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Wrestling
at Bison Open
South Dakota State University Athletics
Saturday, January 22
Columbia, Mo.
2 p.m.
South Dakota State University
at
Missouri
Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia
JACKS PREPARE FOR THREE-DUAL WEEKEND
1/21/2022 1:14:00 PM | Wrestling
DUAL 9: #23 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (7-1, 1-0 Big 12) at #9 MISSOURI (7-2, 5-0)
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DUALS 10-11: #23 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE at SIUE TRIANGULAR
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The 23rd-ranked South Dakota State University wrestling team is scheduled to square off against two ranked opponents in a three-dual weekend that includes stops in two different cities.
The Jackrabbits are slated to open the weekend with a dual Saturday at ninth-ranked Missouri. Action is set to begin at 2 p.m. at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Missouri.
SDSU enters the weekend with a 7-1 overall dual record, including a 1-0 mark against Big 12 Conference opponents. After having their schedule Big 12 dual last weekend at Utah Valley postponed due to COVID protocols, the Jackrabbits were a last-minute addition to the field at the Virginia Duals. SDSU extended its winning streak with a pair of nonconference victories over Chattanooga and Maryland.
Mizzou, which posted a 23-14 win over Oklahoma on Thursday, holds a 7-2 dual record, including a 5-0 ledger against Big 12 foes. The 2021-22 season marks the Tigers' first since rejoining the Big 12 in wrestling. Mizzou recently competed as a member of the Mid-American Conference after joining the Southeastern Conference in all other sports at the start of the 2012-13 athletics season.
Sunday, the scene shifts to Edwardsville, Illinois, for a triangular with a pair of MAC opponents in host SIU-Edwardsville and 25th-ranked Central Michigan. The Jackrabbits are scheduled to wrestle SIUE?at 1 p.m., followed by a 3 p.m. matchup with CMU at First Community Arena.
SIUE comes into the week with an 0-8 overall record. The Cougars also had their scheduled home dual against Missouri last Sunday postponed due to COVID. CMU moved into the top 25 after improving to 5-2 in duals by sweeping the Chippewa Challenge Jan. 16 with wins over CSU Bakersfield (31-6), American (36-3) and Campbell (19-5).
THE SERIES: South Dakota State holds an 8-5-1 combined dual record against its three weekend opponents.
vs. Missouri
Mizzou leads the all-time series, 4-2, dating back to a 27-3 Jackrabbit victory during the 1961-62 season. The Tigers have won the three most recent matchups, including posting a 33-9 victory last season in Fargo, North Dakota.
In the most recent matchup, Jan. 3, 2021, Missouri recorded a pair of pins and won eight of 10 matches overall in defeating the Jackrabbits, 33-9. Keegan O'Toole at 157 pounds and Jeremiah Kent in the 184-pound matchup recorded the Tigers' wins by fall.
Zach Price picked up the first win of the day for the Jackrabbits with an upset of 12th-ranked Matt Schmitt at 133 pounds, while Tanner Sloan notched a first-period fall over Canten Marriott in the 197-pound matchup.
#12 MISSOURI 33, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 9 (Jan. 3, 2021 at Fargo, N.D.)
125: Connor Brown (MIZZOU) major dec. #24 Danny Vega, 14-5
133: #24 Zach Price (SDSU) dec. #12 Matt Schmitt (MIZZOU), 7-5
141: #17 Allan Hart (MIZZOU) major dec. #25 Clay Carlson (SDSU), 14-4
149: #3 Brock Mauller (MIZZOU) dec. Hunter Marko (SDSU), 8-2
157: Keegan O'Toole (MIZZOU) def. #17 Cade DeVos (SDSU), by fall 2:10
165: #18 Peyton Mocco (MIZZOU) major dec. Kenny O'Neil (SDSU), 11-1
174: Sean Harman (MIZZOU) dec. Cade King (SDSU), 10-4
184: #24 Jeremiah Kent (MIZZOU) def. Nick Casperson (SDSU), by fall 1:47
197: #10 Tanner Sloan (SDSU) def. Canten Marriott (MIZZOU), by fall 2:37
285: #8 Zach Elam (MIZZOU) dec. Blake Wolters (SDSU), 6-0
vs. SIUE
Sunday's dual against SIUE will mark the eighth time the Jackrabbits and Cougars have met on the wrestling mat. SDSU holds a 5-1-1 advantage in the series, which began with a 23-23 tie during the 2009-10 season.
The Jackrabbits have claimed the last four meetings, including a 34-9 victory in Edwardsville during the 2016-17 season.
SIUE's lone win in the series was an 18-12 triumph on Dec. 12, 2010, in Brookings.
#19 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 34, SIUE 9 (Jan. 28, 2017, at Edwardsville, Ill.)
125: Freddie Rodriguez (SIUE) tech. fall Ben Gillette (SDSU), 21-6 (7:00)
133: #2 Seth Gross (SDSU) major dec. John Muldoon (SIUE), 19-5
141: Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU) dec. Trevor Feagans (SIUE), 9-2
149: #20 Alex Kocer (SDSU) major dec. John Fahy (SIUE), 15-2
157: Logan Peterson (SDSU) def. Karsten Van Velsor (SIUE) by fall 1:35
165: Luke Zilverberg (SDSU) major dec. Clayton Bass (SIUE), 9-1
174: #15 David Kocer (SDSU) dec. Jake Residori (SIUE), 5-1
184: Zac Carlson (SDSU) tech. fall Jake Godinez (SIUE), 16-1 (5:25)
197: #7 Nate Rotert (SDSU) tech. fall Jake Tindle (SIUE), 20-5 (6:53)
285: Jake McKiernan (SIUE) major dec. Alex Macki (SDSU), 10-0
vs. Central Michigan
The matchup with Central Michigan will be only the second time the Jackrabbits and Chippewas have met on the wrestling mat in dual action, but both meetings will have been with both teams nationally ranked.
South Dakota State claimed the initial matchup, 23-16, on Dec. 8, 2017, at Frost Arena. The Jackrabbits won six of the 10 bouts, including the last two, to pull out the victory.
#17 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 23, #18 CENTRAL MICHIGAN 16 (Dec. 8, 2017, at Frost Arena)
125: Connor Brown (SDSU) dec. Drew Hildebrandt (CMU), 5-3
133: #1 Seth Gross (SDSU) major dec. Dresden Simon (CMU), 16-2
141: #9 Mason Smith (CMU) dec. Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU, 5-4
149: Justin Oliver (CMU) major dec. Colten Carlson (SDSU), 10-2
157: #11 Luke Zilverberg (SDSU) def, Blake Montrie (CMU), by fall 3:24
165: Logan Parks (CMU) def. Zach Carlson (SDSU) by fall 0:53
174: #9 David Kocer (SDSU) dec. Christian Brucki (CMU), 10-5
184: #15 Jordan Ellingwood (CMU) dec. Brady Ayers (SDSU), 9-4
197: #6 Nate Rotert (SDSU) major dec. Jordan Atienza (CMU), 16-5
285: Alex Macki (SDSU) dec. Matt Stencel (CMU), 7-5
LAST WEEK: The South Dakota State wrestling team ran its winning streak to six with a pair of convincing victories Jan. 15 at the Virginia Duals. The 24th-ranked Jackrabbits improved to 7-1 overall after defeating Chattanooga, 35-10, in the opener and ending the day with a 28-6 win over Maryland.
South Dakota State 35, Chattanooga 10
The Jackrabbits posted four bonus-point victories in the second half of the dual to pull away for their first win of the day.
Leading 12-7 at the halfway mark, 29th-ranked Tanner Cook kick-started the Jackrabbit run with a first-period pin of Drew Nicholson in the 165-pound matchup.
Tenth-ranked Cade DeVos followed with a 15-0 technical fall at 174 pounds, while Tanner Sloan and A.J. Nevills closed out the dual with back-to-back pins at 197 and 285 pounds, respectively.
Tanner Jordan opened the dual by receiving a forfeit for SDSU, with Clay Carlson (141 pounds) and Kenny O'Neil (157 pounds) each winning by decision. O'Neil tallied his 3-2 victory over Lincoln Heck with a takedown in the final 15 seconds of the match.
South Dakota State 28, Maryland 6
Carlson and DeVos each recorded their 20th wins of the season in helping lead the Jackrabbits to a victory over a Big Ten Conference opponent for the second time in three seasons.
Carlson, ranked fifth at 141 pounds, ran his record to 20-1 with an 11-5 decision over Danny Bertoni. DeVos improved to 20-2 overall with his 11th consecutive victory, a 9-5 decision against Dominic Solis.
Kimball followed Carlson's victory with an 8-0 major decision versus Michael North.
O'Neil notched his second win of the day with an 7-0 decision versus Lucas Cordio in the 157-pound matchup. Newcomer Gabriel Tagg also won by decision at 133 pounds for the Jackrabbits, as did Sloan and Nevills.
Sloan, ranked 21st, earned a 6-2 victory over No. 31 Jaron Smith at 197 pounds, while the 23rd-ranked Nevills outlasted 26th-ranked Zach Schrader, 2-1, in the heavyweight bout.
Jordan picked up his second win by forfeit on the day to round out the scoring for SDSU.
RABBITS RANKED: For the first time in three seasons, the South Dakota State University wrestling team is nationally ranked. The Jackrabbits cracked the NWCA Division I Coaches Poll by checking in at No. 24 in the Jan. 11 rankings, then moved up one spot to 23rd after winning twice at the Virginia Duals over the weekend.
SDSU was last ranked in the poll in November 2018. The Jackrabbits are one of five Big 12 squads in this week's poll, joining No. 4 Oklahoma State, No. 9 Missouri, No. 10 Iowa State and No. 20 Oklahoma. North Dakota State is receiving receiving votes.
In addition, five Jackrabbit wrestlers are individually ranked by various wrestling organizations. Returning All-American Clay Carlson is ranked as high as fifth by FloWrestling at 141 pounds, while Cade DeVos is ranked 10th in the 174-pound division by Intermat and The Open Mat. Two-time NCAA qualifier Tanner Sloan holds the No. 21 spot in the Intermat rankings at 197 pounds, with A.J. Nevills ranked 23rd by FloWrestling in the heavyweight division.
Tanner Cook rounds out the individual rankings with a 32nd-place showing in the 165-pound rankings conducted by Intermat.
The Jackrabbits also are ranked third in the first NWCA Mid-Major Division I Poll of the season. Lehigh holds the top spot, followed by Cornell. Rival North Dakota State is right behind SDSU in the fourth spot.
UNDEFEATED IN DUALS: Two regulars in the Jackrabbit starting lineup will put their undefeated records in duals on the line this weekend as they potentially face tough rematches in the opener against Missouri.
Clay Carlson leads the SDSU contingent with a perfect 8-0 mark in duals so far this season at 141 pounds. The junior from Willmar, Minnesota, suffered his only loss of the season thus far against Mizzou's Allan Hart, falling by a 4-2 decision in the semifinals of the Southern Scuffle on Jan. 2.
Cade DeVos stands at 7-0 in duals after sitting out the Nov. 19 season opener against Augustana. The 174-pounder is tied with Carlson for most overall wins on the team this season with 20 after his two victories last weekend at the Virginia Duals. DeVos has won 11 matches in a row, including a 3-2 decision over Mizzou's Peyton Mocco in the championship of the Southern Scuffle Jan. 2 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
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 33-18 record (.647 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.
TAGG JOINS TEAM: The Jackrabbit wrestling team has received a boost in the lower weights with the addition of mid-year transfer Gabriel Tagg. The Lodi, Ohio, native, who previously wrestled at North Carolina, was officially cleared to practice earlier this month and made his Jackrabbit debut by recording a 19-1 technical fall against Darrick Stacey of Wyoming in an additional match Jan. 9.
He filled the 133-pound weight class in action last week at the Virginia Duals, going 1-1 in his matchups against Chattanooga and Maryland. Tagg added another victory in an extra match later in the tournament to run his season record to 3-1.
Tagg posted a 15-5 record at 141 pounds as a freshman during the 2019-20 season at North Carolina. He also has competed in freestyle competition both nationally and internationally, including winning both the U.S. Junior World Championships at 61 kilograms and the Austria Flatz Open at 65 kilograms in 2019.
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 27-23 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. Two of the wins were against 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 champs.
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 33 student-athletes from 12 different states. Of the 33 wrestlers, eight are from Iowa, followed by seven from Minnesota and six native South Dakotans. Three Jackrabbit wrestlers hail from Ohio, with two from California. Seven states — Illinois, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin — each are represented by one wrestler.
By class, one is a senior, eight are juniors, 11 are sophomores, one is a redshirt freshman and 12 are incoming freshmen.
A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits return home for a Jan. 28 dual against West Virginia. Start time for the Big 12 Conference matchup is set for 7 p.m. at Frost Arena.
-GoJacks.com-
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