Wrestlers square off against two Big 12 foes

Friday, January 10

Cedar Falls, Iowa

7 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Northern Iowa

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

1/8/2020 8:23:00 PM | Wrestling

Dual 8: South Dakota State (4-3, 1-0 Big 12) at #16 Northern Iowa (1-2, 1-0)

When	Friday, Jan. 10 \| 7 p.m.
Where	West Gym \| Cedar Falls, Iowa
TV	FloWrestling.org (subscription)
Radio	None
Live Stats	TrackWrestling.com
Match Notes	South Dakota State Notes \| SDSU Statistics \| Northern Iowa Notes
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram \| #GetJacked

Dual 9: Wyoming at South Dakota State

When	Sunday, Jan. 12 \| 1 p.m.	ORDER TICKETS
Where	Frost Arena \| Brookings, South Dakota
TV	FloWrestling.org (subscription)
Radio	None
Live Stats	TrackWrestling.com
Match Notes	South Dakota State Notes \| SDSU Statistics \| Wyoming Notes
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram \| #GetJacked

The South Dakota State University wrestling team begins a month full of duals against Big 12 Conference opponents with a pair of matches this weekend.

Friday, the Jackrabbits travel to 16th-ranked Northern Iowa. Start time is set for 7 p.m. at West Gym in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

SDSU enters the weekend with a 4-3 overall record in duals, including a 1-0 mark in Big 12 action. UNI picked up its first dual victory last weekend, defeating Utah Valley, 32-12, in its Big 12 dual opener to improve to 1-2 overall.

The Jackrabbits return home Sunday to take on Wyoming in a 1 p.m. dual. The Warm Up Frost event will feature winter-related giveaways.

Wyoming brings a 3-6 mark (1-0 in Big 12) into its dual Friday at North Dakota State.

Video of both duals will be available through FloWrestling.org (subscription required).

SERIES VERSUS UNI: South Dakota State has found the going tough in its history against Northern Iowa, with the Panthers holding a 39-5-1 advantage in a dual series that dates back to the 1953-54 season. Both SDSU and Northern Iowa competed in the North Central Conference at the Division II level, with the series resuming during the 2004-05 season after a 20-year hiatus when the Jackrabbits joined UNI at the Division I?level and both squads competed in the Western Wrestling Conference.

UNI competed in the Mid-America Conference for five seasons (2013-17) before gaining affiliate membership in the Big 12 Conference prior to the start of the 2017-18 campaign.

In last season's matchup, Jan. 11, 2019, at Frost Arena, four ranked Panther wrestlers posted victories to lead UNI to a 30-10 victory. Josh Alber (ranked 10th at 141 pounds), Bryce Steiert (12th at 165) and Taylor Lujan (eighth at 174) all won by technical fall to lead the Panthers.

Henry Pohlmeyer, ranked 20th at 149 pounds, came up with a big victory for SDSU, edging ninth-ranked Max Thomsen, 2-1. Also winning for the Jackrabbits were 157-pounder Colten Carlson and Martin Mueller at 197 pounds.

#14 NORTHERN IOWA 30, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 10 (Jan. 11, 2019)
125: Jay Schwarm (UNI) def. Gregory Coapstick (SDSU), by fall 1:45
133: Jack Skudlarczyk (UNI) dec. Rylee Molitor (SDSU), 9-4
141: #10 Josh Alber (UNI) tech. fall Aric Williams (SDSU), 22-7 (7:00)
149: #20 Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU) dec. #9 Max Thomsen (UNI), 2-1
157: Colten Carlson (SDSU) major dec. Patrick Schoenfelder (UNI), 26-12
165: #12 Bryce Steiert (UNI) tech. fall Logan Peterson (SDSU), 18-2 (2:59)
174: #8 Taylor Lujan (UNI) tech. fall Brett Bye (SDSU), 19-2 (4:57)
184: #5 Drew Foster (UNI) dec. Zach Carlson (SDSU), 3-1
197: Martin Mueller (SDSU) dec. Tyrell Gordon (UNI), 3-1 [SV-1]
285: Izaak Shedenhelm (UNI) dec. Blake Wolters (SDSU), 3-1

SERIES VERSUS WYOMING: Sunday's dual will mark the 21st meeting on the mat between South Dakota State and Wyoming, a series that dates back to the 1953-54 season. Wyoming holds a 16-4 series advantage, with all four Jackrabbit victories coming in four of the last six meetings.

In last season's meeting, Feb. 10, 2019, in Laramie, Wyoming, the 13th-ranked Cowboys ended a three-match losing streak to SDSU with a 32-9 home victory. Each of Wyoming's first five wins resulted in bonus points.

SDSU's three wins were all by decision as Henry Pohlmeyer (149 pounds), Colten Carlson (157 pounds) and Zach Carlson (184) were victorious.The back-to-back wins by Pohlmeyer and Colten Carlson gave the Jackrabbits a momentary 6-5 lead before Wyoming took control of the match on respective wins by technical fall and major decision by Branson Ashworth and Hayden Hastings.

#13 WYOMING 32, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 9 (Feb. 10, 2019)
141: #12 Sam Turner (WYO) tech. fall Aric Williams (SDSU), 16-1 (5:41)
149: Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU) dec. Jaron Jensen (WYO), 12-5
157: Colten Carlson (SDSU) dec. Jed Loveless (WYO), 2-1
165: #8 Branson Ashworth (WYO) tech. fall Kelby Hawkins (SDSU), 16-0 (2:39)
174: Hayden Hastings (WYO) major dec. Samuel Grove (SDSU), 11-0
184: Zach Carlson (SDSU) dec. Anthony Lombardo (WYO), 6-2
197: #20 Cale Davidson (WYO) won by forfeit
285: Brian Andrews (WYO) def. Blake Wolters (SDSU), by fall 2:20
125: Brock George (WYO) dec. Gregory Coapstick (SDSU), 9-6
133: #12 Montorie Bridges (WYO) dec. Rylee Molitor (SDSU), 12-5

SOUTH BEACH RECAP: The Jackrabbit wrestling team turned in a strong performance between the holidays at the South Beach Duals in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, finishing the two-day event Dec. 29-30 with a 3-1 record. With the three wins the Jackrabbits improved to 4-3 in duals, exceeding their win total from a season ago.

After dropping a narrow 18-16 decision to 18th-ranked Cornell in the Dec. 29 opener, the Jackrabbits drubbed Duke, 41-3, to close out the first day.

SDSU wrapped up the competition Dec. 30 with a 19-17 win over Michigan State and a 29-8 victory against an Old Dominion squad receiving votes in the NWCA coaches poll.

Individually, junior 125-pounder Danny Vega and senior 184-pounder Zach Carlson each went 4-0 in dual competition. Vega tallied bonus points in all four of his matches, winning two by major decision, one by fall and one by forfeit. His pin came against 10th-ranked Killian Cardinale of Old Dominion in the first bout of the dual.

Carlson's week on the mat was highlighted by a 7-6 decision over 23rd-ranked Cameron Caffey of Michigan State.

Newcomer Tanner Cook also went undefeated in dual competition, winning all three of his 165-pound matches by fall. In his first dual action of the season, the freshman from Ilion, New York, notched a first-period pin of Cornell's Milik Dawkins. He later won by fall over 25th-ranked Drew Hughes of Michigan State in come-from-behind fashion, and also pinned 24th-ranked Shane Jones of Old Dominion.

Cook added two more wins — one each by fall and technical fall — in individual competition associated with the South Beach Duals to finish the week 5-0 and improve to 9-1 overall.

Garrett Jordan wrestled at 165 pounds in the dual versus Duke and was a 13-6 winner to close out an undefeated slate for the Jackrabbits at that weight class.

Wrestling their way to 3-1 records in dual competition were redshirt freshmen Clay Carlson at 141 pounds and Tanner Sloan in the 197-pound division.

Day 1 Recap
Day 2 Recap

DeVOS SHINES AT MIDLANDS: Freshman 157-pounder Cade DeVos recorded an eighth-place finish at the Midlands Championships Dec. 29-30 in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

The Altoona, Iowa, native finished the two-day tournament with a 5-2 record. After falling in his opening-round match to Markus Hartman of Army, 4-2, DeVos reeled off four wins in a row to close out the first day of competition.

He advanced to the placing matches and ran his winning streak to five with a 6-3 decision over sixth-seeded A.C. Headlee of North Carolina to open the second day of competition.

DeVos was upended by top-seeded Quincy Monday of Princeton, 6-3, in the next consolation round and later withdrew from his scheduled seventh-place match against Justin Ruffin of SIU-Edwardsville for medical reasons.

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 opponents. 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 half of the season, four 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, who sat out the South Beach Duals, is ranked 17th by both FloWrestling and TrackWrestling.

Sloan, a redshirt freshman from Alburnett, Iowa, was ranked in the top 10 by three media outlets earlier in the season. He is currently ranked 17th by Intermat, 19th by TrackWrestling and 20th by FloWrestling.

At 184 pounds, Zach Carlson has moved into all three rankings, holding spots of 16th by FloWrestling, 17th by Intermat and 19th by TrackWrestling. He holds a 14-3 record, including a team-best 6-1 mark in duals.

Also appearing in the rankings is 165-pounder Tanner Cook, who is ranked 31st by TrackWrestling. He cracked the rankings following his performance at the South Beach Duals.

Dropping out of the rankings this week were 133-pounder Zach Price and 141-pounder Clay Carlson. Both are redshirt freshmen.

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 State 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 7-13 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 continue Big 12 dual action by hosting Iowa State on Jan. 17. Start time for the Friday-night dual is 7 p.m. at Frost Arena.

-GoJacks.com-