JACKRABBITS TRAVEL TO MINNESOTA

Sunday, November 28

Minneapolis, Minn.

1 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Minnesota

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

11/27/2021 12:48:00 PM | Wrestling

DUAL 2: South Dakota State (1-0) at #12 Minnesota (0-1)

When	Sunday, Nov. 28 \| 1 p.m.
Where	Maturi Pavilion \| Minneapolis, Minn.
TV	Big Ten Network Plus (subscription)
Radio	None
Live Stats	Trackwrestling.com
Tournament Notes	South Dakota State \| Minnesota
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram \| #GetJacked

The South Dakota State wrestling team hits the road this weekend, sending its starting lineup to a dual against 12th-ranked Minnesota and the Jackrabbit reserves to tournament competition at the Harold Nichols Cyclone Open.

Sunday's dual at Minnesota is slated for a 1 p.m. start at the Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis. The Jackrabbits enter the matchup with a 1-0 dual record after posting a 34-10 victory on Nov. 19. Minnesota is 0-1 after suffering a 23-10 setback at the hands of Oklahoma State on Nov. 20.

The dual can be viewed on the Big Ten Network Plus streaming platform (subscription required).

Action at the Cyclone Open is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Sunday at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. About 15 Jackrabbit wrestlers are scheduled to compete across two age divisions.

THE SERIES: Minnesota has held the upper hand over the Jackrabbits in dual action, leading the all-time series, which dates back to the 1949-50 season, by a 26-4 count.

SDSU's last victory over the Golden Gophers was a 23-18 triumph during the 1974-75 campaign.

The two programs last met in dual action on Dec. 20, 2019, at SDSU's Frost Arena with the 13th-ranked Golden Gophers coming away with a 22-10 victory. Minnesota won seven of the 10 bouts.

Zach Price gave the Jackrabbits a short-lived 4-3 victory through two matches with a 10-0 major decision over Brent Jones at 133 pounds.

Minnesota then reeled off five consecutive victories — all by decision — to take a commanding 18-4 lead before a pair of Jackrabbit ranked wrestlers notched victories. Zach Carlson, ranked 17th at 184 pounds, edged No. 18 Owen Webster, 4-1, and No. 19 Tanner Sloan added a 5-0 victory over Hunter Ritter at 197 pounds.

The Golden Gophers' Gable Stevenson made his 2019-20 season debut by closing the dual with a 21-8 major decision over Blake Wolters in the heavyweight bout.

#13 Minnesota 22, South Dakota State 10 (Dec. 20, 2019 • Frost Arena)
125: #19 Patrick McKee (MINN) dec. Danny Vega (SDSU), 6-4
133: Zach Price (SDSU) major dec. Brent Jones (MINN), 10-0
141: #2 Mitchell McKee (MINN) dec. Clay Carlson (SDSU), 6-1
149: #5 Brayton Lee (MINN) dec. #15 Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU), 4-3
157: Carson Brolsma (MINN) dec. Colten Carlson (SDSU), 6-3
165: Bailee O'Reilly (MINN) dec. Garrett Jordan (SDSU), 9-4
174: #7 Devin Skatzka (MINN) dec. Cade King (SDSU), 6-1
184: #17 Zach Carlson (SDSU) dec. #18 Owen Webster (MINN), 4-1
197: #19 Tanner Sloan (SDSU) dec. Hunter Ritter (MINN), 5-0
285: Gable Steveson (MINN) major dec. Blake Wolters (SDSU), 21-8
Note: Rankings by FloWrestling

LAST WEEK: The Jackrabbits opened the home portion of their schedule by hosting a pair of events at Frost Arena.

South Dakota State 34, Augustana 10
South Dakota State wrestlers recorded four pins, propelling the Jackrabbits to a 34-10 victory over Augustana in the season-opening dual for both squads Nov. 19.

Three of SDSU's pins came in a four-match stretch, starting with a second-period pin by returning All-American Clay Carlson in his 141-pound matchup against Kage Lenger.

Zach Price, ranked 24th at 149 pounds, followed with a second-period pin of Keaten Schorr, while 20th-ranked Tanner Cook marked his return to the lineup by needing only 22 seconds to put Miles Fitzgerald's shoulders to the mat in the 165-pound bout.

Newcomer A.J. Nevills, ranked 24th at heavyweight, closed the dual with a win by fall over Steven Hajas.

Nick Casperson also recorded a bonus-point win for the Jackrabbits, notching a 12-3 major decision over Daniel Bishop in the 197-pound matchup.

In all, SDSU claimed seven of the 10 matches, with Tanner Jordan and Kenny O'Neil winning by decision at 125 and 157 pounds, respectively.

Augustana was led by 184-pounder Kolby Kost, who scored a 15-7 major decision over the Jackrabbits' Tate Battani.

Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open
Nick Casperson reached the finals of the 197-pound weight class to lead a contingent of South Dakota State wrestlers Nov. 21 at the Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open.

A junior from Beresford, Casperson posted a 2-1 record on the day. He opened with a 12-7 decision over Northern Iowa's Noah Glaser, followed by an 11-8 victory against Bennett Tabor of Minnesota.

In the championship bout, Nebraska's Silas Allred came away with a first-period pin of Casperson.

Three other Jackrabbits came away with fourth-place finishes, starting with Tanner Jordan at 125 pounds. Jordan began the day by dropping an 8-4 decision to Corey Cabanban of Iowa State, then reeled off three consecutive victories, including a 5-2 decision over 17th-ranked Liam Cronin of Nebraska.

Jordan dropped his third-place match by fall to seventh-ranked Brody Teske of Northern Iowa.

Zach Price, ranked 24th at 149 pounds, placed fourth in his weight class with a 3-2 record on the day. He fell, 12-4, in the third-place matchup against Paniro Johnson, who was competing unattached.

Heavyweight Bowen McConville went 2-2 en route to his fourth-place finish, picking up wins by decision over Ethan Andersen of Iowa State and Cole Gripka of North Dakota State before being pinned by Northern Iowa's Tyrell Gordon.

Jackrabbit freshmen Derrick Cardinal (133 pounds), Alek Martin (149 pounds) and Sam Kruger (184 pounds) all won their fifth-place matches.

RABBITS RANKED: A season-high seven Jackrabbit wrestlers are ranked by at least one majoring ranking service heading into weekend competition.

Although he has yet to wrestle this season, two-time NCAA qualifier Tanner Sloan holds the team's top ranking with a sixth-place showing in the Intermat poll at 197 pound. Sloan, who is nearing a return to the lineup, also is ranked 12th by FloWrestling and 13th by both WIN Magazine and The Open Mat.

Undefeated this season at 5-0, returning 141-pound All-American Clay Carlson checked in this week at No 7 in the Intermat rankings, while also being tabbed 10th by both FloWrestling and WIN Magazine and 11th by The Open Mat.

Tanner Cook is next in the rankings for the Jackrabbits with a 15th-place selection from WIN Magazine and 18th by Intermat at 165 pounds. Wrestling for the first time since March 2020, all five of Cook's victories last week came by way of fall.

After a successful debut at 174 pounds by reaching the finals at the Bison Open, Cade DeVos is in the top 20 of three polls — 17th by Intermat, 18th by FloWrestling and 19th by WIN Magazine.

At heavyweight. A.J. Nevills checks in at No. 19 by The Open Mat and 22nd by Intermat. He is also an honorable mention selection by FloWrestling.

Zach Price rounds out the rankings at 149 pounds with a 29th-place showing in the Intermat standings, along with honorable mention status from FloWrestling.

New to the rankings this week is 125-pounder Tanner Jordan. A?sophomore, Jordan is off to a 7-3 start to the season, including a victory over nationally ranked Liam Cronin of Nebraska that propelled him into the 23rd spot in the FloWrestling rankings.

As a team, the Jackrabbits are ranked 23rd in Intermat's team dual poll and 24th in the organization's tournament rankings. SDSU also is ranked 33rd in WIN Magazine's Tournament Power Index.

BIG 12 SUCCESS: Now in its seventh 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 32-18 record (.640 winning percentage) 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. SDSU posted another fourth-place finish in 2020, improving six spots in the team standings from the previous season.

NEW FACILITY ON THE HORIZON: Ground was broken in September for a new $4 million on-campus wrestling training facility.

The nearly 16,000-square-foot Kurtenbach Family Wrestling Center is being 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."

The South Dakota Board of Regents approved plans for the project in December 2020. The facility is expected to be completed in the fall of 2022.

COACH HAHN: Damion Hahn is overseeing a successful rebuilding of South Dakota State University wrestling as he is in his fourth season at the helm of the Jackrabbits' program. Hahn holds a 21-22 career dual record.

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.

During a pandemic-altered 2020-21 season, Hahn led the Jackrabbits to a 5-6 dual record. Despite slipping to an eighth-place finish at the Big 12 Conference meet, the Jackrabbits qualified five wrestlers for the NCAA Championships, with Clay Carlson earning All-America honors with an eighth-place finish at 141 pounds.

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 2021-22 SDSU wrestling roster features 36 student-athletes from 13 different states. Of the 36 wrestlers, 10 are from Iowa, followed by seven from Minnesota and six native South Dakotans. Two Jackrabbit wrestlers hail from Ohio, Wisconsin and California, while seven states — Illinois, Michigan, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington — each are represented by one wrestler.

By class, two are seniors, 10 are juniors, 11 are sophomores, one is a redshirt freshmen and 12 are incoming freshmen.

A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits are slated to send their starters to the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Dec. 3-4. A contingent of non-starters is set to compete Dec. 4 at the Doane Open in Crete, Nebraska, starting at 9 a.m.

-GoJacks.com-