Jacks back on the mat in Minnesota

Sunday, November 25

Minneapolis, Minn.

1 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Minnesota

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

11/20/2018 3:35:00 PM | Wrestling

Dual 3: RV South Dakota State (0-2) at #10 Minnesota (1-1)

When	Sunday, Nov. 25 \| 1 p.m. Central Time
Where	Maturi Pavilion \| Minneapolis, Minnesota
TV	FloWrestling.org (subscription required) \| BTN2Go.com (subscription required)
Radio	None
Live Stats	TrackWrestling.com
Match Notes	South Dakota State \| Minnesota
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram \| #StayJacked

The South Dakota State University wrestling team wraps up a string of three consecutive duals against ranked opponents, traveling Sunday afternoon to Minnesota.

Action is slated to begin at 1 p.m. at Maturi Pavilion on the U of M campus in Minneapolis. The dual will be available for viewing through FloWrestling.org and BTN2Go.com subscription services.

The Jackrabbits enter the matchup in search of their first dual win of the season after falling to then-No. 11 Arizona State (L, 9-30) and No. 4 Oklahoma State (L, 6-45) the past two weeks.

Minnesota is 1-1 in duals after also dropping a dual last weekend to Oklahoma State, falling by a 23-9 score. The 10th-ranked Golden Gophers' dual win was a 33-3 triumph over another Big 12 Conference foe, Air Force, in their Nov. 9 season opener.

The Golden Gophers feature a lineup with ranked wrestlers in each of the first five weights and seven weight classes overall, according to FloWrestling. The only potential head-to-head matchup between ranked wrestlers could occur at 149 pounds, where No. 13 Tommy Thorn of Minnesota would square off against No. 16 Henry Pohlmeyer of SDSU in a rematch from the title bout at the season-opening Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open hosted by the Jackrabbits on Nov. 4. Pohlmeyer decisioned Thorn, 4-3, in that match to propel Pohlmeyer into the 149-pound rankings.

Defending 133-pound national champion Seth Gross of SDSU is not expected to wrestle for the second week in a row due to injury, negating a potential matchup with seventh-ranked Ethan Lizak.

Sunday's match will mark a homecoming for first-year SDSU head coach Damion Hahn, who wrestled at Minnesota from 2001-04 and won NCAA individual national titles as a junior and senior. Hahn was inducted into the Minnesota's M Club Hall of Fame over the summer.

THE SERIES: Minnesota has held the upper hand over the Jackrabbits in dual action, leading the all-time series, which dates back to the 1949-50 season, by a 24-4 count.

SDSU's last victory over the Golden Gophers was a 23-18 triumph during the 1974-75 campaign.

The two programs met Nov. 17 2017, at Frost Arena, with Minnesota pulling out a 20-12 victory in the Jackrabbits' season-opening dual. The dual was contested before a crowd of 3,063 – the second largest for a dual in program history.

The Golden Gophers won six of 10 matches, including two by major decision. Back-to-back wins by Tommy Thorn at 141 pounds and Hunter Marko in the 149-pound weight class upped the Minnesota lead to 17-6 with three matches to go.

Each of the Jackrabbits' three ranked wrestlers who competed in the dual won by decision, including two over ranked opponents. At 133 pounds, top-ranked Seth Gross fended off a late challenge from sixth-ranked Mitch McKee to win, 9-4. Gross recorded a takedown 40 seconds into the match and carried a 5-0 lead into the final period. McKee recorded a pair of third-period takedowns before Gross scored on a reversal and added another point for a riding-time advantage to make the final score 9-4.

The 157-pound matchup featured 10th-ranked Jake Short of Minnesota 14th-ranked Luke Zilverberg for the Jackrabbits. Zilverberg was the aggressor from the outset as he notched an early takedown to build a two-minute riding-time advantage en route to a 5-2 decision.

David Kocer, ranked 10th at 174 pounds, closed the dual with a 6-2 decision over Chris Pfarr.

#10 MINNESOTA 20, #14 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 12 (Nov. 17, 2017)
184: Owen Webster (MINN) dec. Martin Mueller (SDSU), 6-2
197: Brady Ayers (SDSU) dec. Bobby Steveson (MINN), 8-6 [SV-1]
285: Rylee Streifel (MINN) dec. Alex Macki (SDSU), 4-1
125: #5 Ethan Lizak (MINN) major dec. Connor Brown (SDSU), 11-0
133: #1 Seth Gross (SDSU) dec. #6 Mitch McKee (MINN), 9-4
141: #7 Tommy Thorn (MINN) major dec. Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU), 13-4
149: Hunter Marko (MINN) dec. Colten Carlson (SDSU), 3-2
157: #14 Luke Zilverberg (SDSU) dec. #10 Jake Short (MINN), 5-2
165: #9 Nick Wanzek (MINN) dec. Zach Carlson (SDSU), 8-5
174: #10 David Kocer (SDSU) dec. Chris Pfarr (MINN), 6-2

DUAL STREAK ENDS: South Dakota State had its school-record 14-dual winning streak come to an end Nov. 11, when the Jackrabbits fell to Arizona State, 30-9. The streak began last Dec. 3, when the Jackrabbits won all three of their duals against in-state foes at the Dakota Showcase in Spearfish.

SDSU outscored the opposition, 426-129, during its winning streak, which included an 8-0 mark against Big 12 Conference opponents.

BIG 12 SUCCESS: Now in its fourth season as an affiliate member of the Big 12 Conference for wrestling, South Dakota State has established itself as one of the top teams in the league.

Since joining the league at the start of the 2015-16 season, the Jackrabbits have combined to post a 22-4 record in duals against Big 12 foes, including a 15-2 mark over the last two-plus seasons. SDSU's only losses have been to teams from the state of Oklahoma — three to Oklahoma State and one to Oklahoma.

The Jackrabbits also have turned in back-to-back third place efforts at the Big 12 Wrestling Championship the past two seasons after a fourth-place finish at their inaugural league meet in 2016.

RABBITS RANKED: The South Dakota State University wrestling team entered the 2018-19 season ranked in a tie for 20th place in the preseason poll conducted by the National Wrestling Coaches Association, but has since dropped out of the top 25 after losses in its first two duals.

The Jackrabbits return three national qualifiers from a squad that posted a 14-2 dual record and turned in a 12th-place finish at the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Defending national champion Penn State received all 16 first-place votes to hold the top spot. Ohio State is second, followed by Iowa in the third spot.

Five Big 12 Conference programs are included in this week's top 25. Oklahoma State is the highest-ranked team at No. 4, while the other four are separated by five spots as Northern Iowa (18th), North Dakota State (19th), Wyoming (20th), and Utah Valley (22nd) round out the poll.

Other Jackrabbit dual opponents currently ranked in the top 25 include No. 10 Minnesota, No. 16 Arizona State and 24th-ranked Pittsburgh. SDSU and Iowa State are receiving votes.

In other polls, the Jackrabbits are ranked 20th by FloWrestling, TrackWrestling and Intermat (tournament). SDSU also is tied for 19th in the most recent WIN Magazine Tournament Power Index.

Individually, defending national champion Seth Gross is a unanimous No. 1 selection in the 133-pound weight class, receiving top billing from all major ranking services despite wrestling only once so far this season. Gross posted a 29-1 overall record during the 2017-18 season in making his second consecutive appearance in a national-title bout. He defeated Michigan's Stevan Micic, 13-8, in the 133-pound finale in Cleveland, Ohio, in March.

Junior 149-pounder Henry Pohlmeyer also appears in national rankings, checking in at No. 14 in the The Open Mat and Intermat rankings, as well as No. 15 by WIN Magazine, 16th by FloWrestling and 17th by TrackWrestling. Pohlmeyer previously was in the 141-pound preseason rankings.

SDSU's third returning national qualifier, Martin Mueller, was tabbed 16th in WIN Magazine's preseason 184-pound rankings, but is moving up to the 197 weight class during his junior campaign. Mueller has been sidelined by injury since the Nov. 4 Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open.

LAST WEEK: The Jackrabbits opened the home dual portion of their schedule with a 45-6 defeat at the hands of fourth-ranked Oklahoma State Nov. 17 at Frost Arena. The Cowboys recorded four pins and won two more matches by technical fall against an undermanned South Dakota State squad in the first Big 12 Conference wrestling dual of the season for both squads.

OSU, which features a ranked wrestler throughout its 10-man lineup, got of the gates quickly with back-to-back technical falls by Nick Piccininni and Daton Fix. Piccininni, ranked fourth at 125 pounds, scored a 16-1, first-period tech fall over SDSU's Gregory Coapstick.

At 133 pounds, defending national champion and top-ranked Seth Gross of SDSU was held out of the lineup due to injury, shelving a highly anticipated matchup against Fix, who is ranked No. 10. Fix instead wrestled Spencer Huber and gave the Cowboys a 10-0 lead with a 19-1 second-period technical fall.

Henry Pohlmeyer, ranked 17th at 149 pounds, earned the only points for the Jackrabbits by winning due to injury default over fifth-ranked Boo Lewallen. Pohlmeyer was the aggressor early, scoring on a takedown and two-point near-fall before Lewallen suffered a match-ending injury late in the first period.

Oklahoma State countered with three consecutive pins as Andrew Shomers, Chandler Rogers and Jacobe Smith all won by fall. Andrew Marsden added a pin at 197 pounds.

At 184 pounds, the Jackrabbits' Zach Carlson battled to the end in his match against Dakota Geer, but suffered his first loss of the season by a 12-9 decision.

#4 OKLAHOMA STATE 45, #22 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 6
125: #4 Nick Pinccininni (OSU) tech. fall Gregory Coapstick (SDSU), 16-1 [2:14]
133: #10 Daton Fix (OSU) tech. fall Spencer Huber (SDSU), 19-1 [4:43]
141: #4 Kaid Brock (OSU) major dec. Rylee Molitor (SDSU), 17-4
149: #17 Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU) def. #5 Boo Lewallen (OSU), by injury default [2:41]
157: #20 Andrew Shomers (OSU) pinned Colten Carlson (SDSU), 3:52
165: Chandler Rogers (OSU) pinned Logan Peterson (SDSU), 5:36
174: Jacobe Smith (OSU) pinned Brett Bye (SDSU), 4:19
184: Dakota Geer (OSU) dec. Zach Carlson (SDSU), 12-9
197: Andrew Marsden (OSU) pinned Samuel Grove (SDSU), 1:36
285: #3 Derek White (OSU) major dec. Blake Wolters (SDSU), 14-5
NOTES: Rogers ranked eighth at 174 pounds; Smith ranked 10th at 184 pounds for OSU

Finn Grinaker Open Recap
Elsewhere last weekend, freshman Clay Carlson won his second consecutive tournament title and two other Jackrabbit wrestlers earning top-five finishes at the Finn Grinaker Open in Moorhead, Minnesota.

Wrestling at 141 pounds, Carlson ran his season record to 11-2 by winning all four of his matches. He posted wins by fall, major decision and decision before earning the Gold Division title with a 22-6 technical fall over North Dakota State's Stuhl early in the third period.

Fellow freshman Kenny O'Neil turned in a 3-1 record to place third at 165 pounds, while first-year heavyweight Bowen McConville notched a 2-2 record en route to a fifth-place finish.

GROSS SEEKS REPEAT: South Dakota State's Seth Gross will seek to repeat as national champion in the 133-pound division during his senior season in 2018-19.

Gross, a native of Apple Valley, Minnesota, qualified for nationals each of his first three seasons, competing at 141 pounds during the 2015-16 season before making back-to-back appearances in the 133-pound finals as a sophomore and junior.

Last season, Gross was honored as the Big 12 Conference Wrestler of the Year after repeating as 133-pound champion and was a finalist for the Dan Hodge Trophy, which is awarded annually to the top collegiate wrestler. In posting a 29-1 overall record, Gross' only loss came when he moved up a weight class to take on top-ranked 141-pounder Bryce Meredith of Wyoming in dual action, dropping a 4-2 decision.

Gross' victory in the 2018 title match marked SDSU's first national championship — team or individual — in the Division I era, which began during the 2004-05 athletics season. He also became the Jackrabbits' first two-time All-American at the Division I level.

CARLSON OFF TO FAST START: Junior Zach Carlson is off to a strong start to the 2018-19 season, posting a 4-1 record through the first three weekends while splitting time at 184 and 197 pounds.

A native of Kerkhoven, Minnesota, Carlson opened the year by winning the 184-pound title at the Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open on Nov. 4. He held off 15th-ranked Owen Webster in the title match to win by a 4-3 count. Carlson began his tournament run with a 12-4 major decision over Daniel Bishop of Augustana, followed by a 5-1 decision versus Caden Steffen of Minnesota.

In the season-opening dual against Arizona State on Nov. 11 in Sioux Falls, Carlson moved up to the 197-pound weight class and recorded a 9-1 major decision over Austyn Harris.

Carlson sufferred his first loss of the season Nov. 17, falling to Oklhoma State's Dakota Geer in dual action, 12-9. He entered his junior season with a 9-11 career record, seeing action at all weights between 165 and 197 pounds.

YOUTH MOVEMENT: Four different Jackrabbits wrestled in their first collegiate duals in either of the first two head-to-head competitions this season. Making their dual debuts in the Nov. 11 matchup against Arizona State were Gregory Coapstick (125 pounds), Rylee Molitor (141 pounds) and Samuel Grove (184).

Against Oklahoma State on Nov. 17, Spencer Huber wrestled for the first time as a Jackrabbit, replacing Seth Gross in the lineup at 133 pounds.

COACH HAHN: Damion Hahn, who helped build Cornell into a national power over the past decade, was hired on April 9, 2018, to lead the South Dakota State wrestling program.

"Damion represents everything we are looking for in being able to take our wrestling program to the next level," said SDSU Director of Athletics Justin Sell in announcing the hire. "His success both as a collegiate wrestler and coach, along with his ability to recruit high-achieving student-athletes on and off the mat, made him the ideal candidate. He is a tremendous ambassador for the sport who will work tirelessly to ensure wrestling thrives both on our campus and across the country."

Hahn spent 12 years as an assistant coach and later the associate head coach at Cornell in Ithaca, New York. During his tenure, the Big Red recorded 11 top-10 team finishes at the NCAA Championships, including consecutive runner-up finishes in 2010 and 2011. He mentored 50 All-Americans, 12 of whom were individual NCAA champions. Cornell also won 12 straight Ivy League dual championships and 11 consecutive Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association team titles.

In accepting his first head coaching position, Hahn makes a return to the Midwest. As a collegiate wrestler at Minnesota, Hahn won NCAA individual national titles as a junior and senior. A four-time All-American, he also was a three-time Big 10 individual champion and was named the Jesse Owens Big 10 Male Athlete of the Year in 2004. The Golden Gophers won team NCAA championships during both his freshman and sophomore seasons. He finished his collegiate career with a 118-21 record.

Hahn was inducted into the University of Minnesota's M Club Hall of Fame in the summer of 2018.

Assisting Hahn are Cam Simaz, Cody Caldwell and Chris Dardanes. Simaz and Dardanes are new additions to the coaching staff, while Caldwell returned for his second year with the Jackrabbits.

Simaz was a three-time NCAA finalist at Cornell, where he wrestled under Hahn's direction. He won the 197-pound national title as a senior in 2012. Dardanes was a three-time All-American at Minnesota and Caldwell earned a trip to the national meet in 2014.

ROTERT TAKES ON NEW ROLE: Former South Dakota State University standout Nate Rotert has continued his long association with the Jackrabbit wrestling team by joining the staff as recruiting coordinator in August.

"Nate has been an integral part to the success of our program and exudes all that is SDSU," head coach Damion Hahn said. "He will help with our recruiting efforts immensely, and I am proud to bring him aboard."

A Spearfish native, Rotert was a four-time NCAA qualifier at 197 pounds while wrestling at SDSU from 2015-18, helping spark the Jackrabbits into nationally ranked program. He compiled a 99-37 career record, including a 50-14 mark in duals. Rotert won a Big 12 Conference individual title en route to a 28-5 mark his senior season.

THE ROSTER: The 2018-19 SDSU wrestling roster features 28 student-athletes from nine different states. Of the 28 wrestlers, 11 are from Minnesota, followed by seven who are native South Dakotan. Iowa is represented by three wrestlers, while two wrestlers hail from California. Five states — Missouri, New York, Ohio, Texas and Washington — each have one wrestler.

By class, two are seniors, six are juniors, four are sophomores, seven are redshirt freshmen and nine are true freshmen.

A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits will have a 10-day layoff before returning to Big 12 Conference action with a dual Dec. 7 at Oklahoma. Start time is set for 7 p.m. at McCasland Field House in Norman, Oklahoma.

-GoJacks.com-