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South Dakota State University Athletics
Jacks, Bison tangle for second time
2/18/2016 3:21:00 PM | Wrestling
The nationally ranked South Dakota State University wrestling team will close out the 2015-16 dual season Sunday afternoon by meeting North Dakota State in Big 12 Conference action.
Start time for the dual is 2 p.m. at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse on the NDSU campus in Fargo. Video streaming of the dual will be available through GoBison.com.
The Jackrabbits, ranked 22nd in this week's USA Today/NWCA Division I poll, enter the matchup with a 13-6 dual record, including a 5-2 mark against Big 12 opponents. SDSU has won 12 of its last 13 duals, including a 24-15 home victory over the Bison Dec. 13.
NDSU, meanwhile, holds a 4-5 overall dual record and is 2-1 against Big 12 foes. The Bison are coming off a 22-15 non-conference victory over Northern Iowa on Feb. 13.
THE SERIES: Sunday's matchup will mark the 62nd meeting in wrestling between SDSU and North Dakota State, with the Bison leading the all-time series, 42-18-1. The Jackrabbits ended a seven-match losing streak to NDSU with their win earlier this season.
NATIONALLY RANKED: The South Dakota State University wrestling team reached a milestone in its Division I pursuits as the Jackrabbits cracked the USA Today/NWCA Division I top 25 for the first time on Feb. 9 by vaulting into the 24th spot on the strength of a long winning streak. SDSU moved up two spots to 22nd in this week's poll after splitting a pair of Big 12 duals against West Virginia and Oklahoma.
The Jackrabbits had received votes in two polls earlier this season (Nov. 17, Dec. 14).
SDSU also is currently tied with Ohio for 25th in the Tournament Power Index rankings compiled by WIN Magazine. SDSU was ranked 31st in the preseason TPI and previously climbed to No. 25 after its Dec. 13 dual win against North Dakota State.
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS UPDATE: Four South Dakota State University wrestlers appeared in the second NCAA coaches' panel rankings of the season, which were released on Feb. 11.
Representing the Jackrabbits in the rankings were: 125-pounder Gillette, three-time NCAA qualifier Cody Pack at 157 pounds, 174-pounder David Kocer and returning national qualifier Nate Rotert in the 197-pound weight class. A total of 33 wrestlers were ranked in each of the 10 weight classes.
A redshirt junior from Redfield, Gillette is tied for the 33rd and final spot in the 125-pound rankings. He has posted a 19-10 overall record entering action this weekend.
Pack, a senior from Quincy, California, holds the fifth spot in the 157-pound weight class. He recently recorded his 100th career victory and carries a 24-2 overall record.
Wagner native David Kocer cracked the 174-pound rankings at No. 30. He holds the team lead with 25 wins this season against 10 losses during his sophomore campaign.
Rotert, a sophomore from Spearfish, checked in at No. 13 in the 197-pound rankings. He has recorded a 23-8 overall record during the 2015-16 season.
The final rankings will be one of the tools used as part of the selection process to determine the qualifiers for the 2016 NCAA Division Wrestling Championships, which will be held March 17-19 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Wrestlers are measured by winning percentage, rating percentage index (RPI) and coaches' rankings to earn spots in their qualifying tournaments for the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Five Jackrabbits ranked outside the top 33 in the panel rankings appear in the top 33 for RPI in their respective weight classes. They include: Brance Simms (31st at 133 pounds); Seth Gross (23rd at 141 pounds); Alex Kocer (32nd at 149 pounds); Luke Zilverberg (26th at 165 pounds), and Brady Ayers (29th at 184 pounds). Alex Kocer moved into 20th place in this week's 149-pound rankings conducted by Amateur Wrestling News.
The next coaches' panel rankings will be announced in late February.
Pack and Rotert also are ranked in the latest polls conducted by a variety of wrestling-related media organizations.
Following is a look at rankings released by WIN Magazine, FloWrestling.org, Intermat and Amateur Wrestling News:
| Wrestler | WIN | Flo | Intermat | AWN | NCAA |
| Ben Gillette (125) | NR | NR | NR | NR | T-33rd |
| Alex Kocer (149) | NR | NR | NR | 20th | NR |
| Cody Pack (157) | 5th | 7th | 6th | 6th | 5th |
| David Kocer (174) | NR | NR | NR | NR | 30th |
| Nate Rotert (197) | 15th | 11th | 11th | 14th | 13th |
KOCER HONORED: South Dakota State University 149-pounder Alex Kocer has been named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week after picking up a pair of victories in dual action against league foes last weekend.
A junior from Wagner, Kocer scored a 20-2 technical fall over West Virginia's Zachary Moore on Feb. 12 as the Jackrabbits extended their dual winning streak to a school-record 12 matches. He closed the weekend with a 9-5 decision against Oklahoma's Davion Jeffries. With the two wins, Kocer improved to 21-8 overall and 13-5 in dual competition this season.
Kocer is the first Jackrabbit wrestler to earn a Big 12 Conference weekly award.
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 tournament semifinals.
A senior from Quincy, California, Pack has compiled a 109-33 overall record, including a 24-2 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 Sunday's dual against North Dakota State tied for seventh place on the Jackrabbit career wins list. He passed Mike Pankratz (108-27-2 record from 1990-94) with two wins last week and is tied with Chad Wickman (109-36 from 1996-99) for the seventh spot.
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: 24-2
Career Totals: 109-33 (includes 54-12 dual record)
20-WIN WRESTLERS: Five Jackrabbit wrestlers have reached the 20-win mark for the season in recent weeks, and three more are in line to join the group this weekend.
Sophomore 174-pounder David Kocer became the first SDSU wrestler to hit 20 wins this season, reaching the milestone in the Jan. 23 dual against CSU Bakersfield. Kocer has compiled a 25-10 record so far this season, including a 13-5 mark in duals.
Senior Cody Pack also reached the mark four weeks ago, posting his 20th win of the season Jan. 24 against Air Force. Pack, ranked fifth at 157 pounds, carries a 24-2 record into Friday's action, including a 13-1 slate in duals.
Sophomore and returning national qualifier Nate Rotert joined the 20-win group Jan. 29 against Wyoming. The 197-pounder from Spearfish has a 23-8 overall record during the 2015-16 campaign, including an 11-5 dual record.
Junior Alex Kocer and redshirt freshman Seth Gross joined the 20-win group last weekend with two victories each. Kocer, a national qualifier at 149 pounds two years ago, holds a 21-8 record that includes a 13-5 mark in duals.
Gross, an Apple Valley, Minnesota, native, has won eight of his last nine matches to improve to 20-11 overall and 11-6 in duals.
Three other Jackrabbit wrestlers – Brady Ayers, Ben Gillette and Luke Zilverberg – all have won 19 matches thus far during the 2015-16 campaign.
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 2015.
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 35-34 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 74-51 dual record in seven 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 will be in training until the Big 12 Wrestling Championship March 5-6 at the Sprint Centerin Kansas City, Missouri. Preliminary rounds of the tournament will be available for viewing live and on-demand through FloWrestling.org. The final round is scheduled to be televised live on FOX Sports regional networks.
The Big 12 Wrestling Championship schedule is as follows:
Saturday, March 5
10 a.m. — Preliminary matches and quarterfinals [Session 1]
5 p.m. — Semifinals and first-round consolations [Session 2]
Sunday, March 6
9 a.m. — Consolation semifinals, third- and fifth-place matches [Session 3]
1 p.m. — Finals [Session 4]
Players Mentioned
174
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197
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