MINNESOTA RALLIES PAST JACKS, 19-16

Sunday, November 27

Brookings, S.D.

1 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Minnesota

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

11/27/2022 4:04:00 PM | Wrestling

DUAL SCORESHEET

Minnesota closed Sunday's wrestling dual with South Dakota State by winning the final four matches to pull out a 19-16 victory in a battle between ranked squads before a crowd of 1,603 at Frost Arena.

The 13^th-ranked Golden Gophers improved to 2-0 in duals. SDSU, which entered the matchup ranked 25^th in the NWCA Division I Coaches Poll, dropped to 1-1 in duals this season.

Back-to-back bonus-point victories by the Jackrabbits' Tanner Sloan and A.J. Nevills gave SDSU a 16-7 lead through six matches. Sloan, ranked 11^th at 197 pounds by Intermat, looked dominant in his season debut against No. 20 Garrett Joles. After opening the scoring with a first-period takedown, Sloan ran his lead to 10-0 with a pair of four-point near-falls before ending with a 12-2 major decision.

Ranked 14^th at heavyweight, Nevills wasted little time in his match against Keaton Kluever, posting an early takedown before notching a pin in 2 minutes and 33 seconds. Nevills improved to 3-0 on the season with all three of his victories by fall.

The rest of the dual belonged to the Golden Gophers, who reeled off four consecutive decisions to complete the comeback. Three of the victories were by ranked wrestlers, starting with third-ranked Patrick McKee holding off Tanner Jordan, 7-3. Jordan led 3-2 after the first period, a margin that could have been larger as his attempt at back points at the end of the opening stanza was waved off as the horn sounded.

McKee put together a combination of a reversal and two-point near-fall to take the lead in the third period and closed out the scoring with a point for riding time.

After No. 18 Aaron Nagao pulled Minnesota to within 16-13, the Golden Gophers swung the momentum firmly in their favor with an upset at 141 pounds as backup Vance VomBaur stymied sixth-ranked Clay Carlson with a 6-4 decision that knotted the dual. Carlson suffered his second loss in a row to fall to 4-2 on the season.

That left the outcome to the 149-pound bout, where 17^th-ranked Michael Blockhus of Minnesota took on Jackrabbit redshirt freshman Alek Martin. After a scoreless first period, Blockhus took a 2-1 lead on a takedown after Martin escaped to open the second stanza, then added to his lead in the third period with an escape and point for riding time to seal the comeback with a 4-1 decision.

SDSU got out of the gates quickly, winning the first two bouts of the afternoon. Redshirt freshman Cael Swensen notched an 8-4 decision over Sebas Swiggum at 157 pounds, while Tanner Cook came away with a 4-2 sudden-victory decision against Andrew Sparks in the 165-pound matchup.

Minnesota came back to take what would be its only lead until the very end with wins at 174 and 184 pounds. Bailee O'Reilly got the best of Cade DeVos, 6-5, in a battle between ranked 174-pounders, while 12^th-ranked Isaiah Salazar turned in a 12-0 major decision over Jackrabbit newcomer Bennett Berge.

#13 MINNESOTA 19, #25 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 16
157: Cael Swensen (SDSU) dec. Sebas Swiggum (MINN), 8-4
165: #21 Tanner Cook (SDSU) dec. #27 Andrew Sparks (MINN), 4-2 [SV-1]
174: #20 Bailee O'Reilly (MINN) dec. #12 Cade DeVos (SDSU), 6-5
184: #12 Isaiah Salazar (MINN) major dec. Bennett Berge (SDSU), 12-0
197: #11 Tanner Sloan (SDSU) major dec. #20 Garrett Joles (MINN), 12-2
285: #14 A.J. Nevills (SDSU) def. Keaton Kluever (MINN), by fall 2:23
125: #3 Patrick McKee (MINN) dec. Tanner Jordan (SDSU), 7-3
133: #18 Aaron Nagao (MINN) dec. Derrick Cardinal (SDSU), 6-2
141: Vance VomBaur (MINN) dec. #6 Clay Carlson (SDSU), 6-4
149: #17 Michael Blockhus (MINN) dec. Alek Martin (SDSU), 4-1
Note: Team rankings by NWCA; individual rankings highest between FloWrestling and Intermat

NOTES

Minnesota leads the all-time series, 28-4, and has won the last 11 meetings
Sloan improved to 36-4 in career dual matches
Cook remained undefeated on the season at 4-0 and upped his career dual mark to 26-7
Swensen, Berge, Cardinal and Martin all made their collegiate dual debuts for the Jackrabbits on Sunday

CYCLONE OPEN RECAP
In other action over the weekend, Jack Thomsen won the 165-pound title at the Harold Nichols Open Saturday in Ames, Iowa.

A junior from La Porte City, Iowa, Thomsen went 4-0 on the day, posting a 16-1 technical fall over Matt Mensen of the Iowa State Wrestling Club in the opening round before winning his next three matches by decision. After recording an 11-5 victory over Caden Schmidt of Iowa State in the quarterfinals, Thomsen moved into the championship with a 9-3 semifinal victory over Grant Stotts.

In the finals, Thomsen met yet another Cyclone wrestler, downing Carter Schmidt by a 4-3 count.

UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits return to tournament competition this weekend, traveling to the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Action both Friday and Saturday begins at 9 a.m. Pacific Time (11 a.m. Central).

-GoJacks.com-