jan. 24 against Air Force.
The triangular opens with SIU-E and Bakersfield meeting at 3 p.m., followed by the Jackrabbits and SIU-E at 5 p.m. SDSU and Bakersfield at 7 p.m.
Start time for the SDSU-Air Force dual on Jan. 24 is 11:30 a.m. and is designated as Military Appreciation Day.
Players Mentioned
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141
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197
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133
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