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South Dakota State University Athletics
Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia Sports Media
SDSU wrestlers clash with No. 3 Iowa
12/1/2016 9:06:00 AM | Wrestling
For the third time in as many duals to start the 2016-17 season, the South Dakota State University wrestling team will take on a ranked opponent. Friday, third-ranked Iowa pays a visit to the Mount Rushmore State for a dual against the 20th-ranked Jackrabbits.
Start time is 7:30 p.m. at Frost Arena, with a record crowd anticipated. The match can be viewed via the FloWrestling.org subscription service.
The storied Hawkeye program is off to a 3-0 start to the 2016-17 dual campaign and features a lineup with seven individually ranked wrestlers. Iowa is especially loaded in the lower weights, where the Hawkeyes are led by two top-ranked wrestlers in 125-pounder Thomas Gilman and Cory Clark at 133 pounds.
SDSU, meanwhile, split its first two duals against ranked opponents, downing then-14th-ranked Iowa State, 27-9, on Nov. 4 at Frost Arena, before being edged by 16th-ranked Minnesota, 18-17, on Nov. 19 in Minneapolis.
The Jackrabbits will send three ranked wrestlers of their own to the mat — fourth-ranked Nate Rotert at 197 pounds, seventh-ranked Seth Gross at 133 pounds and 174-pounder David Kocer. Rotert's fourth-place ranking by Intermatis the highest by an SDSU wrestler in the Division I era.
SDSU also is scheduled to compete in a pair of other events this weekend. Several Jackrabbit wrestlers are slated to compete Saturday at the UNI Open in Cedar Falls, Iowa, with SDSU returning to dual action Sunday in Sioux Falls with three duals in the South Dakota Showcase at the Sanford Pentagon.
THE SERIES VERSUS IOWA: Friday's matchup against Iowa will mark the sixth dual meeting between the Jackrabbits and Hawkeyes. Iowa has won each of the previous five duals, starting with a 29-6 Hawkeye victory in 1996. The first four duals in the series were contested at neutral sites.
In last season's meeting, Dec. 4, 2015, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, the Hawkeyes won two matches by fall and added a major decision to down SDSU, 28-15.
Winners by decision for the Jackrabbits were Seth Gross at 141 pounds, Cody Pack in the 157-pound bout and Luke Zilverberg at 165 pounds. Nate Rotert picked up the final SDSU victory of the night via forfeit at 197 pounds.
125: #2 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) def. Kahlen Morris (SDSU), by fall 1:34
133: #2 Cory Clark (Iowa) dec. #15 Brance Simms (SDSU), 4-1
141: Seth Gross (SDSU) dec. Logan Ryan (Iowa), 3-2
149: #1 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) major dec. Alex Kocer (SDSU), 8-0
157: #6 Cody Pack (SDSU) dec. Edwin Cooper Jr. (Iowa), 6-5
165: Luke Zilverberg (SDSU) dec. Burke Paddock (Iowa), 4-2
174: #6 Alex Meyer (Iowa) dec. David Kocer (SDSU), 5-2
184: #8 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) def. Brady Ayers (SDSU), by fall 0:43
197: #13 Nate Rotert (SDSU) won by forfeit
285: Sam Stoll (Iowa) def. Alex Macki (SDSU), by disqualification
SOUTH DAKOTA SHOWCASE: Sunday's South Dakota Showcase is a dual quadrangular between the state's four collegiate wrestling programs. Competition begins at noon, with the schedule as follows:
Noon: SDSU vs. Northern State • Augustana vs. Dakota Wesleyan
1:30 p.m.: SDSU vs. Dakota Wesleyan • Augustana vs. Northern State
3 p.m.: SDSU vs. Augustana • Northern State vs. Dakota Wesleyan
The Jackabbits are a combined 72-16-1 in dual action against their three opponents at the South Dakota Showcase. SDSU holds a 38-15 record against Augustana, including a 31-9 victory in the South Dakota Showcase last season. Against Northern State, the Jackrabbits lead the all-time series by a 29-1-1 mark and lead Dakota Wesleyan 5-0 in head-to-head matchups. SDSU completed its sweep of the 2015 South Dakota Showcase with respective 36-12 and 48-0 victories over Northern and Dakota Wesleyan.
HOT STREAK: With a split of their first two duals of the season, the Jackrabbit wrestling team has continued an impressive run of success in dual meets. Dating back to December 6, 2015, when it won all three duals at the South Dakota Showcase in Sioux Falls, SDSU has won 14 of its last 16 duals.
The victories at the South Dakota Showcase began a school-record streak of 12 consecutive dual victories, which was eventually snapped on Feb. 14, 2016, with a 19-13 loss at Oklahoma. SDSU later closed the 2015-16 dual season with a 23-14 victory against North Dakota State.
RABBITS RANKED: South Dakota State is well represented both individually and as a team in rankings conducted by a number of wrestling-related media outlets.
In the individual rankings, two-time NCAA qualifier Nate Rotert is the highest-ranked Jackrabbit wrestler with a fourth-place ranking at 197 pounds by Intermat. A junior from Spearfish, Rotert also is ranked fifth by both FloWrestling and Trackwrestling.
Seth Gross also appears in all three rankings, holding the seventh spot in the Intermat 133-pound rankings, while being tabbed sixth by both FloWrestling and Trackwrestling. Gross was a national qualifier in the 141-pound division last season, but is off to a 6-0 start in the 133-pound weight class during the 2016-17 campaign.
At 174 pounds, junior David Kocer cracked the rankings after a strong opening weekend in which he knocked off two ranked opponents. The Wagner native and returning national qualifier is ranked 15th by Intermat, 11th by Trackwrestling and 18th by FloWrestling. His older brother, Alex, is ranked 24that 149 pounds by Trackwrestling.
Luke Zilverberg holding the 23rd spot in the 165-pound weight class in the individual Trackwrestling rankings, while junior 157-pounder Colin Holler recently moved into the individual rankings with showings of 20th in FloWrestling's poll and 21st by Trackwrestling.
After being the top team to receive votes in the USA Today/National Wrestling Coaches Association preseason poll, SDSU has held the No. 20 spot in the team rankings for the last three polls. The Jackrabbits first cracked the rankings Nov. 7 following their season-opening dual victory over Iowa State.
SDSU also is ranked 17th as a team by Trackwrestling and 19th by FloWrestling.
LAST TIME OUT: Minnesota won the final four matches, including the decisive match at heavyweight, to edge South Dakota State, 18-17, in a college wrestling dual between two nationally ranked teams Saturday night at the Sports Pavilion.
The 16th-ranked Golden Gophers were wrestling their season-opening dual, while 20th-ranked SDSU dropped to 1-1 in duals this season.
SDSU won five of the first six matches on the night, including major decisions by returning NCAA qualifiers Seth Gross and Alex Kocer. Gross, ranked seventh at 133 pounds, defeated Mitch McKee, 12-3, while Kocer scored a 10-2 major decision over James Berg at 149 pounds.
Ben Gillette opened the dual with an 8-1 decision over Skyler Petry at 125 pounds and Colin Holler scored a 6-4 decision over 18th-ranked Jake Short at 157 pounds. Luke Zilverberg gave SDSU a 17-3 lead with a 3-1 decision over Brandon Kingsley in the 165-pound bout.
The Minnesota comeback began at 174 pounds, where 17th-ranked Nick Wanzek edged 14th-ranked David Kocer of SDSU, 3-2. The Golden Gophers also had the upper hand in another battle between two nationally ranked wrestlers at 197 pounds, where Minnesota's second-ranked Brett Pfarr defeated fifth-ranked Nate Rotert, 7-0, to pull to within 17-12 in the team score.
The dual remained up for grabs entering the heavyweight bout, where fifth-ranked Michael Kroells of Minnesota met the Jackrabbits' Alex Macki. Unfortunately for the Jackrabbits, Macki was assessed multiple stalling calls in the match, leading to his disqualification and giving the Golden Gophers six team points to pull out the one-point victory.
#16 Minnesota 18, #20 South Dakota State 17
125: Ben Gillette (SDSU) dec. Skyler Petry (MINN), 8-1
133: No. 7 Seth Gross (SDSU) major dec. Mitch McKee (MINN), 12-3
141: Gannon Volk (MINN) dec. Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU), 6-2
149: Alex Kocer (SDSU) major dec. James Berg (MINN), 10-2
157: Colin Holler (SDSU) dec. No. 18 Jake Short (MINN), 6-4
165: Luke Zilverberg (SDSU) dec. Brandon Kingsley (MINN), 3-1
174: No. 17 Nick Wanzek (MINN) dec. No. 15 David Kocer (SDSU), 3-2
184: Bobby Steveson (MINN) dec. Martin Mueller (SDSU), 8-3
197: No. 2 Brett Pfarr (MINN) dec. No. 5 Nate Rotert (SDSU), 7-0
285: No. 5 Michael Kroells (MINN) won by disqualification (stalling) over Alex Macki (SDSU)
WRESTLER OF THE WEEK: South Dakota State 174-pounder David Kocer captured the first Big 12 Conference Wrestler of the Week award of the 2016-17 season, league officials announced on Nov. 7
A junior from Wagner and a returning NCAA qualifier, Kocer put together a 4-1 record over two events, including defeating two ranked opponents, during the opening weekend of the season. He recorded a takedown with two seconds remaining in his Nov. 4 dual match against seventh-ranked Lelund Weatherspoon of Iowa State to pull out a 3-1 victory and help spark the Jackrabbits to a 27-9 team win.
At the Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open on Nov. 6, Kocer turned in a runner-up finish. He recorded technical falls in his first two matches before defeating 14th-ranked Micah Barnes of Nebraska by a 3-1 decision in the semifinals. Kocer fell to 15th-ranked Zahid Valencia of Arizona State in the finals.
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 fifth season, Bono has helped mentor Jackrabbit wrestlers to qualify for the NCAA Championships 12 times, including a program-best five wrestlers during the 2015-16 season.
In dual competition, Bono has led the Jackrabbits to a 37-35 record that includes back-to-back winning seasons for the first time at the Division I level. Bono's career dual record stands at 76-52, including a highly successful three-year run at Chattanooga.
The Jackrabbits entered a new era during the 2015-16 season by joining the Big 12 Conference as an affiliate member. After dropping early season duals to nationally ranked Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State and Iowa, the Jackrabbits reeled off a school-record 12 consecutive dual victories that propelled them into the top 25 of the Division I team rankings for the first time.
At the 2016 Big 12 Championship, SDSU turned in a fourth-place finish as Seth Gross (141 pounds), Cody Pack (157) and Nate Rotert (197) all finished as runners-up in their respective weight classes. That Jackrabbit trio were joined by brothers Alex and David Kocer from the 149- and 174-pound weight classes, respectively, as qualifiers for the NCAA Championships in New York City.
Four of the five Jackrabbit wrestlers won at least one match at the NCAA Championships as the Jackrabbits finished in a tie for 39th place. Gross and Pack each finished one win away from achieving All-America status. Pack was making his fourth consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championships.
THE ROSTER: The 2016-17 SDSU wrestling roster features 26 student-athletes from eight different states. Of the 26 wrestlers, eight are from South Dakota, seven are from Minnesota and four are from Iowa. California and Illinois are represented by two wrestlers each, while Colorado, Kansas and Ohio each have one wrestler.
By class, three are seniors, seven are juniors, four are sophomores, five are redshirt freshmen and seven are true freshmen.
A LOOK AHEAD: Following this weekend, the Jackrabbits are scheduled to be off from competition until competing at the Midlands Championships in Evanston, Illinois. The two-day event hosted by Northwestern University is slated for Dec. 29-30.
-GoJacks.com-
Start time is 7:30 p.m. at Frost Arena, with a record crowd anticipated. The match can be viewed via the FloWrestling.org subscription service.
The storied Hawkeye program is off to a 3-0 start to the 2016-17 dual campaign and features a lineup with seven individually ranked wrestlers. Iowa is especially loaded in the lower weights, where the Hawkeyes are led by two top-ranked wrestlers in 125-pounder Thomas Gilman and Cory Clark at 133 pounds.
SDSU, meanwhile, split its first two duals against ranked opponents, downing then-14th-ranked Iowa State, 27-9, on Nov. 4 at Frost Arena, before being edged by 16th-ranked Minnesota, 18-17, on Nov. 19 in Minneapolis.
The Jackrabbits will send three ranked wrestlers of their own to the mat — fourth-ranked Nate Rotert at 197 pounds, seventh-ranked Seth Gross at 133 pounds and 174-pounder David Kocer. Rotert's fourth-place ranking by Intermatis the highest by an SDSU wrestler in the Division I era.
SDSU also is scheduled to compete in a pair of other events this weekend. Several Jackrabbit wrestlers are slated to compete Saturday at the UNI Open in Cedar Falls, Iowa, with SDSU returning to dual action Sunday in Sioux Falls with three duals in the South Dakota Showcase at the Sanford Pentagon.
THE SERIES VERSUS IOWA: Friday's matchup against Iowa will mark the sixth dual meeting between the Jackrabbits and Hawkeyes. Iowa has won each of the previous five duals, starting with a 29-6 Hawkeye victory in 1996. The first four duals in the series were contested at neutral sites.
In last season's meeting, Dec. 4, 2015, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, the Hawkeyes won two matches by fall and added a major decision to down SDSU, 28-15.
Winners by decision for the Jackrabbits were Seth Gross at 141 pounds, Cody Pack in the 157-pound bout and Luke Zilverberg at 165 pounds. Nate Rotert picked up the final SDSU victory of the night via forfeit at 197 pounds.
125: #2 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) def. Kahlen Morris (SDSU), by fall 1:34
133: #2 Cory Clark (Iowa) dec. #15 Brance Simms (SDSU), 4-1
141: Seth Gross (SDSU) dec. Logan Ryan (Iowa), 3-2
149: #1 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) major dec. Alex Kocer (SDSU), 8-0
157: #6 Cody Pack (SDSU) dec. Edwin Cooper Jr. (Iowa), 6-5
165: Luke Zilverberg (SDSU) dec. Burke Paddock (Iowa), 4-2
174: #6 Alex Meyer (Iowa) dec. David Kocer (SDSU), 5-2
184: #8 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) def. Brady Ayers (SDSU), by fall 0:43
197: #13 Nate Rotert (SDSU) won by forfeit
285: Sam Stoll (Iowa) def. Alex Macki (SDSU), by disqualification
SOUTH DAKOTA SHOWCASE: Sunday's South Dakota Showcase is a dual quadrangular between the state's four collegiate wrestling programs. Competition begins at noon, with the schedule as follows:
Noon: SDSU vs. Northern State • Augustana vs. Dakota Wesleyan
1:30 p.m.: SDSU vs. Dakota Wesleyan • Augustana vs. Northern State
3 p.m.: SDSU vs. Augustana • Northern State vs. Dakota Wesleyan
The Jackabbits are a combined 72-16-1 in dual action against their three opponents at the South Dakota Showcase. SDSU holds a 38-15 record against Augustana, including a 31-9 victory in the South Dakota Showcase last season. Against Northern State, the Jackrabbits lead the all-time series by a 29-1-1 mark and lead Dakota Wesleyan 5-0 in head-to-head matchups. SDSU completed its sweep of the 2015 South Dakota Showcase with respective 36-12 and 48-0 victories over Northern and Dakota Wesleyan.
HOT STREAK: With a split of their first two duals of the season, the Jackrabbit wrestling team has continued an impressive run of success in dual meets. Dating back to December 6, 2015, when it won all three duals at the South Dakota Showcase in Sioux Falls, SDSU has won 14 of its last 16 duals.
The victories at the South Dakota Showcase began a school-record streak of 12 consecutive dual victories, which was eventually snapped on Feb. 14, 2016, with a 19-13 loss at Oklahoma. SDSU later closed the 2015-16 dual season with a 23-14 victory against North Dakota State.
RABBITS RANKED: South Dakota State is well represented both individually and as a team in rankings conducted by a number of wrestling-related media outlets.
In the individual rankings, two-time NCAA qualifier Nate Rotert is the highest-ranked Jackrabbit wrestler with a fourth-place ranking at 197 pounds by Intermat. A junior from Spearfish, Rotert also is ranked fifth by both FloWrestling and Trackwrestling.
Seth Gross also appears in all three rankings, holding the seventh spot in the Intermat 133-pound rankings, while being tabbed sixth by both FloWrestling and Trackwrestling. Gross was a national qualifier in the 141-pound division last season, but is off to a 6-0 start in the 133-pound weight class during the 2016-17 campaign.
At 174 pounds, junior David Kocer cracked the rankings after a strong opening weekend in which he knocked off two ranked opponents. The Wagner native and returning national qualifier is ranked 15th by Intermat, 11th by Trackwrestling and 18th by FloWrestling. His older brother, Alex, is ranked 24that 149 pounds by Trackwrestling.
Luke Zilverberg holding the 23rd spot in the 165-pound weight class in the individual Trackwrestling rankings, while junior 157-pounder Colin Holler recently moved into the individual rankings with showings of 20th in FloWrestling's poll and 21st by Trackwrestling.
After being the top team to receive votes in the USA Today/National Wrestling Coaches Association preseason poll, SDSU has held the No. 20 spot in the team rankings for the last three polls. The Jackrabbits first cracked the rankings Nov. 7 following their season-opening dual victory over Iowa State.
SDSU also is ranked 17th as a team by Trackwrestling and 19th by FloWrestling.
LAST TIME OUT: Minnesota won the final four matches, including the decisive match at heavyweight, to edge South Dakota State, 18-17, in a college wrestling dual between two nationally ranked teams Saturday night at the Sports Pavilion.
The 16th-ranked Golden Gophers were wrestling their season-opening dual, while 20th-ranked SDSU dropped to 1-1 in duals this season.
SDSU won five of the first six matches on the night, including major decisions by returning NCAA qualifiers Seth Gross and Alex Kocer. Gross, ranked seventh at 133 pounds, defeated Mitch McKee, 12-3, while Kocer scored a 10-2 major decision over James Berg at 149 pounds.
Ben Gillette opened the dual with an 8-1 decision over Skyler Petry at 125 pounds and Colin Holler scored a 6-4 decision over 18th-ranked Jake Short at 157 pounds. Luke Zilverberg gave SDSU a 17-3 lead with a 3-1 decision over Brandon Kingsley in the 165-pound bout.
The Minnesota comeback began at 174 pounds, where 17th-ranked Nick Wanzek edged 14th-ranked David Kocer of SDSU, 3-2. The Golden Gophers also had the upper hand in another battle between two nationally ranked wrestlers at 197 pounds, where Minnesota's second-ranked Brett Pfarr defeated fifth-ranked Nate Rotert, 7-0, to pull to within 17-12 in the team score.
The dual remained up for grabs entering the heavyweight bout, where fifth-ranked Michael Kroells of Minnesota met the Jackrabbits' Alex Macki. Unfortunately for the Jackrabbits, Macki was assessed multiple stalling calls in the match, leading to his disqualification and giving the Golden Gophers six team points to pull out the one-point victory.
#16 Minnesota 18, #20 South Dakota State 17
125: Ben Gillette (SDSU) dec. Skyler Petry (MINN), 8-1
133: No. 7 Seth Gross (SDSU) major dec. Mitch McKee (MINN), 12-3
141: Gannon Volk (MINN) dec. Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU), 6-2
149: Alex Kocer (SDSU) major dec. James Berg (MINN), 10-2
157: Colin Holler (SDSU) dec. No. 18 Jake Short (MINN), 6-4
165: Luke Zilverberg (SDSU) dec. Brandon Kingsley (MINN), 3-1
174: No. 17 Nick Wanzek (MINN) dec. No. 15 David Kocer (SDSU), 3-2
184: Bobby Steveson (MINN) dec. Martin Mueller (SDSU), 8-3
197: No. 2 Brett Pfarr (MINN) dec. No. 5 Nate Rotert (SDSU), 7-0
285: No. 5 Michael Kroells (MINN) won by disqualification (stalling) over Alex Macki (SDSU)
WRESTLER OF THE WEEK: South Dakota State 174-pounder David Kocer captured the first Big 12 Conference Wrestler of the Week award of the 2016-17 season, league officials announced on Nov. 7
A junior from Wagner and a returning NCAA qualifier, Kocer put together a 4-1 record over two events, including defeating two ranked opponents, during the opening weekend of the season. He recorded a takedown with two seconds remaining in his Nov. 4 dual match against seventh-ranked Lelund Weatherspoon of Iowa State to pull out a 3-1 victory and help spark the Jackrabbits to a 27-9 team win.
At the Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open on Nov. 6, Kocer turned in a runner-up finish. He recorded technical falls in his first two matches before defeating 14th-ranked Micah Barnes of Nebraska by a 3-1 decision in the semifinals. Kocer fell to 15th-ranked Zahid Valencia of Arizona State in the finals.
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 fifth season, Bono has helped mentor Jackrabbit wrestlers to qualify for the NCAA Championships 12 times, including a program-best five wrestlers during the 2015-16 season.
In dual competition, Bono has led the Jackrabbits to a 37-35 record that includes back-to-back winning seasons for the first time at the Division I level. Bono's career dual record stands at 76-52, including a highly successful three-year run at Chattanooga.
The Jackrabbits entered a new era during the 2015-16 season by joining the Big 12 Conference as an affiliate member. After dropping early season duals to nationally ranked Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State and Iowa, the Jackrabbits reeled off a school-record 12 consecutive dual victories that propelled them into the top 25 of the Division I team rankings for the first time.
At the 2016 Big 12 Championship, SDSU turned in a fourth-place finish as Seth Gross (141 pounds), Cody Pack (157) and Nate Rotert (197) all finished as runners-up in their respective weight classes. That Jackrabbit trio were joined by brothers Alex and David Kocer from the 149- and 174-pound weight classes, respectively, as qualifiers for the NCAA Championships in New York City.
Four of the five Jackrabbit wrestlers won at least one match at the NCAA Championships as the Jackrabbits finished in a tie for 39th place. Gross and Pack each finished one win away from achieving All-America status. Pack was making his fourth consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championships.
THE ROSTER: The 2016-17 SDSU wrestling roster features 26 student-athletes from eight different states. Of the 26 wrestlers, eight are from South Dakota, seven are from Minnesota and four are from Iowa. California and Illinois are represented by two wrestlers each, while Colorado, Kansas and Ohio each have one wrestler.
By class, three are seniors, seven are juniors, four are sophomores, five are redshirt freshmen and seven are true freshmen.
A LOOK AHEAD: Following this weekend, the Jackrabbits are scheduled to be off from competition until competing at the Midlands Championships in Evanston, Illinois. The two-day event hosted by Northwestern University is slated for Dec. 29-30.
-GoJacks.com-
Players Mentioned
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HWT
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