Jacks back on the road for a pair of duals

Friday, January 31

Stillwater, Okla.

7 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Oklahoma State

Photo by: Ricky Bassman

1/29/2020 2:51:00 PM | Wrestling

Dual 12: South Dakota State (7-4, 4-1 Big 12) at #11 Oklahoma State (8-2, 4-1 Big 12)

When	FrIday, Jan. 31 \| 7 p.m.
Where	Gallagher-Iba Arena \| Stillwater, Oklahoma
TV	ESPN+ (subscription)
Radio	None
Live Stats	TrackWrestling.com
Match Notes	South Dakota State Notes \| SDSU Statistics \| Oklahoma State Notes
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram \| #GetJacked

Dual 13: South Dakota State (7-4) at Little Rock (1-3)

When	Sunday, Feb. 2 \| 2 p.m.
Where	Jack Stephens Center \| Little Rock, Arkansas
TV	lrtrojans.com (free video)
Radio	None
Live Stats	TrackWrestling.com
Match Notes	South Dakota State Notes \| SDSU Statistics \| Little Rock Notes
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram \| #GetJacked

The South Dakota State University wrestling team begins a stretch of four consecutive duals away from home with a weekend road trip to Oklahoma State and Little Rock.

Winners of six of their last seven duals, the Jackrabbits enter Friday's dual at 11th-ranked Oklahoma State with a 7-4 overall record, including a 4-1 mark against Big 12 Conference opponents. SDSU defeated Oklahoma, 23-16, in the Jackrabbits' last action, Jan. 26 at Frost Arena.

Oklahoma State, meanwhile, holds an 8-2 dual record that also includes a 4-1 league mark. The Cowboys, who feature nine ranked wrestlers in their lineup, split a pair of road duals against ranked opponents in the state of Iowa last weekend, dropping a 19-15 decision at 20th-ranked Northern Iowa on Jan. 25, before rebounding with a 23-9 victory at No. 16 Iowa State a day later.

Friday's dual is set for a 7 p.m. start at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Video coverage of the dual will be available through the ESPN+ subscription-based platform.

The Jackrabbits close out the weekend with a Sunday matinee at first-year program Little Rock. The Trojans, who are an affiliate member of the Pac-12 Conference have posted a 1-3 dual record so far this season, and have a dual scheduled for Thursday at SIU Edwardsville.

Action for Sunday's dual is slated to begin at 2 p.m. at Jack Stephens Center on the Little Rock campus. Free video of the dual is scheduled to be aired at lrtrojans.com.

SERIES VERSUS OKLAHOMA STATE: Friday's dual will mark the fifth time SDSU and Oklahoma State have met on the wrestling mat. The Cowboys have won all four previous matches, starting with a 25-9 victory during the 2014-15 season in a dual wrestled at Miami, Oklahoma.

In last year's meeting, Nov. 17, 2018, at Frost Arena, fourth-ranked Oklahoma State recorded four pins and won two more matches by technical fall against an undermanned South Dakota State squad en route to a 45-6 victory in the first Big 12 Conference wrestling dual of the season for both squads.

OSU 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, while, the 10th-ranked Fix wrestled Jackrabbit backup Spencer Huber and gave the Cowboys a 10-0 lead with a 19-1 second-period technical fall in the 133-pound bout.

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.

The loss to Oklahoma State ended the Jackrabbits' 12-dual winning streak against Big 12 opponents dating back to the 2016-17 season.

#4 Oklahoma State 45, #22 South Dakota State (Nov. 17, 2018)
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

LAST TIME OUT: South Dakota State came up with four bonus-point victories to defeat Oklahoma, 23-16, in a Big 12 Conference wrestling dual Jan. 26 at Frost Arena.

The Jackrabbits, who entered the week 24th in the Intermat dual rankings, improved to 7-4 overall and 4-1 against league foes. Oklahoma dropped to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the Big 12.

Each of the first four matches of the dual resulted in bonus points, with each team winning two. The Sooners got things started as Justin Thomas, ranked 19th at 157 pounds, opened with a 16-3 major decision over Colten Carlson, while 10th-ranked Anthony Mantanona followed two bouts later with a pin of Cade King in the 174-pound bout.

SDSU knotted the dual at 10-all behind a pin from 165-pounder Tanner Cook and a 10-0 major decision by 16th-ranked Zach Carlson at 184 pounds. Cook's pin, which came 40 seconds into his match against Jose Lao Cooper, was his 11th of the season, including his sixth in dual action.

Carlson's victory, his team-leading 17th of the season, starting a four-match winning streak for the Jackrabbits. Tanner Sloan gave SDSU additional momentum and the lead for good heading into intermission by posting a 4-2 decision over 14th-ranked Jake Woodley. Sloan, who entered the dual ranked 19th at 197 pounds, avenged a loss to Woodley in December at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

Heavyweight Blake Wolters opened the second half of the dual by outlasting Josiah Jones, 4-3, in a match that was decided in tiebreakers. The two wrestlers ended regulation tied at 1 before recording escapes in each of the two tie-breaking sessions. Wolters was awarded the decisive point for having a riding-time advantage of 29 seconds in the extra frames.

Danny Vega pushed the SDSU lead to 20-10 with the fourth — and final — bonus-point win of the afternoon by the Jackrabbits. Vega raced out to an 8-0 first-period lead via a takedown, four-point near-fall and two-point near-fall against Christian Moody before cruising to a 13-4 major decision.

Oklahoma pulled to within 20-16 as two more of its ranked wrestlers notched wins by decision. Anthony Madrigal, the No. 17 wrestler at 133 pounds, shut out the Jackrabbits' Zach Price, 6-0, while seventh-ranked Dom Demas posted an 8-2 victory over Clay Carlson at 141 pounds.

The Jackrabbits secured the dual victory with their second win of the day in a matchup between ranked wrestlers. Tenth-ranked Henry Pohlmeyer of SDSU and No. 25 Jacob Butler were tied at 2-all early in the second period before Pohlmeyer grabbed the lead with a reversal later in the stanza. In the third period, Pohlmeyer was awarded a point for stalling and scored on another reversal to record a 7-2 decision.

South Dakota State 23, Oklahoma 16
157: #19 Justin Thomas (OU) major dec. Colten Carlson (SDSU), 16-3
165: Tanner Cook (SDSU) def. Jose Lao Cooper (OU), by fall 0:40
174: #10 Anthony Mantanona (OU) def. Cade King (SDSU), by fall 5:39
184: #16 Zach Carlson (SDSU) major dec. Darrien Roberts (OU), 10-0
197: #19 Tanner Sloan (SDSU) dec. #14 Jake Woodley (OU), 4-2
285: Blake Wolters (SDSU) dec. Josiah Jones (OU), 4-3 [TB-2]
125: #25 Danny Vega (SDSU) major dec. Christian Moody (OU), 13-4
133: #17 Anthony Madrigal (OU) dec. Zach Price (SDSU), 6-0
141: #7 Dom Demas (OU) dec. Clay Carlson (SDSU), 8-2
149: #10 Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU) dec. #25 Jacob Butler (OU), 7-2
Note: Individual rankings by FloWrestling

POHLMEYER HONORED: South Dakota State 149-pounder Henry Pohlmeyer was named as Big 12 Wrestler of the Week on Jan. 14 after helping lead the Jackrabbits to a pair of victories over conference opponents.

A senior from Johnston, Iowa, Pohlmeyer opened the week with a 9-1 major decision over seventh-ranked Max Thomsen in a Jan. 10 dual at Northern Iowa — a matchup in which the Jackrabbits came away with a 25-13 dual win over the 16th-ranked Panthers. He closed the weekend with a 6-2 decision over 19th-ranked Jaron Jensen of Wyoming on Jan. 12 as SDSU prevailed 17-16 in the dual.

Pohlmeyer enters the week with a 13-3 overall record and a 6-1 mark in dual competition. He leads active Jackrabbit wrestlers in career wins with 67.

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 28-11 record in duals against Big 12 opponents, with seven of those losses coming during the 2018-19 campaign. 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: Five South Dakota State wrestlers appear in the NCAA Division I rankings compiled by a variety of media outlets.

Ranked throughout the season have been Henry Pohlmeyer at 149 pounds and Tanner Sloan at 197 pounds. A two-time NCAA?qualifier and a senior from Johnston, Iowa, Pohlmeyer has been the big mover the past three weeks, climbing to ninth in the rankings conducted by both FloWrestling and TrackWrestling, along with an 11th-place ranking by Intermat and a 13th-place showing by WIN Magazine.

Sloan, a redshirt freshman from Alburnett, Iowa, was ranked in the top 10 by three media outlets earlier in the season. He currently holds rankings ranging from 13th (WIN Magazine) to 18th (FloWrestling).

At 184 pounds, Zach Carlson has moved into all four rankings, including holding the ninth spot the WIN Magazine rankings. A senior from Murdock, Minnesota, Carlson also is ranked 13th by TrackWrestling, 14th by Intermat and 17th by FloWrestling after compiling a 17-4 overall record and sharing the team lead with Sloan with a 9-2 record in duals.

Also appearing in the rankings in recent weeks are 125-pounder Danny Vega and 165-pounder Tanner Cook. Vega, a junior who previously competed at Iowa State, is ranked 19th by Intermat and WIN Magazine and 23rd by both FloWrestling and TrackWrestling. He has a 7-2 mark in duals since entering the lineup Dec. 20 versus Minnesota.

Cook, a freshman from Ilion, New York, has solidified the 165-pound spot with a 12-2 overall record, including a 6-1 mark in duals since being inserted into the Jackrabbit lineup at the South Beach Duals in late December. Cook, who has 11 wins by fall this season, is 26th in the TrackWrestling rankings for the third consecutive week. His pin total ranks in the top 10 among Division I wrestlers this season.

Other Jackrabbits to be ranked this season, but who currently are outside the rankings, are 133-pounder Zach Price and 141-pounder Clay Carlson. Both are redshirt freshmen.

As a team, the Jackrabbits are ranked 22nd by WIN Magazine and 25th by Intermat in the organizations' dual rankings. SDSU also has received votes in the NWCA Division I Coaches' Poll in recent weeks.

PANEL RANKINGS: Five South Dakota State University wrestlers were included in the first of four coaches' panel rankings for the 2019-20 season, which were announced Jan. 24.

Ranked Jackrabbits are:

Danny Vega, 22nd at 125 pounds (15-6 overall record);
Henry Pohlmeyer, 10th at 149 pounds (13-3 overall);
Tanner Cook, 23rd at 165 pounds (12-2 overall);
Zach Carlson, 15th at 184 pounds (17-4 overall), and
Tanner Sloan, 17th at 197 pounds (14-4 overall).

The rankings are determined by a vote of 14 coaches in each weight class with two head coaches from each of the seven conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, EIWA, MAC, Pac-12 and SoCon), which is double the amount of voters that had previously been used for the coaches' panel rankings. For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class. Wrestlers must have participated in at least five matches against Division I opponents in the weight class and have wrestled within the last 30 days to be ranked.

The first two rankings (Jan. 24/Feb. 13) are used primarily for educational purposes to promote the selection criteria to coaches, student-athletes, media and fans. The third ranking (Feb. 27) will be the ranking that will be used by the NCAA Wrestling Committee to assist in determining the advance allocations to each qualifying tournament. The final ranking following conference tournaments will be used to provide the most accurate and up-to-date rankings to the committee as an important element of the selection criteria during the in-person selection meeting.

Wrestlers in each weight class will be measured by winning percentage, rating percentage index (RPI) and coaches' rankings to earn allocation spots for their qualifying tournaments for the championships.

The above criteria, in addition to head-to-head competition, quality wins, results against common opponents and qualifying tournament placement are all part of the evaluation process for selection and seeding the committee uses for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, which will be held March 19-21 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

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 Jackrabbit wrestling program.

"Damion represents everything we are looking for in being able to take our wrestling program to the next level," said South Dakota State University 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.

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 enters this week with a 10-14 career dual record at SDSU.

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 35 student-athletes from 12 different states. Of the 35 wrestlers, nine are from Minnesota and nine 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, seven are sophomores, seven are redshirt freshmen and 12 are incoming freshmen.

A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits continue their stretch of road duals with a trip east next week. SDSU is slated to open the week with a Big 12 dual Feb. 7 at West Virginia. Action is slated to start at 7 p.m. Eastern Time (6 p.m. Central) at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, West Virginia.

From there, SDSU will move on to Athens, Ohio, for a dual against the University of Ohio on Feb. 9. That dual is set for a 2 p.m. ET?(1 p.m. CT) start inside the Convocation Center.

-GoJacks.com-