Regular season closes with Border Bell dual

Friday, February 21

Brookings, S.D.

7 p.m.

South Dakota State University

North Dakota State

Buy Tickets

2/19/2020 10:59:00 AM | Wrestling

Dual 18: North Dakota State (9-3, 5-1 Big 12) at South Dakota State (12-5, 6-2)

When	Friday, Feb. 21 \| 7 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 \| North Dakota State Notes
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram \| #GetJacked

BROOKINGS, S.D. — Two wrestling squads with long dual winning streaks will clash Friday night as South Dakota State hosts North Dakota State in the Jackrabbits' regular season finale.

The annual Border Bell matchup is set for a 7 p.m. start at Frost Arena. The six members of the Jackrabbit senior class will be honored prior to Friday's dual.

Fans attending the dual will receive a commemorative glass. Tickets can be be ordered in advance online at JackrabbitTickets.com. The arena ticket booth opens at 6 p.m. Friday.

North Dakota State has won its last six duals and enters Friday's match 9-3 overall and 5-1 against Big 12 Conference opponents. The Bison are slated to also wrestle Sunday at Iowa State.

SDSU, meanwhile, has won five duals in a row to improve to 12-5 overall and 6-2 versus Big 12 foes. The Jackrabbits have outscored the opposition by a combined 159-40 during their current winning streak.

Both teams are coming off home victories over then-21st-ranked Stanford. NDSU defeated the Cardinal, 28-13, on Feb. 15, while SDSU scored a 34-4 victory the next night. The Bison closed their weekend homestand with a 31-6 dual win over Air Force on Feb. 16.

The Jackrabbits and NDSU each received three votes in this week's NWCA Division I Coaches' Poll.

Friday's dual can be viewed through FloWrestling.org (subscription required).

Both head coaches — South Dakota State's Damion Hahn and NDSU's Roger Kish — were All-America wrestlers at the University of Minnesota. Hahn was a four-time All-American from 2001-04 and won back-to-back NCAA titles at 197 pounds as a junior and senior. Kish was an All-American at 184 pounds for the Golden Gophers in both 2006 and 2007.

SERIES VERSUS NORTH DAKOTA STATE: South Dakota State and North Dakota State will meet for the 66th time in dual competition, when the two programs clash Friday night at Frost Arena. NDSU leads the all-time series between the two longtime rivals, 43-21-1, including a 12-5-1 advantage in the Division I era for both programs, which began at the start of the 2004-05 season.

The Jackrabbits had won four matchups in a row before NDSU posted a 31-10 victory on its home mat last February. The Bison claimed eight of 10 matches, highlighted by falls from Brent Fleetwood (125 pounds) and Lorenzo De La Riva (174), along with a technical fall by Andrew Fogarty in the 165-pound matchup.

Both of the Jackrabbits' wins were of the bonus-point variety as Zach Carlson earned a technical fall over Michael Otomo in the dual's opening bout at 184 pounds and Henry Pohlmeyer recorded a late pin versus Jaden Van Maanen in the 149-pound matchup.

North Dakota State 31, South Dakota State 10 (Feb. 15, 2019)
184: Zach Carlson (SDSU) tech. fall Michael Otomo (NDSU), 17-2 [7:00]
197: Cordell Eaton (NDSU) dec. Martin Mueller (SDSU), 3-1
285: Brandon Metz (NDSU) dec. Blake Wolters (SDSU), 8-7
125: #9 Brent Fleetwood (NDSU) def. Gregory Coapstick (SDSU), by fall 3:53
133: #17 Cam Sykora (NDSU) dec. Rylee Molitor (SDSU), 7-2
141: Sawyer Degen (NDSU) dec. Aric Williams (SDSU), 9-5
149: Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU) def. Jaden Van Maanen (NDSU), by fall 6:48
157: Luke Weber (NDSU) dec. Colten Carlson (SDSU), 10-7
165: #17 Andrew Fogarty (NDSU) tech. fall Logan Peterson (SDSU), 16-0 [4:32]
174: Lorenzo De La Riva (NDSU) def. Samuel Grove (SDSU), by fall 6:45
Notes: Each team deducted one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct; rankings by FloWrestling

LAST WEEK: The Jackrabbits continued their winning ways, downing Fresno State and Stanford on back-to-back nights at Frost Arena.

South Dakota State 26, Fresno State 12
South Dakota State wrestlers Zach Carlson and Tanner Sloan each won by major decision and the Jackrabbits picked up a pair of forfeits to defeat Fresno State, 26-12, in a Big 12 Conference dual Feb. 15 at Frost Arena.

In winning their fourth dual in a row, the Jackrabbits improved to 11-5 overall and 6-2 in Big 12 action. Fresno State dropped to 9-9 overall and 4-3 against league foes.

The Bulldogs forfeited at 125 and 149 pounds, allowing SDSU to build a 15-3 lead through four matches. Clay Carlson posted a 7-3 decision over Gary Joint in the 141-pound bout for the lone Jackrabbit victory in a contested match in the early going.

Coming out of the intermission, Tanner Cook continued his winning ways at 165 pounds by notching an 18-12 decision over Adam Kemp. Cook scored takedowns on a pair of throws in the first period and followed each with four-point near-falls for a 12-2 first-period lead. Kemp countered with two takedowns in each of the next two periods, but Cook found enough offense down the stretch to hold on for his 16th win of the season.

The major decisions by Zach Carlson and Sloan came in consecutive matches. Carlson, ranked 17th at 184 pounds, got out to an early lead in his match against Hunter Cruz with a takedown and two-point near-fall before pouring it on in the third period with a takedown and four-point near-fall en route to a 16-2 victory.

Sloan racked up more than five minutes of riding time in his 9-0 win over Dominic Kincaid. The 19th-ranked Sloan recorded a first-period takedown and later upped his lead to 4-0 with a reversal early in the second period. He notched another takedown off a neutral start in the third period and picked up two additional points when Kincaid was penalized for stalling.

Fresno State got on the board as Lawrence Saenz scored a 7-2 decision over Zach Price in the 133-pound matchup. The Bulldogs closed to within 18-9 after wins by Jacob Wright at 157 pounds and Jackson Hemauer at 174 pounds. Wright needed overtime to down Peyton Smith, 9-3, turning a takedown in the extra session into a four-point near-fall.

Josh Hokit, ranked 11th at heavyweight, closed the dual with a 5-2 decision over Blake Wolters.

125: #24 Danny Vega (SDSU) won by forfeit
133: Lawrence Saenz (FSU) dec. Zach Price (SDSU), 7-2
141: Clay Carlson (SDSU) dec. Gary Joint (FSU), 7-3
149: #10 Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU) won by forfeit
157: Jacob Wright (FSU) dec. Peyton Smith (SDSU), 9-3 [SV-1]
165: #25 Tanner Cook (SDSU) dec. Adam Kemp (FSU), 18-12
174: Jackson Hemauer (FSU) dec. Kelby Hawkins (SDSU), 6-0
184: #17 Zach Carlson (SDSU) major dec. Hunter Cruz (FSU), 16-2
197: #19 Tanner Sloan (SDSU) major dec. Dominic Kincaid (FSU), 9-0
285: #11 Josh Hokit (FSU) dec. Blake Wolters (SDSU), 5-2
Note: Individual rankings by FloWrestling

South Dakota State 34, Stanford 4
SDSU got off to a fast start and carried the momentum throughout, posting a 34-4 home victory over 21st-ranked Stanford Feb. 16 before a crowd of 1,103 at Frost Arena.

The Jackrabbits, who won the first nine matches in the contest, ran their dual winning streak to five in improving to 12-5 overall. Stanford, which was wrestling for the third time in four days, fell to 11-4 on the season after dropping its second dual in a row.

With the match starting at 174 pounds, the Jackrabbits bumped up Tanner Cook a weight class. Cook scored on a takedown late in the first period against Gabe Dinette and added an escape seconds into the second period for a 3-0 lead. Cook then rode out the entire third period to pick up the final point in a 4-0 decision.

Zach Carlson, ranked 17th at 184 pounds, picked up the first of four bonus-point wins for the Jackrabbits with a 16-5 major decision over Jared Hill.

In the lone matchup of the night between ranked wrestlers, No. 19 Tanner Sloan of SDSU got the best of 13th-ranked Nathan Traxler, 7-2. Sloan opened the scoring with a first-period takedown and took a 3-1 lead into the third period after the wrestlers traded escapes. In the final stanza, Sloan was awarded a point for stalling before sealing his 17th win of the season with a takedown and riding-time advantage.

Blake Wolters and Danny Vega each added decisions before the Jackrabbits recorded three consecutive bonus-point wins to build their lead to 31-0. Zach Price started the streak with a 15-0 technical fall over Luciano Arroyo at 133 pounds, while Clay Carlson turned in a 10-2 major decision versus Fabian Santillan.

Jackrabbit 149-pounder Henry Pohlmeyer was awarded a forfeit for the second night in a row.

Backup Garrett Jordan notched the final win for the Jackrabbits with a 9-3 decision over Ethan Woods in the 157-pound matchup.

Stanford ended the SDSU shutout bid in the final bout of the night as third-ranked Shane Griffith tallied a 16-5 major decision over Kenny O'Neil. As a team, the Cardinal was held without a takedown until Griffith's match as he remained undefeated on the season at 26-0.

174: Tanner Cook (SDSU) dec. Gabe Dinette (STAN), 4-0
184: #17 Zach Carlson (SDSU) major dec. Jared Hill (STAN), 16-5
197: #19 Tanner Sloan (SDSU) dec. #13 Nathan Traxler (STAN), 7-2
285: Blake Wolters (SDSU) dec. Trevor Rasmussen (STAN), 7-1
125: #24 Danny Vega (SDSU) dec. Jackson DiSario (STAN), 6-3
133: Zach Price (SDSU) tech. fall Luciano Arroyo (STAN), 15-0 [6:23]
141: Clay Carlson (SDSU) major dec. Fabian Santillan (STAN), 10-2
149: Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU) won by forfeit
157: Garrett Jordan (SDSU) dec. Ethan Woods (STAN), 9-3
165: #3 David Griffith (STAN) major dec. Kenny O'Neil (SDSU), 16-5
Notes: Cook ranked 25th at 165 pounds; rankings by FloWrestling

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 the Little Rock match, 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 30-12 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 23-7 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 14-3 in duals so far this year.

Carlson's 23 dual wins have resulted in 94 team points for the Jackrabbits over the past two seasons. He brings a streak of five consecutive bonus-point victories into Friday's dual against North Dakota State — three technical falls and two major decisions. Carlson has scored at least 16 points in each of those five matches.

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 11 or more duals in each of their five winning seasons since the start of the 2014-15 campaign.

SLOAN HONORED: South Dakota State 197-pounder Tanner Sloan was honored Tuesday as Big 12 Conference Wrestler of the Week after helping lead the Jackrabbits to a pair of home dual victories.

A redshirt freshman from Alburnett, Iowa, Sloan opened the weekend with a 9-0 major decision over Fresno State's Dominic Kincaid on Feb. 15. The next night, Sloan knocked off 13th-ranked Nathan Traxler of Stanford by a 7-2 decision.

With the two wins, Sloan upped his overall season record to 17-5 and his duals mark to 12-3. He has won 11 of his last 12 matches dating back to late December and jumped in this week's individual national rankings to as high as ninth by WIN Magazine, along with rankings of 10th (Intermat) and 12th (FloWrestling, TrackWrestling).

Sloan is the second SDSU wrestler to receive the weekly conference award this season, joining 149-pounder Henry Pohlmeyer on Jan. 14. Pohlmeyer enters the week with an 18-4 overall record and an 11-2 mark in dual competition. He leads active Jackrabbit wrestlers in career wins with 72.

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 (10th). He also is ranked 13th by Intermat.

Sloan, a redshirt freshman from Alburnett, Iowa, was ranked in the top 10 by three media outlets earlier in the season and moved back into that position following his victory last week against Stanford's Nathan Traxler. He rose to as high as ninth by WIN Magazine, along with rankings of 10th (Intermat) and 12th (FloWrestling, TrackWrestling).

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 15th by TrackWrestling, 16th by Intermat and 17th by FloWrestling.

Also appearing in the rankings in the second half of the season are 125-pounder Danny Vega and 165-pounder Tanner Cook. Vega, a junior who previously competed at Iowa State, is ranked as high as 15th by Intermat. He also stands 16th in the WIN Magazine rankings, 17th by TrackWrestling and 25th by FloWrestling. He has a 12-3 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 17-3 overall record, including an 11-2 mark in duals since being inserted into the Jackrabbit lineup at the South Beach Duals in late December. Cook, who has a total of 12 wins by fall this season, is 23rd in the TrackWrestling rankings and 25th in the FloWrestling survey. His 10 pins against Division I competition ranked in a tie for fourth among D-I wrestlers this season through Feb. 12, while his average of 4.20 team points per match ranked in a tie for ninth in the D-I Most Dominant Wrestler standings.

As a team, the Jackrabbits are ranked 20th by WIN Magazine and 23rd by Intermat in the organizations' dual rankings. SDSU also has received votes in the NWCA Division I Coaches' Poll on a few different occasions this season, including garnering three votes in the Feb. 18 poll.

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 Feb. 13 by NCAA officials.

Ranked Jackrabbits are:

Danny Vega, ranked 20th (23rd in RPI) at 125 pounds — 20-7 overall record;
Zach Price, ranked 33rd (26th in RPI) at 133 pounds — 14-12 overall record;
Henry Pohlmeyer, ranked ninth (14th in RPI) at 149 pounds — 18-4 overall record;
Tanner Cook, ranked 24th (19th in RPI) at 165 pounds — 17-3 overall record;
Zach Carlson, ranked 13th (15th in RPI) at 184 pounds — 22-5 overall record, and
Tanner Sloan, ranked 17th (15th in RPI) at 197 pounds — 17-5 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 15-15 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: SDSU will compete in the Big 12 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.

Following is the schedule for the 2020 Big 12 Wrestling Championship:
Saturday, March 7
11 a.m. – Preliminary matches and quarterfinals
5 p.m. – Consolation matches and semifinals
Sunday, March 8
11 a.m. – Consolation semifinals, placing matches (third, fifth, seventh) and true-place matches (if necessary)
6 p.m. – Championship matches

-GoJacks.com-