JACKS TO WRESTLE THREE TIMES SATURDAY

Saturday, December 18

DeKalb, Ill.

noon

South Dakota State University

Harper College

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia Sports Media

12/17/2021 9:54:00 PM | Wrestling

DUALS 3-5: South Dakota State (1-1) at Huskie Duals

When	Saturday, Dec. 18 noon – vs. Harper College (0-0) 1:30 p.m. — vs. Kent State (0-0) 3 p.m. — vs. Northern Illinois (2-3)
Where	Victor E. Court \| DeKalb, Ill.
TV	NIUHuskies.com (subscription, SDSU-NIU match only)
Radio	None
Live Stats	To be determined
Tournament Notes	See below
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram \| #GetJacked

After a mid-week change in the schedule, the South Dakota State University wrestling team will be in DeKalb, Illinois, on Saturday, taking part in the Huskie Duals hosted by Northern Illinois University.

The four-team event begins at noon Saturday with action on two mats at the Victor E. Court. The Jackrabbits, 1-1 overall, are slated to wrestle Harper College (0-0 overall) in the opener, followed by duals against Mid-American Conference opponents Kent State (0-0 overall) and Northern Illinois (2-3).

SDSU was originally scheduled to wrestle Saturday at Nebraska, but that dual was canceled due to COVID protocols within the Cornhuskers' program.

PROBABLE STARTERS: Following is the projected starting lineup for the Jackrabbits Saturday at the Huskie Duals:
125: Tanner Jordan, So., St. Paris, Ohio (8-6 overall, 1-1 duals)
133: Caleb Gross, So., Pound, Wis. (4-8, 0-0)
141: Clay Carlson, Jr., Willmar, Minn. (10-0, 2-0)
149: Daniel Kimball, So., Buckingham, Iowa (7-5, 0-0)
157: Kenny O'Neil, Jr., Prior Lake, Minn. (8-7, 1-1)
165: Tanner Cook, So., Ilion, N.Y. (7-4, 2-0)
or Jack Thomsen, So., La Porte City, Iowa (10-8, 0-0)
174: Cade DeVos, So., Altoona, Iowa (9-2, 1-0)
184: Cade King, Jr., Waseca, Minn. (1-1, 0-0)
197: Nick Casperson, Jr., Beresford, S.D. (7-2, 1-0)
285: A.J. Nevills, Jr., Clovis, Calif. (8-5, 1-1)

THE SERIES: South Dakota State holds a combined 2-5 all-time record against its three opponents at the Huskie Duals.

The Jackrabbits will be taking on Harper College, a junior college located in Palatine, Illinois, for the first time, while meeting Kent State for the second time. The Golden Flashes claimed a 31-6 victory over the Jackrabbits during the 2014-15 season in a match contested in Columbia, Missouri.

NIU holds a 4-2 series advantage over the Jackrabbits in a series that dates back to the 1966-67 season. The squads last met during the 2013-14 campaign, with the Jackrabbits posting a 27-6 home victory.

RABBITS RANKED: Seven South Dakota State wrestlers enter the weekend ranked or receiving notice in individual national rankings.

Leading the Jackrabbits is returning All-American Clay Carlson, who solidified his top-10 ranking after winning the 141-pound title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Dec. 3-4. Undefeated at 10-0, Carlson is ranked fifth by The Open Mat, sixth by Intermat and seventh by FloWrestling.

Also appearing in all three polls is sophomore 174-pounder Cade DeVos. After wrestling last season at 157 pounds, DeVos has made a successful transition to his new weight class to the tune of being ranked 12^th by FloWrestling and 13^th by both FloWrestling and The Open Mat. DeVos placed fourth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

Four other Jackrabbits appear in the Intermat rankings: Zach Price, 32^nd at 149 pounds; Tanner Cook, 29^th at 165 pounds, Tanner Sloan, 22^nd at 197 pounds and heavyweight A.J. Nevills, 24^th.

Rounding out the individual rankings is Tanner Jordan, who is an honorable mention selection at 125 pounds.

As a team, South Dakota State is ranked 22^nd in the WIN Magazine dual poll and 25^th in WIN's Tournament Power Index. The Jackrabbits also hold the 31^st spot in FloWrestling's tournament rankings.

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 21-23 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.

UP NEXT: The Jackrabbits are expected to send wrestlers to two of the top mid-season tournaments between the holidays. Non-starters are slated to compete Dec. 29-30 at the Midlands Championships in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, while the Jackrabbit starters will wrestle at the Southern Scuffle Jan. 1-2 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

-GoJacks.com-