JACKRABBITS TO COMPETE AT SOLDIER SALUTE

Thursday, December 29

Coralville, Iowa

10 a.m./11 a.m.

South Dakota State University

Soldier Salute

Derrick Cardinal Teaser vs Nebraska 2023-01

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia Sports Media

12/28/2022 4:53:00 PM | Wrestling

#19 South Dakota State at Soldier Salute

When	Thursday, Dec. 28 \| 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 29 \| noon and 6 p.m.
Where	Xtream Arena \| Coralville, Iowa
TV	Trackwrestling.com and Big Ten Plus (subscription)
Live Results	Trackwrestling.com
Match Notes	SDSU \| Soldier Salute Website
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram \| #GetJacked

The South Dakota State wrestling team will be back in action this week with a group of Jackrabbits slated to compete in the inaugural Soldier Salute.

The two-day tournament, which features both men's and women's divisions, runs Thursday and Friday at Xtreme Arena in Coralville, Iowa. Thursday's sessions are set for 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., with competition on Friday scheduled to start at noon, followed by the championship session at 6 p.m.

Video coverage will be available through Trackwrestling and Big Ten Plus, with results also available at Trackwrestling.com.

SDSU is one of more than a dozen NCAA Division I teams with wrestlers entered in the men's division. Other Big 12 Conference rivals expected to compete include Iowa State, Northern Iowa and Wyoming, with Big Ten opponents Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin also fielding teams.

PROBABLE LINEUP: The following Jackrabbits are scheduled to compete this week at the Soldier Salute:
133:     Derrick Cardinal • R-Fr., Forest Lake, Minn. (1-4 overall)
141:     Caleb Gross, Jr., Pound, Wis. (5-4 overall)
149:     Alek Martin • R-Fr., St. Paris, Ohio (5-5 overall)
157:     #21 Cael Swensen • R-Fr., Plymouth, Minn. (6-4 overall)
174:     Brock Fettig • Fr., Bismarck, N.D. (3-7 overall)
184:     Jaxon Bowes • Fr., Brookings, S.D. (0-4 overall)
            Roman Rogotzke, R-Fr., Stillwater, Minn. (4-6 overall)
197:     Nick Casperson • Sr., Beresford, S.D. (5-1 overall)
            Cody Donnelly • R-Fr., Philip, S.D. (0-0 overall)
285:     Luke Rasmussen • Fr., Brookings, S.D. (6-5 overall)
Note: Jack Thomsen (165) and Bennett Berge (184) are expected to compete as unattached wrestlers.

LAST TIME OUT: Nebraska jumped out to an early 12-0 lead and held off South Dakota State down the stretch for a 22-17 wrestling dual victory in a matchup between ranked squads Dec. 18 at Frost Arena.

The 16th-ranked Cornhuskers evened their dual record at 2-2 on the season, while SDSU dropped to 1-2. The Jackrabbits entered the matchup ranked 18th in that week's National Wrestling Coaches Association poll.

Nebraska wasted little time in taking the early lead as ninth-ranked 125-pounder Liam Cronin notched a first-period pin over the Jackrabbits' Tanner Jordan. Boo Dryden (133 pounds) and fifth-ranked Brock Hardy (141) followed with decisions to put the Cornhuskers up by a dozen three matches into the dual. Hardy's win was a 7-5 sudden victory over 15th-ranked Clay Carlson.

Redshirt freshman Alek Martin put the Jackrabbits on the board with his first collegiate dual victory, pulling away in the third period for a 9-0 major decision over Dayne Morton.

In another bout between ranked wrestlers, Nebraska's second-ranked Peyton Robb got the best of the third SDSU redshirt freshman in the lineup, 23rd-ranked Cael Swensen, 7-2, to close out the first half of the dual.

Tanner Cook breathed some wind back in the Jackrabbits' sails as he continued his pinning prowess by sticking 13th-ranked Bubba Wilson in 29 seconds. The 11th-ranked Cook improved to 8-1 on the season with his sixth win by fall.

Nebraska put the dual out of reach with consecutive wins by Mikey Labriola and Lenny Pinto in two more matchups between ranked wrestlers. Labriola, ranked second at 174 pounds, posted a 4-0 decision over 16th ranked Cade DeVos, while the 17th-ranked Pinto avenged a loss to No. 16 Cade King at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational two weeks ago by turning up the pressure in the third period for a 12-2 major decision.

SDSU salvaged the final two bouts of the dual as Tanner Sloan turned in another dominant performance in his 197-pound match against Silas Allred with a 12-0 major decision. At heavyweight, A.J. Nevills tallied a 9-3 sudden victory against Cale Davidson after notching a takedown and four-point near-fall about 20 seconds into overtime.

#16 Nebraska 22, #18 South Dakota State 17 (Dec. 18, 2022 • Frost Arena)
125: #9 Liam Cronin (NEB) def. Tanner Jordan (SDSU), by fall 0:30
133: Boo Dryden (NEB) dec. Derrick Cardinal (SDSU), 4-1
141: #5 Brock Hardy (NEB) dec. #15 Clay Carlson (SDSU), 7-5 [SV-1]
149: Alek Martin (SDSU) major dec. Dayne Morton (NEB), 9-0
157: #2 Peyton Robb (NEB) dec. #23 Cael Swensen (SDSU), 7-2
165: #11 Tanner Cook (SDSU) def. #13 Bubba Wilson (NEB), by fall 0:29
174: #2 Mikey Labriola (NEB) dec. #16 Cade DeVos (SDSU), 4-0
184: #17 Lenny Pinto (NEB) major dec. #16 Cade King (SDSU), 12-2
197: #17 Tanner Sloan (SDSU) major dec. #18 Silas Allred (NEB), 12-0
285: #12 A.J. Nevills (SDSU) dec. Cale Davidson (NEB), 9-3 [SV-1]

COOK HONORED: South Dakota State 165-pounder Tanner Cook was honored Dec. 20 as Big 12 Conference Wrestler of the Week after defeating another nationally ranked opponent in convincing fashion.

A junior from Ilion, New York, Cook made quick work of 13th-ranked Bubba Wilson of Nebraska in dual action Dec. 18, recording a pin in 29 seconds. With his victory, Cook improved to 8-1 on the season with six of his wins by fall. Five of Cook's six wins by fall this season have been recorded in less than a minute.

Cook entered the week ranked 11th at 165 pounds by FloWrestling and 18th by InterMat.

RABBITS RANKED: The South Dakota State wrestling team began the season ranked in the top 25 after being included in a pair of national polls and have continued to climb up the rankings during the first two months of the 2022-23 campaign.

The Jackrabbits checked in at No. 22 in the preseason poll conducted by InterMat and were ranked 25th in the initial National Wrestling Coaches Association survey. SDSU was one of five Big 12 Conference programs ranked in the NWCA top 25, joining No. 4 Missouri, No. 10 Oklahoma State, No. 14 Iowa State and No. 20 Northern Iowa.

Following their strong showing at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in early December, the Jackrabbits climbed seven spots to No. 18 in the NWCA?poll for their highest ranking under head coach Damion Hahn. SDSU slipped one spot to 19th after its Dec. 18 dual loss to Nebraska.

SDSU also has a season-high eight wrestlers ranked individually for the third week in a row, with 165-pounder Tanner Cook (FloWrestling) and 197-pounder Tanner Sloan (InterMat) each holding an 11th-place ranking.

Tanner Jordan at 125 pounds (27th by InterMat) and redshirt freshman Cael Swensen at 157 pounds (21st by InterMat) joined the rankings after their outings at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

Returning NCAA qualifiers Clay Carlson (13th by InterMat at 141 pounds), Cade DeVos (16th at 174 pounds by FloWrestling) and A.J. Nevills (13th at heavyweight by FloWrestling) have maintained top-20 rankings throughout the season, while Cade King (15th at 184 pounds by InterMat) rounds out the list of SDSU's ranked wrestlers .

DUAL-MEET DOMINANCE: South Dakota State has dominated the upper two weights in dual meets over the last two seasons thanks to the contributions of 197-pounder Tanner Sloan and heavyweight A.J. Nevills.

Sloan, a senior from Alburnett, Iowa, is 13-1 in duals over the last two seasons. Since dropping his first dual match of the 2021-22 season to Michial Foy of Minnesota, Sloan has won 13 consecutive dual matchups.

For his career, Sloan has compiled a 37-4 dual record and has yet to drop a home match. He went a perfect 11-0 in duals during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season after posting a 13-3 mark as a redshirt freshman.

Nevills, a graduate student from Clovis, California, has turned in a 17-3 dual record since joining the lineup at the start of the 2021-22 season as a transfer from Fresno State. Nevills went 14-3 in duals last season en route to a trip to nationals and is unbeaten so far this season at 3-0.

SILVER MEDALISTS: Two members of the Jackrabbit wrestling team recently earned individual silver medals in international competition.

In August, incoming freshman Bennett Berge earned a silver medal in the 86-kilogram weight class at the 2022 U20 World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria.

A native of Mantorville, Minnesota, and a member of the Pinnacle Wrestling Club, Berge posted a 4-1 record over two days of competition. He won his first three matches all by technical fall before recording a come-from-behind, 9-7 victory over Ismail Kucuksolak of Turkey in the semifinals.

In the championship bout against Rakhim Magamadov of France, Berge lost a 10-5 decision.

Besides his runner-up finish in his weight class, Berge brought home another silver medal as Team USA placed second in the team standings behind Iran. Berge was one of four Americans to medal in the freestyle division.

At the prep level, Berge totaled 241 career victories, posting a 124-1 record over his final three seasons at Kasson-Mantorvile High School. He won five consecutive individual state titles at five different weight classes (138, 160, 170, 182, 195), capping his senior season with a 52-0 record.

In October, Tanner Sloan reached the finals of the 97-kilogram division at the U23 World Championships held in Pontevedra, Spain.

Sloan, a three-time NCAA qualifier at 197 pounds from Alburnett, Iowa, posted a 3-1 record in a two-day span. After winning his first three bouts, Sloan dropped a 5-3 decision to Amirali Azarpira of Iran in the gold medal match on Oct. 22.

Sloan previously competed at the 2019 UWW Junior World Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, after opening international competition by winning the gold medal at the UWW Pan American Championship in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

BIG 12 SUCCESS: Now in its eighth 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 37-20 record (.649 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 and turned in a 5-2 mark last 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 next few weeks.

COACH HAHN: Damion Hahn is overseeing a successful rebuilding of South Dakota State University wrestling as he enters his fifth season at the helm of the Jackrabbits' program. Hahn has compiled a 34-28 career dual record and has coached four All-Americans and 14 NCAA qualifiers during his tenure in Brookings.

During the 2019-20 season, the National Wrestling Coaches Association selected 149-pounder Henry Pohlmeyer, 184-pounder Zach Carlson and 197-pounder Tanner Sloan as second-team All-Americans after the NCAA Championships were canceled at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also during the 2019-20 campaign, the Jackrabbits turned in their first winning dual season under Hahn by posting a 12-6 overall record, including a 6-3 mark in the Big 12. Included in the dual wins were victories over nationally ranked Northern Iowa and Stanford.

SDSU also improved by six spots in the Big 12 Conference tournament, finishing fourth in the team standings at the 2020 competition.

Highlighting the 2020-21 season, Clay Carlson wrestled his way to an eighth-place finish at nationals in the 141-pound division. Carlson also was honored as the 2021 Big 12 Wrestling Scholar-Athlete of the Year, an award he would receive again the following year.

In all, five SDSU wrestlers earned a trip to the NCAA Championships in March 2021.

The Jackrabbits returned to the winning side of the ledger during the 2021-22 campaign and also cracked the national rankings as a team for the first time since early in Hahn's first season. SDSU compiled a 13-4 dual record that included a 21-12 victory at ninth-ranked Missouri, marking the program's first dual win over a top-10 opponent.

In postseason competition, SDSU placed sixth at the 2022 Big 12 Wrestling Championship and set four wrestlers on to the NCAA Championships in Detroit.

Hahn's teams also have performed well in the classroom, earning Top 30 Scholar Team All-America honors from the National Wrestling Coaches Association each of the past two seasons. The 2021-22 squad ranked seventh among Division I programs with a 3.465 grade-point average and six Jackrabbits were recognized individually as NWCA Scholar All-America honorees.

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 2022-23 South Dakota State wrestling roster is made up of 35 student-athletes from 11 different states from coast to coast. South Dakota and Minnesota have the most wrestlers with eight, while seven hail from Iowa. Three Jackrabbit wrestlers are from Ohio, with a pair from North Dakota and Wisconsin. Five states have produced one wrestler each: California, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington.

By class, six are seniors, 11 are juniors and nine are redshirt freshmen. Eight wrestlers are incoming freshman, with one being a graduate student. There are no sophomores on this season's squad.

A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits get back into dual competition by wrestling in a triangular at Big 12 Conference newcomer California Baptist on Jan. 7 in Riverside, California. SDSU is slated to take on Northern Illinois at 3 p.m. Pacific Time (5 p.m. Central), followed by a matchup with the host Lancers at 6 p.m. PT?(8 p.m. CT).

-GoJacks.com-