Jackrabbits host Central Michigan

DUAL 6: #18 Central Michigan (1-1) at #17 South Dakota State (3-2)

When	Friday, Dec. 8 \| 8 p.m. Central Time
Where	Frost Arena \| Brookings, South Dakota
TV	Video Streaming: FloWrestling.org (subscription)
Radio	None
Live Stats	TrackWrestling.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| Central Michigan
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram \| #GetJacked

BROOKINGS, S.D. — The South Dakota State University wrestling team will close the pre-holiday portion of its schedule Friday night by hosting Central Michigan in a dual between two nationally ranked programs.
Match time is set for 8 p.m. at Frost Arena and will be preceded by the Jackrabbit men's basketball team taking on Concordia (Neb.) at 5:30 p.m. At intermission of Friday's dual, SDSU will host a Teddy Bear Toss. The first 250 fans to bring a new teddy bear or unopened toy will receive a free Jacks shirt. The teddy bears and toys will be donated to the Sanford Children's Hospital in Sioux Falls.
Friday's dual will be available for viewing through the FloWrestling.org subscription service.
The Jackrabbits, ranked 17th in this week's NWCA/USA Today Division I poll, enter the weekend with an 3-2 record in duals after sweeping all three duals at last weekend's Dakota Showcase. SDSU's two dual losses have been at the hands of ranked opponents — a 20-12 home setback to No. 8 Minnesota on Nov. 17 and a 25-13 defeat at No. 11 Arizona State on Nov. 26.
Central Michigan, meanwhile, is 1-1 in duals so far this season. The 18th-ranked Chippewas opened the dual season with a 31-9 win over Michigan State on Nov. 17, before falling to No. 10 Virginia Tech two days later. CMU will close its road trip to the Dakotas with a Sunday afternoon matchup at North Dakota State.

THE SERIES: Friday's dual will mark the first-ever meeting on the wrestling mat between the Jackrabbits and Central Michigan.

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.
The Jackrabbits opened the 2017-18 season with a No. 16 ranking in the first NWCA/USA Today Division I Coaches Poll, and have since dropped one spot to No. 17 a month into the dual season.
Defending national champion Penn State is the top-ranked team in the poll, followed by Ohio State. Reigning Big 12 Conference champion Oklahoma State is third.
Besides Oklahoma State and the Jackrabbits, the Big 12 is represented in the poll by newcomer Northern Iowa (15th) and Oklahoma (21st).
Other current top-25 opponents on the Jackrabbits' dual schedule this season include Minnesota (eighth), Arizona State (11th), Central Michigan (18th) and Pittsburgh (25th).
The Jackrabbits also are ranked 11th by both FloWrestling, 13th by TrackWrestling and 16th by both Intermat and WIN Magazine.
Individually, all four of the Jackrabbits' returning national qualifiers appear in at least one Division I poll, highlighted by Seth Gross' No. 1 ranking by four rating services. The junior from Apple Valley, Minnesota, holds the top spot at 133 pounds in rankings condcuted by FloWrestling, Intermat, TrackWrestling and WIN Magazine.
Three-time NCAA qualifier Nate Rotert at 197 pounds is ranked sixth by both Intermat and FloWrestling, as well as eighth by WIN Magazine and TrackWrestling, Senior 174-pounder David Kocer is ranked as high as ninth by FloWrestling, followed by a 12th-place showing by Intermat and respective 16th- and 17th-place showings in the TrackWrestling and WIN Magazine rankings. A Wagner native, Kocer is a two-time national qualifier.
Completing the Jackrabbit rankings is Luke Zilverberg, who has dropped down to the 157-pound weight class for his senior season. An NCAA qualifer at 165 pounds during the 2016-17 season, the Belle Plaine, Minnesota, native checks in at No. 11 in this week's FloWrestling rankings. He also stands 12th in the Intermat rankings and 13th in the WIN Magazine and TrackWrestling surveys.

DAKOTA SHOWCASE RECAP: The South Dakota State University wrestling team won all three of its duals in convincing fashion against in-state competition Dec. 3 at the Dakota Showcase in Spearfish.
The Jackrabbits opened the day with a 51-4 victory over Dakota Wesleyan, followed by a 45-4 win against Northern State. SDSU closed the quadrangular by shutting out Augustana, 49-0.
Spearfish native Nate Rotert paced the Jackrabbits with three bonus-point wins. A three-time NCAA qualifier, Rotert opened the day with a first-period pin of DWU's Nick Woslum. Rotert then recorded a 20-3 technical fall over Northern's Diego Gallegos and closed the afternoon with a 14-5 major decision over Augustana's Clayton Wahlstrom.
Martin Mueller marked his return to the Black Hills region by also posting three bonus-point victories on the day. Mueller won each of his first two matches by technical fall before defeating fellow Rapid City native Aero Amo by major decision, 12-2.
Logan Peterson added three wins as he pinned his opponent in his opening match at 174 pounds, then came back with a pair of major decisions in the 165-pound division.

MSU DRAGON OPEN REVIEW: Four South Dakota State University wrestlers won individual titles and three others reached the finals during competition over the weekend at the MSU Moorhead Dragon Wrestling Open in Moorhead, Minn.
Winning titles in the Red Division (upper class) were 149-pounder Michael Prieto and Hunter Shelton at 157 pounds. A redshirt freshman from Garden City, Kansas, Prieto posted a 3-0 record, starting with a 16-1 technical fall over Samuel Gilseth of North Dakota State. He advanced to the finals with an 8-3 decision over Ridgewater College's Mark Voss, then claimed the title with a 7-4 decision over MSU-Moorhead's Zach Scott.
Shelton claimed his second individual title in as many tournaments. The Kansas City native received a first-round bye before winning an 8-4 decision over the University of Mary's Jakob Weisbrod. Shelton earned the title with a 12-3 major decision against Alfred Daniel of Rochester Community and Technical College.
Winning titles in the White Division (lower class) were 165-pounder Kelby Hawkins and Elias Vaoifi in the 174-pound weight class. A Groton native, Hawkins compiled a 4-0 record with decisions in his first three matches before pinning Mary's Jason Moore midway through the third period of their championship bout.
Teammate Devon Sievers placed third in the 165-pound division.
Vaoifi, from Independence, Missouri, cruised to the 174-pound title by outscoring his three opponents by a combined 54-11 margin. He claimed a 23-9 major decision over Michael Pruess of Minnesota West in the championship match.
Earning runner-up finishes were Kalen Morris at 125 pounds (Red Division), Samuel Grove at 184 pounds (White Division) and heavyweight Kevin Vough (Red Division). Vough extended his streak of pins to seven with falls in his first two matches before losing by pin to Brandon Metz of North Dakota State in the finals.
Morris won his first two matches before dropping a 9-8 decision to Noah Becker of St. John's (Minn.). Grove, wrestling in his hometown, fell 3-1 in his title bout against Jackson Schichel of Mary.
Other place-winners in the Red Division for the Jackrabbits included Rylee Molitor, third at 133 pounds, and Aric Williams, sixth at 149 pounds.

DUAL STREAK: Seth Gross brings a streak of 24 consecutive victories in dual competition into Friday's dual against Central Michigan. After winning his final five dual bouts at 141 pounds during the 2015-16 season, Gross posted a perfect 17-0 record in duals last season while wrestling at 133 pounds. He stayed unbeaten at 133 pounds and extended his winning streak to 24 with a 19-1 technical fall over Arizona State's Ali Naser on Nov. 26. Gross did not wrestle at last week's Dakota Showcase.
Of his 24 consecutive dual wins, 11 have been by fall, five by major decision, and four each by decision and technical fall to total 118 team dual points.
Gross' last dual loss was a 6-4 setback to Wyoming's Bryce Meredith on Jan. 29, 2016. Overall, he holds a 30-6 record in duals during his Jackrabbit career.

KOCER JOINS TOP 25: Senior 174-pounder David Kocer moved into the Jackrabbit top 25 for career wins during competition Nov. 5 at the season-opening Warren Williamson/ Daktronics Open. Kocer followed a runner-up finish at the Daktronics Open by winning his weight class at the Bison Open on Nov. 11. With an 8-2 record this season, Kocer has upped his career mark to 88-45 to move him into a tie for 18th place on the SDSU all-time victories list with two-time NCAA?Division II national champion Jeff Hohertz (88-23-1 record from 1977-81).
He also joins his older brother, Alex, in the top 25. Alex Kocer compiled a 96-44 record from 2014-17, ending his career with an eighth-place All-America finish at 149 pounds in 2017.

COACH BONO: Chris Bono has engineered a successful rebuilding process during his tenure as head coach of the South Dakota State University wrestling team and has the
program's sights set high for the 2017-18 campaign.
Entering his sixth season, Bono has helped mentor Jackrabbit wrestlers to qualify for the NCAA Championships 17 times, including a program-best five wrestlers during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. At the 2017 NCAA Championships, Seth Gross finished as runner-up at 133 pounds and Alex Kocer placed eighth at 149 pounds, giving SDSU its first All-Americans in the Division I era. As a team, the Jackrabbits posted their highest-ever finish at the NCAA Division I Championships with a 16th-place showing.
SDSU was ranked nationally for all but the first week of the 2016-17 season, climbing as high as No. 16 in the USA Today/NWCA Top 25. Facing a challenging schedule, the Jackrabbits posted a 14-5 dual record, including an 8-1 mark against Big 12 Conference opponents. SDSU also was selected as a host site for the 2017 NWCA National Duals Championship Series.
The Jackrabbits notched a third-place finish at the 2017 Big 12 Wrestling Championship, with Seth Gross being named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler after winning the 133-pound title. Bono was also honored as the Big 12 Coach of the Year.
In dual competition, Bono has led the Jackrabbits to a 53-41 record that includes three consecutive winning seasons for the first time at the Division I level. Bono's career dual record stands at 92-58, 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.
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, Bono led Team USA to a 13-point victory.
Under Bono's leadership, the Jackrabbit wrestling program has consistently raised the bar in promoting the sport through innovative social media strategies. SDSU has received the Gold Standard honor from the National Wrestling Coaches Association and Elite Level Sport Marketing three times as part of their Best of Brand Awards.
His teams also have performed well in the classroom, placing in the top 25 for team grade-point average in rankings compiled by the National Wrestling Coaches Association each of the past three seasons. Individually, seven Jackrabbits wrestlers were honored on the 2017 Academic All-Big 12 Conference Wrestling Team.
Bono joined the UTC staff in 2005 after serving nine years as an assistant coach at Iowa State. He was the Cyclones' head assistant coach for five seasons.
Bono lettered at Iowa State from 1994-97 and ranks fifth on the program's all-time wins list with 130 victories. He won the NCAA 150-pound title as a junior and was a four-time NCAA participant. Bono won the Big Eight title as a junior and was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the inaugural Big 12 Conference Championship in 1997.
He later served as an assistant coach at Iowa State for nine years, including holding the title of head assistant coach for five seasons before moving on to Chattanooga.

THE ROSTER: The 2017-18 SDSU wrestling roster features 33 student-athletes from 10 different states. Of the 33 wrestlers, 10 are from Minnesota, with nine from South Dakota and Minnesota. Missouri is represented by four wrestlers, while two wrestlers hail from California, Iowa and Ohio. Colorado, Illinois, Kansas and Wisconsin each have one wrestler.
By class, seven are seniors, four are juniors, five are sophomores, five are redshirt freshmen and 12 are true freshmen.

A LOOK AHEAD: SDSU will be off from competition for three weeks, returning to the mat Dec. 29-30 at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships hosted by Northwestern University. This year's tournament will be held at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

-GoJacks.com-

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Players Mentioned

Seth Gross

Samuel Grove

Kelby Hawkins

David Kocer

Rylee Molitor

Martin Mueller

Logan Peterson

Nate Rotert

Hunter Shelton

Devon Sievers

Elias Vaoifi

Aric Williams

Luke Zilverberg

Completed Event: Wrestling at NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on March 20, 2025 , , 23rd Place - 19.0 Points (1 All-American)

Completed Event: Wrestling versus Big 12 Championships on March 8, 2025 , , 3rd of 14 Teams - 110.0 Points (1 Finalist)

Completed Event: Wrestling at North Dakota State on February 23, 2025 , Win , 23, to, 10

Completed Event: Wrestling versus Iowa State on February 14, 2025 , Loss , 15, to, 20

Completed Event: Wrestling versus Northern Colorado on February 7, 2025 , Win , 30, to, 10

Completed Event: Wrestling versus Wyoming on February 1, 2025 , Win , 31, to, 3

South Dakota State University Athletics