Jackrabbits to face elite in Las Vegas

South Dakota State at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational

When	Friday-Saturday, Dec. 6-7 \| 11 a.m. Central Time each day
Where	Las Vegas Convention Center \| Las Vegas, Nevada
TV	FloWrestling.org (subscription)
Radio	None
Live Stats	F loArena
Match Notes	South Dakota State \| Tournament Website
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram \| #GetJacked

The South Dakota State University wrestling team will square off against some of the top wrestlers in the country this weekend as it travels to the desert for the 38th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Wrestling Invitational.

The individual tournament will feature more than 100 wrestlers currently ranked in the top 25 of their individual weight classes by FloWrestling, along with 16 of the top 25 teams in tournament rankings.

Competition begins at 11 a.m. Central Time on Friday at the Las Vegas Convention Center, with an evening session consisting of a consolation round and championship quarterfinals starting at 8 p.m. The tournament concludes Saturday with consolation matches starting at 11 a.m. Championship semifinals and fifth- and seventh-place matches begin at noon, with the championship finals and third-place matches taking place at 5 p.m.

Full tournament coverage will be available through FloWrestling.org. A subscription is required to access video coverage.

Three Jackrabbits are among the pre-seeded wrestlers: Tanner Sloan is third at 197 pounds, Henry Pohlmeyer is 10th at 149 pounds and Zach Carlson is pre-seeded 10th in the 184-pound weight class.

SDSU is making its first appearance at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational since 2012.

In addition, 15 Jackrabbit wrestlers are expected to compete Saturday at the BVU Open in Storm Lake, Iowa. That day-long event begins at 9 a.m.

LAST TIME OUT: South Dakota State closed out the month of November with a pair of strong performances.

Dual at Utah Valley
South Dakota State's Zach Carlson and Clay Carlson each recorded pins to lead the Jackrabbit wrestling team to a 24-12 victory over host Utah Valley in the Big 12 Conference dual opener for both teams on Nov. 22 in Orem, Utah. The Jackrabbits evened their overall dual record at 1-1, while UVU dropped to 1-2.

SDSU got out of the gates quickly, winning each of the first three matches by decision for a 9-0 advantage. Henry Pohlmeyer, ranked 16th by FloWrestling, scored an 8-4 victory over Landon Knutzen at 149 pounds, followed by a 13-6 victory by Colten Carlson in the 157-pound bout. Garrett Jordan finished the run with a 3-2 win over Koy Wilkinson at 165 pounds.

The Wolverines got on the board with a decision by Kimball Bastian in the 174-pound matchup before Zach Carlson gave SDSU some added cushion with a second-period pin of Gary Jantzer. Ranked 19th by Intermat, Carlson upped the Jackrabbit lead to 15-3 at the halfway mark in improving to 6-1 on the season.

Utah Valley pulled to within 15-9 with back-to-back victories in the top two weight classes. The Wolverines' Tanner Orndorff pulled off an upset by knocking off fourth-ranked Jackrabbit Tanner Sloan in the 197-pound match, 5-3. Sloan led 2-1 through two periods, although the 19th-ranked Orndorff began to gain the momentum by riding out the entire second period from the top position. Orndorff escaped early in the third period and came up with a takedown moments later for a 4-2 lead, securing the final point via riding time after Sloan escaped in the closing seconds.

The Jackrabbits nearly pulled off an upset of their own in the heavyweight bout as Blake Wolters lost a 6-4 overtime decision to third-ranked Tate Orndorff. Wolters forced the extra session with a takedown in the final seconds of regulation, while Orndorff recorded the decisive takedown with less than 10 seconds to go in the first overtime session.

With the dual shifting back to the lower weights, senior 125-pounder Kahlen Morris stemmed the tide for SDSU with a 4-2 decision over Josiah Nava.

After the Wolverines stayed within striking distance at 18-12 following a Taylor LaMont decision at 133 pounds, Clay Carlson sealed the SDSU win with a first-period pin Cameron Hunsaker in the 141-pound matchup. Carlson entered the dual ranked 32nd by TrackWrestling.

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 24, UTAH VALLEY 12
149: #16 Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU) dec. Landon Knutzen (UVU), 8-4
157: Colten Carlson (SDSU) dec. Jed Loveless (UVU), 13-6
165: Garrett Jordan (SDSU) dec. Koy Wilkinson (UVU), 3-2
174: #13 Kimball Bastian (UVU) dec. Cade King (SDSU), 4-0
184: #19 Zach Carlson (SDSU) def. Gary Jantzer (UVU), by fall 3:55
197: #19 Tanner Orndorff (UVU) dec. #4 Tanner Sloan (SDSU), 5-3
285: #3 Tate Orndorff (UVU) dec. Blake Wolters (SDSU), 6-4 [SV-1]
125: Kahlen Morris (SDSU) dec. Josiah Nava (UVU), 4-2
133: Taylor LaMont (UVU) dec. Zach Price (SDSU), 7-4
141: #32 Clay Carlson (SDSU) def. Cameron Hunsaker (UVU), by fall 2:34

Younes Hospitality Open
South Dakota State University wrestlers Danny Vega and Spencer Trenary each won individual titles Nov. 23 at the Younes Hospitality Open in Kearney, Nebraska.

Vega, a junior from Tucson, Arizona, won the 125-pound title in the Elite Division by posting a 3-0 record on the day. He won by fall over Patrick Allis of Western State (Colo.) in his first match of the day, followed by a 22-10 major decision over Collin Metzger of Colorado Mesa in the semifinals. In the title bout, Vega scored a 5-3 decision over Emmanuel Browne of Baker University.

Also in the Elite Division, Tanner Cook placed third at 165 pounds with a 3-1 record on the day. He closed out the tournament with a pair of pins, including a first-period fall over Nebraska's Jake Silverstein in the third-place bout.

Trenary, a freshman heavyweight from Rolfe, Iowa, claimed his title in the Amateur Division by notching four pins in his five matches. Trenary won by fall over a pair of Wyoming wrestlers, Brooks Baker and Terren Swartz, in the semifinals and finals, respectively. The pin of Swartz in the championship match came in 44 seconds.

Also advancing to the finals in the Amateur Division were fellow Jackrabbit freshmen Skyler Noftsger in the 174-pound weight class and 184-pounder Caleb Orris. Noftsger won his first three matches by a combined 28-7 to advance to the finals, but lost a 10-4 decision to Levi Farris of Colorado Mines in the championship.

Orris reeled off four straight wins, including two by fall, to reach the title bout. His tournament run came to an end with a 5-2 loss to Joseph Reimers of host Nebraska-Kearney.

Also placing for the Jackrabbits was freshman Caleb Gross, third in the 141-pound Amateur Division. Teammate Caden Lamer also turned in a strong showing with a 4-2 record at 141 pounds, but did not place in the top six.

With more than 600 wrestlers between the two divisions, the Younes Hospitality Open is the largest collegiate wrestling tournament in the country.

BIG 12 SUCCESS: Now in its fifth season as an affiliate member of the Big 12 Conference for wrestling, South Dakota State has proven it can contend in one of the top wrestling leagues in the country.

Since joining the league at the start of the 2015-16 season, the Jackrabbits have combined to post a 25-9 record in duals against Big 12 foes. SDSU posted an 8-0 mark in Big 12 duals during the 2017-18 season.

The Jackrabbits also turned in back-to-back third-place efforts at the Big 12 Wrestling Championship in both 2017 and 2018, after a fourth-place finish at their inaugural league meet in 2016.

RABBITS RANKED: Following their performances in the first month of the season, four South Dakota State wrestlers appear in the NCAA Division I rankings compiled by a variety of media outlets.

Continuing in the rankings are Henry Pohlmeyer at 149 pounds and 197-pounder Tanner Sloan. A two-time NCAA qualifier and a senior from Johnston, Iowa, Pohlmeyer's highest ranking is 15th by FloWrestling. Pohlmeyer also is currently ranked 20th by TrackWrestling.

Sloan, a redshirt freshman from Alburnett, Iowa, has been ranked in the top 10 by three media outlets during the season. He is currently ranked eighth by Intermat, 11th by FloWrestling and 16th by TrackWrestling.

Also appearing in the rankings are 141-pounder Clay Carlson, 32nd by TrackWrestling, and Zach Carlson, 18th in the Intermat rankings.

JACKS ADD THREE: South Dakota State University head coach Damion Hahn announced that two high school state champions have signed National Letters of Intent, indicating they will enroll next fall and compete for the Jackrabbit wrestling program.

The signees are:

Joey Thompson, Maple Grove, Minn. (Totino-Grace High School), and
Jack Thomsen, La Porte City, Iowa (Union High School).

Thompson has won a pair of Minnesota state championships, claiming the Class AAA 106-pound title as a sophomore while wrestling for Maple Grove High School and the Class AA 113-pound title last season as a member of the Totino-Grace High School squad.

In other competition, Thompson has been a two-time USA Wrestling All-American in the junior freestyle division each of the past two years, placing sixth at 113 pounds in 2018 and sixth at 120 pounds this past summer.

Thomsen has placed at the Iowa state meet each of the past three seasons, highlighted by winning the Class 2A championship at 138 pounds as a junior. He finished third at 120 pounds as a sophomore and seventh in the 106-pound division his freshman year.

In addition, Vermillion High School standout Lucus Anglin has been accepted for admission to South Dakota State and plans to join the Jackrabbit wrestling team in the fall of 2020.

Anglin enters his senior season having won Class A South Dakota state titles at 126 pounds and 138 pounds in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Anglin also was a state finalist at 113 pounds as a freshman and placed third in the 106-pound division as an eighth-grader.

COACH HAHN: Damion Hahn, who helped build Cornell into a national power as an assistant coach, was hired on April 9, 2018, to lead the South Dakota University 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."

During his first season with the Jackrabbits, Hahn faced a rebuilding task as SDSU featured new starters in six spots in the lineup. SDSU finished with a 3-10 dual record, including a 2-7 mark against Big 12 Conference opponents.

Hahn enters this week with a 4-11 career dual record at SDSU.

The Jackrabbits ended the 2018-19 season with a 10th-place finish at the Big 12 Wrestling Championship and had one NCAA qualifier in 149-pounder Henry Pohlmeyer.

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 made 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 2018.

THE ROSTER: The 2019-20 SDSU wrestling roster features 36 student-athletes from 12 different states. Of the 36 wrestlers, 10 are from Minnesota, followed by nine who are native South Dakotans. Iowa is represented by seven wrestlers, while two wrestlers hail from New York. Eight states — Arizona, California, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin — each have one wrestler.

By class, five are seniors, four are juniors, eight are sophomores, seven are redshirt freshmen and 12 are incoming freshmen.

A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits will attend to semester final exams before returning to the mat Dec. 20 with a home dual against Minnesota. Competition is set for a 7 p.m. start at Frost Arena.

-GoJacks.com-

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Clay Carlson

Colten Carlson

Zach Carlson

Tanner Cook

Caleb Gross

Garrett Jordan

Cade King

Caden Lamer

Kahlen Morris

Skyler Noftsger

Caleb Orris

Henry Pohlmeyer

Zach Price

Tanner Sloan

Spencer Trenary

Danny Vega

Blake Wolters

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