SDSU faces Mountaineers, Hokies

Thursday, February 9

Morgantown, W. Va.

6 p.m.

South Dakota State University

West Virginia

Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen

2/8/2017 11:40:00 AM | Wrestling

SDSU Wrestling Notes, 2-8-2017

After attaining its highest team ranking at the Division I level following two home dual victories last week, the 16th-ranked South Dakota State University wrestling team will travel east for a pair of duals.
The Jackrabbits, 12-3 overall and 6-1 against Big 12 opponents, open the week with a conference dual Thursday night at West Virginia. Start time against the Mountaineers is 7 p.m. Eastern (6 p.m. Central) at WVU Coliseum.
West Virginia is 2-11 overall in duals, including an 0-2 mark against Big 12 foes, but features two wrestlers who appear in the latest Intermat individual rankings. Dylan Cottrell is ranked 12th at 165 pounds, while 197-pounder Jake Smith is ranked fifth.
Thursday's dual can be viewed on Mountaineer TV at WVUSports.com.
On Sunday, the Jackrabbits will travel to Blacksburg, Virginia, for a matchup against fifth-ranked Virginia Tech. The Hokies have won 11 duals in a row heading into a Saturday dual against eighth-ranked North Carolina State and have compiled a 15-1 overall record. Virginia Tech's lone loss this season was a 23-19 setback at Missouri on Nov. 20.
The Hokies' lineup features seven ranked wrestlers, including five who are ranked in the top five of their respective weight classes: Joey Dance (third at 125 pounds); Zach Epperly (fifth at 174); Zack Zavatsky (fourth at 184); Jared Haught (third at 197), and Ty Walz (fifth at heavyweight).
Sunday's dual is slated for a 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time (11:30 a.m. Central) start at Cassell Coliseum on the Virginia Tech campus. The match can be seen on ACC Network Extra, ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN app.
Twitter updates for both matches will be available through @GoJacksWrestle.

THE SERIES: Each of this week's duals will mark the second-ever meetings between the Jackrabbits and their opponents. SDSU split against Virginia Tech (L, 16-20) and West Virginia (W, 18-15) last season, with both duals taking place in Frost Arena.
In the dual against Virginia Tech, SDSU led 16-11 through seven matches, but the Hokies won the final three weight classes by decision to pull out the victory. The Jackrabbits picked up bonus points in three of their four victories, highlighted by major decisions from Cody Pack (157) and David Kocer (174), and a technical fall by Alex Kocer (149).
#6 Virginia Tech 20, South Dakota State 16 (Nov. 21, 2015)
125: #3 Joey Dance (VT) tech. fall Anthony Cefolo, 17-2 (4:39)
133: Brance Simms (SDSU) dec. Kevin Norstrem (VT), 6-4
141: #10 Solomon Chishko (VT) dec. Seth Gross (SDSU), 10-5
149: Alex Kocer (SDSU) tech. fall Chad Saunders (VT), 16-1 (5:58)
157: #8 Cody Pack (SDSU) major dec. Jake Spengler (VT), 13-1
165: #20 David McFadden (VT) dec. Luke Zilverberg (SDSU), 6-4
174: David Kocer (SDSU) major dec. Cody Hughes (VT), 9-1
184: Zachary Zavatsky (VT) dec. Brady Ayers (SDSU),7-4
197: #19 Jared Haught (VT) dec. #12 Nate Rotert (SDSU), 3-2
285: #2 Ty Walz (VT) dec. Alex Macki (SDSU), 5-3

The Jackrabbits' win over West Virginia on Feb. 12, 2016, marked their first match as a nationally ranked Division I program and extended SDSU's school-record
winning streak to 12 duals.
#24 South Dakota State 18, West Virginia 15 (Feb. 12, 2016)
285: A.J. Vizcarrondo (WVU) dec. Alex Macki (SDSU), 2-1
125: #13 Zeke Moisey (WVU) dec. Ben Gillette (SDSU), 4-1
133: Brance Simms (SDSU) dec. Cory Stainbrook (WVU), 8-4
141: Seth Gross (SDSU) major dec. Tony DeAngelo (WVU), 13-1
149: Alex Kocer (SDSU) tech. fall Zachary Moore (WVU), 20-2 (5:52)
157: #5 Cody Pack (SDSU) vs. #13 Dylan Cottrell (WVU), 11-5 (SV-1)
165: Connor Flynn (WVU) dec. Luke Zilverberg (SDSU), 7-2
174: David Kocer (SDSU) dec. Ross Renzi (WVU), 7-5
184: Bubba Scheffel (WVU) dec. Brady Ayers (SDSU), 6-3
197: #14 Jacob Smith (WVU) dec. #15 Nate Rotert (SDSU), 5-4

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. Individually, five different Jackrabbit wrestlers appear in at least one Division I poll.
Returning NCAA qualifier Seth Gross holds the highest ranking ever by a Jackrabbit wrestler in the Division I era with a second-place ranking in the 133-pound division by Intermat and Trackwrestling following his victory over then-No. 2 Kaid Brock of Oklahoma State on Jan. 22. Gross, a national qualifier at 141 pounds last season, also is ranked fifth by WIN Magazine and FloWrestling.
Two-time NCAA qualifier Nate Rotert moved up in the rankings following his Jan. 22 win over fourth-ranked Preston Weigel of Oklahoma State on Jan. 22. A junior from Spearfish, Rotert is ranked sixth by WIN Magazine and seventh by Intermat, FloWrestling and Trackwrestling. Earlier this season, Rotert rose to as high as fourth in the Intermat rankings, which marked the highest individual ranking by a Jackrabbit before Gross' ascension three weeks ago.
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, who upset fifth-ranked Kyle Crutchmer of Oklahoma State on Jan. 22, is currently 15th in the FloWrestling rankings, as well as 16th by Intermat and WIN Magazine, and 18th by Trackwrestling. His older brother, Alex, appears in the 149-pound polls this week with rankings of 15th by FloWrestling and Trackwrestling, 16th by Intermat and 17th by WIN Magazine.
Rounding out the list of ranked Jackrabbit wrestlers is junior 165-pounder Luke Zilverberg. The Belle Plaine, Minnesota, native stands 15th in the FloWrestling rankings, 20th by WIN Magazine and 25th by Trackwrestling.
After being the top team to receive votes in the USA Today/National Wrestling Coaches Association preseason poll, SDSU held the No. 20 spot in the team rankings for eight weeks until moving up one spot to 19th on Jan. 17. Following their wins over then-No. 15 Oklahoma and Utah Valley last week, SDSU has risen to its highest-ever spot in the poll at 16th. The Jackrabbits first cracked the rankings Nov. 8 following their season-opening dual victory over Iowa State.
SDSU also is ranked 14th in the team dual rankings by WIN Magazine and stands 15th by Intermat, FloWrestling and Trackwrestling.

HOT STREAK: With a 12-3 record during the 2016-17 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 25 of its last 29 duals, with all four losses against nationally ranked opponents.
The victories at the 2015 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.
SDSU also is 12-3 in duals against Big 12 Conference opponents since joining the league as an affiliate member at the start of the 2015-16 season. The Jackrabbits' losses have been to Oklahoma State (twice) and Oklahoma.

LAST?WEEK: South Dakota State continued its dual success with a pair of victories at Frost Arena. The Jackrabbits knocked off 15th-ranked Oklahoma in dramatic fashion, 20-19, on Feb. 3, and concluded the weekend homestand a night later with a convincing 29-10 win over Utah Valley.
Against Oklahoma, Seth Gross came up with a pin in the final bout of the night to lift the 19th-ranked Jackrabbits to a 20-19 win on criteria before a crowd of 1,757 fans at Frost Arena.
Trailing 19-13 heading into the 133-pound match, the second-ranked Gross delivered. The sophomore from Apple Valley, Minnesota, recorded two takedowns of Trae Blackwell in the first two minutes of the match before turning his opponent on his back for a pin in 2 minutes and 24 seconds.
Gross' latest pin canceled out a pin by Oklahoma heavyweight Ross Larson two matches earlier and forced the dual to be decided on criteria based on team points. The Jackrabbits, in large part to seventh-ranked Nate Rotert's 14-5 major decision over 19th-ranked Brad Johnson in the 197-pound match, held a 50-47 edge in the team point category to earn the decisive team point.
Alex Kocer, ranked 19th at 149 pounds, claimed the first of two matches between ranked opponents, as he knocked off 13th-ranked Davion Jeffries, 11-9. Kocer turned a reversal into a four-point near-fall for the decisive margin in a wild second period.
In the dual against Utah Valley, both Gross and Rotert won by fall and two other Jackrabbits scored major decisions en route to the 29-10 victory.
Luke Zilverberg got SDSU off on the right foot with a 12-4 major decision over Koy Wilkinson in the 165-pound match. With the win, Zilverberg improved to 18-6 overall and 11-3 in duals.
At 157 pounds, SDSU's Logan Peterson avenged a loss to Raider Lofthouse of Utah Valley earlier this season at the Cyclone Open with a convincing 12-4 major decision. Peterson did not allow a takedown by his opponent in the match.
In all, the Jackrabbits won seven of the 10 bouts contested in the dual.

GROSS IN DOMINANT FORM: Jackrabbit 133-pounder Seth Gross leads the team with a 23-1 record after posting two more pins last weekend in home duals against Oklahoma and Utah Valley.
Gross's lone loss of the season was a 2-0 overtime decision to then-third-ranked Eric Montoya of Nebraska in the semifinals of the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships on Dec. 30. Gross later defeated Iowa State's Earl Hall by major decision to claim third place at the Midlands as part of his current nine-match winning streak.
A sophomore from Apple Valley, Minnesota, Gross has had only three matches end in a decision so far this season and entered last weekend's duals ranked as the seventh most-dominant wrestler among all Division I competitors with an average of 4.45 team points per match against D-I competition. He has five wins by major decision, six by technical fall and 10 by fall.
An NCAA qualifier at 141 pounds last season, Gross has a 49-15 career record with the Jackrabbits. He began his transition to the lower weight class by earning a spot on Team USA at the UWW Junior World Championships this past summer.

THE BROTHERS KOCER: Brothers and Wagner natives Alex and David Kocer have taken over the top two spots among active Jackrabbit wrestlers in career victories.
A two-time NCAA qualifier (2014, 2016), Alex Kocer has compiled an 87-38 overall record in his four seasons in a Jackrabbit singlet, moving into 18th place on the SDSU career victories list. A senior, Kocer has turned in a 21-5 overall record at 149 pounds so this season, after a 24-12 mark during the 2015-16 campaign.
David Kocer has held down the starting spot at 174 pounds each of his three seasons at SDSU and has combined to go 73-39 during his Jackrabbit career. He led the Jackrabbits in victories last season and made his first NCAA appearance, finishing with a 30-13 record.

WRESTLERS OF THE WEEK: South Dakota State University's Seth Gross was named Jan. 23 as Big 12 Conference Wrestler of the Week after winning a top-10 matchup against top-ranked Oklahoma State.
The seventh-ranked wrestler at 133 pounds, Gross defeated second-ranked Kaid Brock of OSU, 6-4, in dual action on Jan. 22. A sophomore from Apple Valley, Minnesota, and a returning NCAA qualifier, Gross has posted a 19-1 overall record so far this season, including a 9-0 mark in duals.
Gross, who also was honored as FloWrestler of the Week by FloWrestling.org, is the third Jackrabbit wrestler to be named Big 12 Conference Wrestler of the Week this season. David Kocer (174 pounds) received the award Nov. 7, with Luke Zilverberg (165 pounds) earning the recognition on Jan. 9.
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.
A junior 165-pounder from Belle Plaine, Minnesota, Zilverberg, a junior 165-pounder from Belle Plaine, Minnesota, helped the 20th-ranked Jackrabbits to convincing home victories over Boise State (37-3) and Northern Colorado (34-6).
After giving up a takedown late in regulation in his match against Boise State's Demetrius Romero that forced overtime, Zilverberg came up with a takedown of his own midway through the extra session to pull out the 5-3 win on Jan. 6.
Against Northern Colorado's Keilan Torres — ranked 14th by FloWrestling — on Jan. 8, Zilverberg trailed 3-1 in the waning seconds of regulation, but came up with a reversal to send the match to overtime. He then came away with his second 5-3 victory of the weekend with a takedown of Torres 14 seconds into the sudden-victory period.

ATTENDANCE RECORD FALLS AGAIN: South Dakota State shattered its home dual attendance record Dec. 2 as it drew 4,087 fans to Frost Arena for a matchup against third-ranked Iowa. The previous record of 1,814 was set in the Nov. 4 season opener versus Iowa State.

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 48-37 record that includes back-to-back winning seasons for the first time at the Division I level. Bono's career dual record stands at 87-54, 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.
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 two 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 two seasons. Individually, eight Jackrabbits wrestlers were honored on the 2016 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.
Bono earned his bachelor's degree in exercise and sports science from Iowa State in 1997.

THE ROSTER: The 2016-17 SDSU wrestling roster features 25 student-athletes from eight different states. Of the 25 wrestlers, eight are from South Dakota, seven are from Minnesota and four are from Iowa. California is represented by two wrestlers, while Colorado, Illinois, Kansas and Ohio each have one wrestler.
By class, three are seniors, six are juniors, four are sophomores, five are redshirt freshmen and seven are true freshmen.

A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits are scheduled to close out the dual season by hosting North Dakota State Feb. 19 at Frost Arena. Start time for the Big 12 Conference dual is 2 p.m.
Based on its national ranking, SDSU?also is in line to participate in the NWCA?National Duals Championship Series next week. Pairings and locations will be announced Sunday (Feb. 12).

-GoJacks.com-