Jackrabbits close dual season with NDSU

Dual 16: North Dakota State (7-9, 1-6 Big 12) at #12 South Dakota State (13-2, 7-0 Big 12)

When	Friday, Feb. 16 \| 7 p.m. Central Time
Where	Frost Arena \| Brookings, South Dakota
TV	FloWrestling.org (subscription required)
Radio	None
Live Stats	TrackWrestling.com
Match Notes	South Dakota State \| North Dakota State
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram \| #GetJacked

The South Dakota State University wrestling team will close out the 2017-18 dual season Friday night, hosting rival North Dakota State in Big 12 Conference action.

Start time for the annual Border Bell match is set for 7 p.m. at Frost Arena, with the first 500 fans receiving a Border Bell T-shirt. The Jackrabbit senior class will be honored following the dual.

Friday's dual will be available for viewing through FloWrestling.org (subscription required).

The 12th-ranked Jackrabbits enter the matchup on a school-record 13-dual winning streak. SDSU improved to 13-2 overall and 7-0 against Big 12 opponents after sweeping a road trip to Pittsburgh (25-13) and West Virginia (24-9) last weekend.

North Dakota State, meanwhile, has posted a 7-9 overall dual record this season, including a 1-6 mark against Big 12 foes. The Bison defeated Air Force, 33-7, in their last dual competition on Feb. 4.

THE SERIES: South Dakota State and North Dakota State will meet for the 64th time in dual competition, when the two programs clash Friday night at Frost Arena.

NDSU leads the all-time series between the two longtime rivals, 42-20-1, although the Jackrabbits have won the last three matchups. SDSU swept a two-match season series during the 2015-16 campaign before posting a 20-18 victory at Frost Arena on Feb. 19, 2017.

Last year's dual marked the first time the two squads faced off against each other with both teams in the Division I rankings.

#17 South Dakota State 20, #20 North Dakota State 18 (Feb. 19, 2017)
149: #16 Alex Kocer (SDSU) major dec. Kyle Gliva (NDSU), 8-0
157: #7 Clay Ream (NDSU) major dec. Logan Peterson (SDSU), 14-2
165: Luke Zilverberg (SDSU) dec. Andrew Fogarty (NDSU), 3-2
174: #16 David Kocer (SDSU) major dec. Dylan Urbach (NDSU), 6-1
184: Tyler McNutt (NDSU) dec. Martin Mueller (SDSU), 12-7
197: #7 Nate Rotert (SDSU) major dec. Cordell Eaton (NDSU), 12-3
285: Ben Tynan (NDSU) dec. Alex Macki (SDSU), 1-0
125: #4 Josh Rodriguez (NDSU) tech. fall Kahlen Morris (SDSU), 24-7 (5:00)
133: #2 Seth Gross (SDSU) def. Arthur Payne (NDSU) by fall 5:28
141: Cam Sykora (NDSU) dec. Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU), 4-0
Note: Sykora ranked 20th at 133 pounds

BIG 12 SUCCESS: Now in its third 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 21-3 record in duals against Big 12 foes, including a 14-1 mark over the last two seasons, with the only loss coming at Oklahoma State on Jan. 22, 2017.

SDSU also turned in a fourth-place finish at the 2016 Big 12 Wrestling Championship, followed by a third-place effort last season.

The 2018 Big 12 Wrestling Championship is slated for March 3-4 at BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Session times are set for 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 3, followed by noon and 6 p.m. sessions on Sunday, March 4. Tickets can be ordered at ticketmaster.com.

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 USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll, and have since moved up four spots to 12th — their highest-ever ranking at the D-I level. SDSU rose three spots following wins over Wyoming (Jan. 18) and Northern Iowa (Jan. 21) after holding the 15th spot for four consecutive weeks.

Defending national champion Penn State is the top-ranked team in the poll, followed by Ohio State. Missouri is third, with Michigan fourth and Oklahoma State fifth. Besides Oklahoma State and the Jackrabbits, the Big 12 is represented in the poll by newcomer Northern Iowa (13th) and Wyoming (tied for 15th).

Other current top-25 opponents on the Jackrabbits' dual schedule this season include Arizona State (10th), Minnesota (19th) and Central Michigan (20th).

The Jackrabbits also are ranked 15th by both TrackWrestling and FloWrestling. SDSU stands 11th and 15th in both dual and tournament rankings conducted by WIN Magazine, as well as 12th in the dual and 14th in the tournament rankings by Intermat.

Individually, six Jackrabbits, including top-ranked Seth Gross at 133 pounds, appeared in the second installment of the NCAA coaches' panel rankings, which were released Feb. 8.

A junior from Apple Valley, Minnesota, Gross enters the week with a 20-1 record during the 2017-18 season, with his only loss coming against top-ranked 141-pounder Bryce Meredith of Wyoming. Gross also holds the top spot in rankings conducted by four major rating services: FloWrestling, Intermat, TrackWrestling and WIN Magazine.

Three other returning national qualifiers for the Jackrabbits also appear in the NCAA panel rankings in their respective weight classes. Wagner native David Kocer is ranked 10th at 174 pounds, while fellow seniors Luke Zilverberg at 157 pounds and 197-pounder Nate Rotert are both 12th.

A senior, Kocer is ranked 10th this week by FloWrestling, and 11th by Intermat, WIN Magazine and TrackWrestling.

Rotert, a three-time NCAA qualifier from Spearfish, is ranked 11th this week by all four rating services.

Zilverberg has dropped down to the 157-pound weight class for his senior season. An NCAA qualifier at 165 pounds during the 2016-17 season, the Belle Plaine, Minnesota, native checks in at No. 10 in this week's WIN Magazine and TrackWrestling rankings. He also is rated 12th by Intermat and 13th by FloWrestling.

Two SDSU wrestlers improved their standings from the first panel rankings. Freshman 125-pounder Connor Brown moved up six spots from 29th to 23rd, while sophomore 184-pounder Martin Mueller jumped three spots from 23rd to 20th.

Brown, who has a 17-12 overall record, cracked the national rankings for the first time in his career after consecutive dual wins against Wyoming and Northern Iowa. A true freshman from Oak Grove, Missouri, Brown has been tabbed 19th by Intermat and 25th by TrackWrestling this week.

Mueller made his initial appearance in an individual ranking last week and has maintained his No. 20 ranking in the 184-pound weight class by Intermat.

The final NCAA panel rankings will be one of the tools used as part of the selection process to determine the qualifiers for the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, which will be held March 15-17 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.

LAST WEEK: The Jackrabbits swept a weekend road trip, winning duals at Pittsburgh and West Virginia to run their winning streak to a school-record 13 duals.

#12 SDSU 25, Pittsburgh 13
In a dual that went down to the wire, the Jackrabbit wrestling team extended its dual winning streak to a school-record-tying 12 matches with a 25-13 win at Pittsburgh on Feb. 9.

The 12th-ranked Jackrabbits, who were propelled to the win by four bonus-point victories, improved to 12-2 overall. Pitt dropped to 2-10 in duals this season.

Luke Zilverberg, ranked 14th at 157 pounds, scored the first SDSU victory of the night with a 10-2 major decision over Taleb Rahmani. It was Zilverberg's team-leading 23rd victory of the season.

After the Panthers grabbed a 7-4 lead, SDSU took the lead for good by winning the next three matches to go ahead 14-7. David Kocer, the 12th-ranked wrestler at 174 pounds, started the streak with a 15-3 major decision over Tommy O'Brien for his 99th career victory. Martin Mueller at 184 pounds and 11th-ranked Nate Rotert at 197 pounds each won by decision.

Pitt pulled to within a point at 14-13 with two bouts to go as heavyweight Ryan Solomon and 125-pounder L.J. Bentley each won by decision.

However, SDSU put an emphatic stop to the Panthers' upset bid. What figured to be a marquee matchup between top-ranked Seth Gross and 10th-ranked Dom Forys of Pittsburgh never materialized as Gross lived up to his top billing by recording a takedown and trio of four-point near-falls in the first period for a 14-0 lead. Gross finished off his 16-0 technical fall victory with a takedown 20 seconds into the second period after a neutral start.

Needing only to avoid being pinned to win the dual, Henry Pohlmeyer trailed 1-0 entering the third period against the Panthers' Nick Zanetta. Pohlmeyer, who rode out the entire second period from the top position, escaped early in the third period, took Zanetta down and put him to his back for a pin 35 seconds into the final stanza to seal the Jackrabbit victory.

#12 SDSU 24, West Virginia 9
Senior 174-pounder David Kocer won his 100th career match and the South Dakota State University wrestling team set a school record with its 13th consecutive dual victory, defeating West Virginia, 24-9, Sunday afternoon at WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, West Virginia.

The 12th-ranked Jackrabbits improved to 13-2 overall and remained unbeaten in Big 12 Conference duals with a 7-0 mark. West Virginia fell to 5-6 overall and 4-4 against Big 12 opponents.

A Wagner native, Kocer started a streak of four consecutive Jackrabbit victories to close out the match. Leading 11-9 on the team scoreboard, Kocer recorded the last of three major decisions on the afternoon by SDSU as he defeated the Mountaineers' Parker VonEgidy, 10-2.

Martin Mueller followed with a 12-8 decision over Brenden McRill at 184 pounds, and 11th-ranked 197-pounder Nate Rotert earned a hard-fought, 7-6 decision over previously ranked Jake Smith, to seal the dual win. Rotert broke a 5-all tie with a takedown with about 30 seconds remaining.

At heavyweight, Alex Macki also scored a late takedown against Brandon Ngati for a 5-3 win in the final bout of the day.

Top-ranked 133-pounder Seth Gross put the Jackrabbits on the board with a 7-2 decision over Matthew Schmitt. Gross gave up an early takedown to Schmitt before scoring the final seven points of the match.

Henry Pohlmeyer and Luke Zilverberg each won by major decision to give SDSU an 11-6 lead at intermission. Pohlmeyer downed Christian Monserrat, 11-3, at 141 pounds, while Zilverberg blanked Hunter Jones, 14-0, in the 157-pound matchup.

West Virginia opened the dual with 15th-ranked Zeke Moisey posting an 8-3 decision over Connor Brown at 125 pounds.

SDSU previously won 12 duals in a row during the 1985-86 and 2015-16 seasons.

BIG 12 HONORS: Two South Dakota State wrestlers have been honored as Big 12 Wrestler of the Week during the 2017-18 season. Freshman 125-pounder Connor Brown earned the award Jan. 24 following dual victories over Wyoming's Drake Foster (8-6) and Northern Iowa's Jay Schwarm (fall). Schwarm was ranked 18th and Brown's victory helped propel him into the national rankings for the first time.

Senior 174-pounder David Kocer received the weekly conference award Dec. 13 following a victory over Central Michigan's Christian Brucki.

GROSS ON HODGE WATCH LIST: Entering the final month of the 2017-18 dual season, South Dakota State's Seth Gross is firmly in the discussion for the Hodge Trophy, which is awarded annually to the most outstanding collegiate wrestler.

A junior from Apple Valley, Minnesota, Gross has compiled a 20-1 record so far this season. Of his 20 victories, 10 have been by fall and six have been by technical fall. At the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships Dec. 29-30 in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, the top-ranked Gross cruised to the 133-pound title by recording four technical falls and two pins in his six matches, earning the two-day tournament's Dan Gable Outstanding Wrestler award.

Hodge Trophy candidates are judged on the following criteria: record, number of pins, dominance, past credentials, quality of competition, sportsmanship/citizenship and heart.

Gross enters the weekend with an 80-17 overall record in his three seasons at SDSU, including a 40-7 mark in duals. A two-time NCAA qualifier, Gross compiled a 34-2 record as a sophomore en route to a national runner-up at the 2017 NCAA Championships.

In addition, Gross ranks as the sixth most-dominant wrestler among all Division I competitors this season, according to statistics tracked by the NCAA. He is averaging 4.75 team points per match thus far during the 2017-18 campaign.

KOCER WINS 100TH: South Dakota State's David Kocer became the 14th wrestler in program history to reach the 100-win mark for his career, hitting the milestone Feb. 11 in dual action at West Virginia.

Kocer holds a career mark of 100-48, moving into a tie with two-tme NCAA Division II national champion Pat Dorn (100-33-3 recrod from 1986-89) for 13th place on the SDSU career wins list. Earlier this season, Kocer passed both his older brother, Alex, and Tyler Bryant (96-32 career record from 2000-03) with a victory Jan. 18 versus Wyoming. Alex Kocer compiled a 96-44 record from 2014-17 and ended his career with an eighth-place All-America finish at 149 pounds in 2017.

David Kocer is the second SDSU wrestler to record 100 career wins in the Division I era, joining Cody Pack, who won 114 matches from 2012-16.

TWO MORE IN TOP 25: Two other members of the Jackrabbit senior class have moved into the program's top 25 for career victories during the 2017-18 season.

Luke Zilverberg enters the week with 93 career victories, good for 18th place, while Nate Rotert is right behind in a tie with Josh Sammons (1994-97) for 19th place with 92 victories. Zilverberg leads the team with 24 victories so far this season.

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.

Now in 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 63-41 record that includes four consecutive winning seasons for the first time at the Division I level. Bono's career dual record stands at 102-58, including a highly successful three-year run at Chattanooga. He earned career victory No. 100 on Feb. 4, 2018, with a 30-15 victory over his alma mater, Iowa State, at Frost Arena.

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 then-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 29 student-athletes from 10 different states. Of the 29 wrestlers, 10 are from Minnesota, with seven from South Dakota. Missouri is represented by four wrestlers, while two wrestlers hail from California and Iowa. Illinois, Kansas, Ohio and Wisconsin each have one wrestler.

By class, seven are seniors, four are juniors, three are sophomores, four are redshirt freshmen and 11 are true freshmen.

A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits will be off from competition until the 2018 Big 12 Wrestling Championship, which will be held March 3-4 at BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

-GoJacks.com-

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