Jackrabbits host pair of California schools

Saturday, February 15

Brookings, S.D.

6 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Fresno State

Buy Tickets

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

2/13/2020 3:18:00 PM | Wrestling

Dual 16: Fresno State (9-8, 4-2 Big 12) at South Dakota State (10-5, 5-2 Big 12)

When	Saturday, Feb. 15 \| 6 p.m.	ORDER TICKETS
Where	Frost Arena \| Brookings, S.D.
TV	FloWrestling.org (subscription)
Radio	None
Live Stats	TrackWrestling.com
Match Notes	South Dakota State Notes \| SDSU Statistics \| F resno State Notes
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram \| #GetJacked

Dual 17: Stanford (10-2) at South Dakota State

When	Saturday, Feb. 16 \| 6 p.m	ORDER TICKETS
Where	Frost Arena \| Brookings, S.D.
TV	FloWrestling.org (subscription)
Radio	None
Live Stats	TrackWrestling.com
Match Notes	South Dakota State Notes \| SDSU Statistics \| Stanford Notes
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram \| #GetJacked

BROOKINGS, S.D. — The South Dakota State University wrestling team begins the home stretch of the 2019-20 dual season by hosting a pair of duals this weekend at Frost Arena.

The duals kick off a regular season-ending three-match homestand for the Jackrabbits, who enter the weekend with a 10-5 overall record in duals, including a 5-2 mark in the Big 12 Conference. SDSU has won three duals in a row and nine of its last 11.

Saturday, the Jackrabbits will take on Big 12 opponent Fresno State. The Bulldogs enter the matchup 9-8 overall, including a 4-2 league mark after dropping a 28-7 decision at North Dakota State on Feb. 8.

SDSU will turn its attention to another program from the state of California on Sunday, hosting Stanford in nonconference action. The Cardinal, which is ranked 21st in this week's National Wrestling Coaches Association poll, brings a 10-2 record into three duals in a four-day span this week. Stanford is slated to host Little Rock Thursday, before traveling to North Dakota State Saturday afternoon and concluding its road trip Sunday in Brookings.

Both of the Jackrabbits' duals are slated for 6 p.m. starts and will be available for viewing at FloWrestling.org (subscription required). Saturday's dual will be preceded by the Jackrabbit women's basketball game against Purdue Fort Wayne at 1 p.m., while the Jackrabbit men's basketball team will host Purdue Fort Wayne prior to Sunday's contest at 2 p.m.

SERIES VERSUS FRESNO STATE: Saturday's dual will mark the second meeting on the wrestling mat between South Dakota State and Fresno State.

The Bulldogs, who revived their program during the 2017-18 season after it was discontinued a decade earlier, claimed the initial meeting between the two squads in convincing fashion by winning 38-3 Jan. 20, 2019, in Fresno, California. FSU notched pins in three of the first four matches to set the tone.

Zach Carlson recorded the lone win for the Jackrabbits, posting a 4-3 decision over Jackson Hemauer in the 184-pound matchup. With the win, Carlson avenged a loss to Hemauer at the Midlands Championships three weeks earlier.

Fresno State 38, South Dakota State 3 (Jan. 20, 2019)
125: Robert Garcia (FSU) def. Gregory Coapstick (SDSU), by fall 2:31
133: Gary Joint (FSU) major dec. Rylee Molitor (SDSU), 9-0
141: Christopher Deloza (FSU) def. Aric Williams (SDSU), by fall 4:44
149: #17 Khristian Olivas (FSU) def. #19 Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU), by fall 3:39
157: Jacob Wright (FSU) dec. Colten Carlson (SDSU), 4-1
165: Isaiah Hokit (FSU) dec. Logan Peterson (SDSU), 11-5
174: Dominic Kincaid (FSU) dec. Samuel Grove (SDSU), 4-1
184: Zach Carlson (SDSU) dec. Jackson Hemauer (FSU), 4-3
197: #16 Josh Hokit (FSU) major dec. Martin Mueller (SDSU), 18-5
285: A.J. Nevills (FSU) dec. Blake Wolters (SDSU), 2-0

SERIES VERSUS STANFORD: The Jackrabbits will attempt to even the all-time series against Stanford as the two programs meet for the fourth time in dual competition. The Cardinal won each of the first two matchups at neutral sites, defeating SDSU 22-11 during the 2012-13 season in Columbia, Missouri, followed by a 20-14 Stanford win in San Luis Obispo, California, during the 2013-14 campaign.

SDSU broke into the win column with a hard-fought 17-15 victory over Stanford on Feb. 14, 2015, at Frost Arena. Each team won five matches, but Cody Pack's 18-3 technical fall over Josh Lauderdale in the 157-pound bout proved to be the difference.

Other winners for the Jackrabbits were: Brance Simms (133), Luke Zilverberg (141), Alex Kocer (149) and Nate Rotert (197).

LAST WEEK: The Jackrabbits upped their winning streak to three matches as they turned in a pair of dominant performances en route to road dual wins at West Virginia and Ohio.

South Dakota State 29, West Virginia 15
South Dakota State wrestlers reeled off three consecutive pins in the middle weights, propelling the Jackrabbits to a 29-15 victory over West Virginia in Big 12 Conference dual action Feb. 7 at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Leading 6-3 through three matches, SDSU took control of the dual in the 149-pound bout as ninth-ranked Henry Pohlmeyer began the pinning streak with a first-period fall against the Mountaineers' Seth Hogue. After giving up an early takedown, Pohlmeyer countered with a reversal and four-point near-fall before getting another turn to put Hogue's shoulders to the mat in 2 minutes and 8 seconds.

Peyton Smith had a flair for the dramatic in pushing the Jackrabbits' lead to 18-3 heading into intermission. The sophomore 157-pounder trailed West Virginia's Alex Hornfeck, 3-2, late in the match before coming up with the go-ahead takedown with about 10 seconds to go and then snapping Hornfeck over to his back for a pin with a single second remaining.

Out of the intermission, Tanner Cook continued his pinning prowess as he posted a second-period fall against 25th-ranked Nick Kiussis. It was Cook's 12th pin of the season – and seventh in dual competition – as he improved to 14-3 overall.

Also picking up a bonus-point victory for the Jackrabbits was 16th-ranked Zach Carlson in the 184-pound matchup. Carlson held a 2-0 lead through one period against Hunter DeLong, but pulled away for an 18-3 technical fall in the final two periods with a reversal, two takedowns and a pair of four-point near-falls.

Danny Vega, ranked 24th at 125 pounds, opened the dual with a 15-10 decision over Joey Thomas, while Zach Price followed with a 6-4 decision against Lucas Seibert at 133 pounds.

West Virginia, 3-9 overall and 0-4 in the Big 12, got on the board in the 141-pound matchup as Caleb Rea outlasted the Jackrabbits' Clay Carlson, 2-1, in a match decided in an overtime tiebreaker. Rea managed to escape midway through first half of the tiebreaker, then kept Carlson from escaping in the latter half.

The Mountaineers also received victories by decision from 174-pounder Scott Joll and Sean Mullican at heavyweight. Second-ranked Noah Adams was awarded a win by forfeit at 197 pounds as the Jackrabbits' Tanner Sloan, who is ranked 18th in the weight class, was held out of Friday's match after suffering an injury the previous week in a dual at Oklahoma State.

125: #24 Danny Vega (SDSU) dec. Joey Thomas (WVU), 15-10
133: Zach Price (SDSU) dec. Lucas Seibert (WVU), 6-4
141: Caleb Rea (WVU) dec. Clay Carlson (SDSU), 2-1 [TB-1]
149: #9 Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU) def. Seth Hogue (WVU), by fall 2:08
157: Peyton Smith (SDSU) def. Alex Hornfeck (WVU), by fall 6:59
165: Tanner Cook (SDSU) def. #25 Nick Kiussis (WVU), by fall 4:25
174: Scott Joll (WVU) dec. Cade King (SDSU), 8-3
184: #16 Zach Carlson (SDSU) tech. fall Hunter DeLong (WVU), 18-3 [7:00]
197: #2 Noah Adams (WVU) won by forfeit
285: Sean Mullican (WVU) dec. Blake Wolters (SDSU), 5-2
Note: Individual rankings by FloWrestling

South Dakota State 28, Ohio 9
Three of South Dakota State's ranked wrestlers won by technical fall as the Jackrabbits turned in another dominant performance, defeating Ohio University, 28-9, in nonconference dual action Feb. 9 at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio.

With their third road victory in a row, the Jackrabbits improved to 10-5 overall to secure a winning dual season with three matches remaining. Ohio, which dropped a 31-6 decision to Mid-American Conference rival Northern Illinois earlier in the day, fell to 6-8 in duals.

SDSU raced out to a 9-0 lead through two matches behind a technical fall from Danny Vega and a major decision by Zach Price. Vega, ranked 24th at 125 pounds by FloWrestling, recorded a 20-3 victory over Trevor Giallombardo, while Price scored a 13-2 win over Giovanni DiSabato in the 133-pound matchup.

The Bobcats' lone ranked wrestler in the lineup, No. 18 Skakur Laney, put Ohio on the board with an 11-3 major decision over Clay Carlson in the 141-pound matchup.

The Jackrabbits put the match out of reach with three consecutive victories in the middle weights, starting with a 7-0 decision by ninth-ranked Henry Pohlmeyer. A senior from Johnston, Iowa, Pohlmeyer and Alec Hagan went into the third period of their match scoreless. Pohlmeyer tallied a point on an escape in the opening seconds of the final stanza, then recorded a takedown and four-point near-fall in the closing seconds for the 7-0 victory.

Peyton Smith notched SDSU's third bonus-point victory of the match with a 9-0 major decision over Kade Kowalski in the 157-pound matchup, while Tanner Cook turned up the pressure in the third period of his bout against Nick Vestal for a 7-1 decision at 165 pounds. Cook led 1-0 through two stanzas before taking down Vestal and adding a four-point near-fall.

The Jackrabbits' two other technical falls came in back-to-back matches. At 184 pounds, 17th-ranked Zach Carlson worked from the top in the second period of his bout with Hunter Yeargan, turning a scoreless deadlock into a 16-0 technical fall with a series of four-point near-falls. Carlson's win was his 20th of the season as he also improved to 12-3 in duals.

Tanner Sloan, ranked 18th at 197 pounds, marked his return to the lineup with a 16-1 technical fall over Jake Walker. Sloan missed the last two duals due to injury.

Other winners for the Bobcats were Logan Stanley (174 pounds) and Jordan Earnest (285 pounds).

157: Peyton Smith (SDSU) dec. Thomas Lisher (LR), 2-0
165: Tanner Cook (SDSU) dec. William Edgar (LR), 10-7
174: Cade King (SDSU) tech. fall Tristan Tadeo (LR), 18-2 [5:25]
184: #16 Zach Carlson (SDSU) tech. fall Matthew Muller (LR), 18-2 [3:00]
197: Kelby Hawkins (SDSU) dec. James Johnson (LR), 6-3
285: Blake Wolters (SDSU) won by forfeit
125: #25 Danny Vega (SDSU) tech. fall Jayden Carson (LR), 18-3 [7:00]
133: Zach Price (SDSU) dec. Paul Bianchi (LR), 10-7
141: Clay Carlson (SDSU) dec. Conner Ward (LR), 8-5
149: #10 Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU) def. Tyler Brennan (LR), by fall 0:36

RARE SHUTOUT: South Dakota State's 42-0 victory at Little Rock on Feb. 2 marked the Jackrabbits' first shutout of a Division I opponent in 14 years.

SDSU last blanked an opponent on Jan. 13, 2006, when the Jackrabbits posted a 44-0 victory over Delaware State at the Virginia Duals.

Prior to last Sunday, the last time SDSU shut out any dual opponent was a 49-0 victory over Division II opponent Augustana at the Dakota Showcase in Spearfish on Dec. 3, 2017

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 29-12 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.

CARLSON COMES UP BIG IN DUALS: Senior 184-pounder Zach Carlson has been the Jackrabbits' top performer in duals over the past two seasons. The Murdock, Minnesota, native has combined for a 21-7 dual record since becoming a full-time starter during the 2018-19 campaign. He led the squad with a 9-4 dual record as a junior and is a team-best 12-3 in duals so far this year.

His 21 dual wins have resulted in 86 team points for the Jackrabbits.

ANOTHER WINNING SEASON: South Dakota State secured its fifth winning season in the last six years with its 28-9 victory at Ohio on Feb. 9. The Jackrabbits have won 10 or more duals in each of their five winning seasons since the start of the 2014-15 campaign.

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 16-4 overall record and a 9-2 mark in dual competition. He leads active Jackrabbit wrestlers in career wins with 68.

MARKO JOINS SQUAD: Four-time Wisconsin state champion Hunter Marko recently joined the South Dakota State wrestling program after transferring from the University of Minnesota.

Marko saw limited action in three seasons at Minnesota, which included posting a 2-4 dual record as a redshirt freshman during the 2017-18 campaign.

A native of Amery, Wisconsin, Marko will be eligible to compete in the fall of 2020 and is projected as a 149-pounder.

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 month, climbing to top-10 rankings by three organizations: WIN Magazine (eighth), FloWrestling (ninth) and TrackWrestling (ninth). He also is ranked 11th by Intermat.

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 by the same outlets as Pohlmeyer, ranging from 13th (WIN Magazine) to 18th (FloWrestling).

At 184 pounds, Zach Carlson has moved into all four rankings, including holding the eighth spot the WIN Magazine rankings. A senior from Murdock, Minnesota, Carlson also is ranked 16th by TrackWrestling and FloWrestling, and 17th by Intermat.

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 as high as 14th by Intermat. He also stands 18th in the WIN Magazine rankings, 23rd by TrackWrestling and 24th by FloWrestling. He has an 8-3 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 13-3 overall record, including a 7-2 mark in duals since being inserted into the Jackrabbit lineup at the South Beach Duals in late December. Cook, who has a total of 11 wins by fall this season, is 26th in the TrackWrestling rankings for the third consecutive week. His nine pins against Division I competition rank in a tie for fourth among D-I wrestlers this season, while his average of 4.20 team points per match rank in a tie for ninth in the D-I Most Dominant Wrestler standings..

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: Six South Dakota State University wrestlers were included in the second of four coaches' panel rankings for the 2019-20 season, which were announced Thursday by NCAA?officials.
Ranked Jackrabbits are:

Danny Vega, ranked 20th (23rd in RPI) at 125 pounds — 18-7 overall record;
Zach Price, ranked 33rd (26th in RPI) at 133 pounds — 13-11 overall record;
Henry Pohlmeyer, ranked ninth (14th in RPI) at 149 pounds — 16-4 overall record;
Tanner Cook, ranked 24th (19th in RPI) at 165 pounds — 15-3 overall record;
Zach Carlson, ranked 13th (15th in RPI) at 184 pounds — 20-5 overall record, and
Tanner Sloan, ranked 17th (15th in RPI) at 197 pounds — 15-5 overall record.

In addition, 141-pounder Clay Carlson has registered the 33rd-best ratings percentage index (RPI) in his weight class, but did not crack the top 33 in the coaches' panel rankings.

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. He enters the week with a 13-15 career mark.

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, nine are from Minnesota and nine are native South Dakotans. Iowa is represented by seven wrestlers, while two wrestlers hail from New York and Wisconsin. Seven states — Arizona, California, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas and Washington — each have one wrestler.

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

A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits close out the dual season Feb. 21, hosting North Dakota State on Senior Night. Start time is 7 p.m. at Frost Arena.

From there, SDSU will compete in the Big 12 Conference Wrestling Championship March 7-8 at BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The two-day event serves as the qualifying tournament for the NCAA?Division I Wrestling Championships later in the month.

-GoJacks.com-