JACKRABBITS OPEN SEASON IN FARGO

Sunday, January 3

Fargo, N.D.

10 a.m.

South Dakota State University

Missouri

BROOKINGS, SD - FEBRUARY 11: xxxxxxxxxxx Friday night at Frost Arena in Brookings, SD. (Photo by Dave Eggen/Inertia)

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia Sports Media

12/31/2020 4:01:00 PM | Wrestling

By: Jason Hove

Duals 1 & 2: South Dakota State (0-0) at NDSU Quadrangular

When	Sunday, Jan. 3 \| 10 a.m. vs. #10 Missouri \| noon vs. Oregon State
Where	Scheels Center \| Fargo, N.D.
TV	FloWrestling.org (subscription)
Radio	None
Live Stats	TrackWrestling.com
Match Notes	South Dakota State Notes \| Missouri Notes \| Oregon State Notes
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram \| #GetJacked

The South Dakota State University wrestling team is on track to open an abbreviated 2020-21 season with a pair of nonconference duals Sunday in Fargo, North Dakota.

Action on two mats begins at 10 a.m. at Scheels Center on the North Dakota State University campus. The Jackrabbits, who compiled a 12-6 dual record a year ago, will take on nationally ranked Missouri at 10 a.m., followed by a noon matchup versus Oregon State.

Coverage will be available through Flowrestling.org (subscription) and Trackwrestling.com.

Missouri enters the season tabbed 10th in the Intermat dual rankings and tied for 17th in the tournament team rankings conducted by FloWrestling. The Tigers compiled a 12-7 overall dual mark during the 2019-20 season, including an 8-0 record in the Mid-American Conference.

Oregon State, under the direction of first-year head coach Chris Pendleton, posted an 8-6 dual record last season.

Following is a complete schedule for the NDSU Quadrangular:

Time	Mat 1	Mat 2
10 a.m.	Oregon State at North Dakota State	South Dakota State vs. Missouri
Noon	Missouri at North Dakota State	South Dakota State vs. Oregon State
2 p.m.	Missouri vs. Oregon State

THE SERIES: Both Missouri and Oregon State have been recent opponents for the Jackrabbits, with SDSU holding a combined 4-5 record against its two weekend foes.

Missouri holds a 3-2 advantage in a series that dates back to a 27-3 Jackrabbit victory during the 1961-62 season. The Tigers have won the two most recent matchups, posting a 36-3 victory during the 2012-13 season and earning a 31-6 win during the 2014-15 campaign. Each of the last two meetings came on the Tigers' home mat.

The Jackrabbits and Oregon State have split their four previous duals. The Beavers claimed the first two meetings, winning 45-3 in Cedar Falls, Iowa, during the 2010-11 season and notching a 35-6 victory in Brookings during the 2014-15 season.

SDSU evened the series at two wins apiece by recording a 30-13 victory at Frost Arena during the 2017-18 season and a 19-17 triumph in Corvallis, Oregon during the 2018-19 season. The latter victory marked the first dual win for Jackrabbit head coach Damion Hahn.

RABBITS RANKED: Six Jackrabbit wrestlers appear in individual national rankings heading into Sunday's season opener.

Sophomore 197-pounder Tanner Sloan leads the SDSU contingent with an eighth-place showing in the Intermat rankings. Sloan also holds rankings of ninth by Trackwrestling and WIN Magazine, and 10th from FloWrestling. The Alburnett, Iowa, native is coming off a 2019-20 season in which he posted a 21-6 overall record and was an NCAA qualifier. Sloan capped his first season with an All-America selection by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.

Fellow NCAA qualifier Tanner Cook also is ranked in the same four polls at 165 pounds, topping out at No. 15 in the Trackwrestling rankings. Cook, who is not expected to wrestle this weekend, is also ranked 16th by Intermat and 17th by both FloWrestling and WIN Magazine. He burst onto the scene last season, compiling a 21-4 overall record with 14 wins by fall.

Four other Jackrabbits, primarily in the lower weights, begin the season ranked by both FloWrestling and Trackwrestling. Senior 125-pounder, an NCAA alternate a year ago, is ranked 24th and 27th, respectively, while sophomore Zach Price is ranked 23rd by Trackwrestling and 24th by FloWrestling.

Fellow sophomore Clay Carlson enters the rankings at No. 25 by FloWrestling and 27th in the Trackwrestling poll at 141 pounds. Completing the rankings is redshirt freshman 157-pounder Cade DeVos, who is tabbed 17th by FloWrestling and 21st by Trackwrestling.

SEASON PREVIEW: South Dakota State will attempt to take another step in its building process under head coach Damion Hahn after returning to the winning side of the ledger in dual competition during the 2019-20 season. The Jackrabbits return several key contributors from last year's squad that posted a 12-6 dual mark and later recorded a fourth-place finish at the Big 12 Wrestling Championship with four NCAA qualifiers.

Despite returning eight starters from a year ago, the Jackrabbits remain a young team as 23 of the 30 wrestlers on the opening-day roster are either freshmen or sophomores.

Lower Weights (125-141)
All three starters in the lower weights from a year ago return, with all three receiving notice in preseason individual rankings. Danny Vega moved into the starting spot at 125 pounds at semester break during the 2019-20 season and responded with a 22-10 overall record (12-4 in duals), narrowly missing an at-large berth to nationals.

Backing up Vega are sophomore Gregory Coapstick and freshman Tanner Jordan. Coapstick redshirted last season after serving as the team's starter during the 2018-19 campaign.

At 133 pounds, sophomore Zach Price returns after a competitive first season in the Jackrabbits' starting lineup. The Johnston, Iowa, native turned in a 15-16 overall record (8-10 in duals), with all but two of his losses by decision.

Other candidates to wrestle at 133 pounds this season include redshirt freshmen Daniel Kimball and Trayton Anderson.

The 141-pound weight class is solidified by sophomore Clay Carlson, who held the starting spot throughout the 2019-20 season and finished with a 21-16 record (10-8 in duals). Carlson will be backed up by junior Rylee Molitor and redshirt freshman Caleb Gross, along with incoming freshmen Lucus Anglin and Jack Thomsen.

Middle Weights (149-174)
The middle weights in the lineup will undergo some retooling as the Jackrabbits look to replace three-time NCAA qualifier and 2020 All-American Henry Pohlmeyer at 149 pounds. Hunter Marko, who transferred to SDSU from Minnesota last season, is the front-runner to fill the void at 149 pounds, while redshirt freshman Cade DeVos is expected to start the season as the starter in the 157-pound weight class, taking over for the tandem of senior Colten Carlson and junior Peyton Smith, who shared the starting role a year ago. DeVos turned in a 22-4 record in open tournaments as a redshirt freshman, highlighted by an eighth-place finish at the Midlands Championships last December.

The Jackrabbits return a national qualifier at 165 pounds in Tanner Cook, but fellow sophomore Kenny O'Neil is expected to receive the starting nod to open the year. O'Neil saw limited dual action last season, finishing the year with a 9-7 overall record (1-2 in duals).

At 174 pounds, sophomore Cade King is back for his second year in the starting lineup.

Providing additional depth in the middle weights are sophomore Dalton Lakmann (157) Devon Sievers (174) and Jacob Schoon (174).

Upper Weights (184-HWT)
Anchoring the Jackrabbits in the upper weights is 197-pounder Tanner Sloan, who earned a trip to the NCAA Championships as a redshirt freshman during the 2019-20 and was selected as a second-team All-American by the National Wrestling Coaches Association after the national meet was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sloan posted a 21-6 record and reached the title match at the Big 12 Wrestling Championship.

This fall, Sloan avenged his Big 12 title loss to West Virginia's Noah Adams with a 10-9 victory in the 97-kilogram freestyle championship match at the 2020 United World Wrestling U23 Nationals in Omaha, Nebraska. In the spring of 2019, Sloan earned a spot on Team USA for the Junior World Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, by winning the United World Wrestling World Team Trials. He also earned gold at the UWW Pan American Championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

At 184 pounds, Josh Casperson is expected to replace 2020 All-American Zach Carlson in the Jackrabbit lineup. A Beresford native, Casperson returned to his home state after transferring from Fresno State and sat out the 2019-20 season. Redshirt freshman Caleb Orris also is a candidate to compete at 184 pounds.

The Jackrabbits feature quality depth at the heavyweight spot, where two-year starter Blake Wolters returns for his senior season and is joined by sophomore Bowen McConville and redshirt freshman Spencer Trenary. Wolters finished the 2019-20 season with a 16-20 record as he continued his steady improvement. McConville notched a 13-6 record in open tournaments, while Trenary tallied an 18-9 mark in open tournaments that included 11 pins.

Trenary followed his first collegiate with a pair of strong showings at the UWW Juniors, winning the 130-kilogram title in Greco-Roman and placing third in the 125-kilogram freestyle division.

The Schedule
Besides starting about two months later than normal, the collegiate wrestling season will take on a different look during the 2020-21 season.

Rules implemented for the 2020-21 season allow teams only one competition date per week leading up the Big 12 Wrestling Championship; exact dates for the two-day event are expected to be finalized in early January. The Big 12 Championship will again serve as the qualifying tournament for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships slated for March 18-20 in St. Louis, Missouri.

SDSU is set to open an abbreviated home slate Jan. 10 by hosting a triangular at Frost Arena with Big 12 Conference rivals North Dakota State and Northern Iowa. The Jackrabbits and UNI are both scheduled to field two squads for the Jan. 10 event, giving additional wrestlers outside of the regular starters an opportunity to compete.

The Jackrabbits' lone other home date is Feb. 13, when SDSU hosts Big 12 foes Utah Valley and Air Force in a four-team dual event that will also feature North Dakota State. The Air Force dual will complete a home-and-home series with the Falcons, which begins Jan. 17. The Jacks also will face Northern Colorado in Colorado Springs on Jan. 17.

After a week off, the Jackrabbits continue road action Jan. 31 with a trip to Little Rock, Arkansas, with matches against Little Rock, Stanford and Big 12 foe Oklahoma.

The February slate will begin Feb. 7 with a triangular in Fargo against North Dakota State and Iowa State.

NEW FACILITY ON THE HORIZON: The South Dakota Board of Regents approved plans in December for South Dakota State University to move forward with a $4 million on-campus wrestling training facility.

The nearly 16,000-square-foot Kurtenbach Family Wrestling Center would be constructed on the southwest corner of the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex. Former SDSU wrestler and coach Frank Kurtenbach provided the lead gift for the facility, which will feature four competition mats, plus a strength and conditioning area, locker rooms, team room, coaches' offices and spaces for academics and nutrition.

"The approval from the Board of Regents to break ground on a state-of-the-art wrestling facility will forever change the landscape of SDSU Wrestling," SDSU head coach Damion Hahn said. "I can't thank our Jackrabbit family enough for the contributions that have been made toward this endeavor. I would like to make a special thank you to the Kurtenbach family for their vision and support of the project."

Pending final approval by the South Dakota Legislature, construction of the two-story structure is tentatively scheduled to begin in spring 2021.

COACH HAHN: Damion Hahn is overseeing a successful rebuilding of South Dakota State University wrestling as he enters his third season at the helm of the Jackrabbits' program.

During the 2019-20 season, the Jackrabbits returned to the winning side of the ledger in dual competition by posting a 12-6 overall record, including a 6-3 mark in the Big 12. Included in the dual victories were wins over nationally ranked Northern Iowa and Stanford.

SDSU also improved by six spots in the Big 12 Conference Wrestling Championship, finishing fourth in the team standings at the 2020 competition. Four Jackrabbit wrestlers earned automatic qualifying berths in the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, with another receiving a bid as an alternate. The NCAA Championships were later canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the National Wrestling Coaches Association selected 149-pounder Henry Pohlmeyer, 184-pounder Zach Carlson and 197-pounder Tanner Sloan as second-team All-Americans.

In his first season at SDSU, Hahn faced a rebuilding task as the Jackrabbits featured new starters in six spots in the lineup. SDSU finished with a 3-10 dual mark, including a 2-7 record against Big 12 foes. Pohlmeyer was the lone NCAA qualifier.

Hahn was hired at SDSU on April 9, 2018, following more than a decade of success as a member of the coaching staff at Cornell (N.Y.).

"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 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 2020-21 SDSU wrestling roster features 30 student-athletes from 12 different states. Of the 30 wrestlers, eight are from Iowa, followed by seven from Minnesota and five native South Dakotans. Two Jackrabbit wrestlers hail from Wisconsin, while eight states — Arizona, California, Missouri, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas and Washington — each are represented by one wrestler.
By class, four are seniors, three are juniors, 10 are sophomores, eight are redshirt freshmen and five are incoming freshmen.

A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits are scheduled to open the home portion of their schedule by hosting Big 12 Conference rivals North Dakota State and Northern Iowa on Jan. 10. SDSU and UNI are expected to field two squads each, with action set to begin at 2 p.m. at Frost Arena.

Following is a complete schedule:
2 p.m. — SDSU vs. North Dakota State • SDSU #2 vs. Northern Iowa
4 p.m. — North Dakota State vs. Northern Iowa • SDSU vs. Northern Iowa #2
6 p.m. — SDSU vs. Northern Iowa • SDSU #2 vs. Northern Iowa #2

-GoJacks.com-