JACKS END DUAL SEASON WITH NDSU

Sunday, February 20

Brookings, S.D.

2 p.m.

South Dakota State University

North Dakota State

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Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

2/19/2022 11:36:00 AM | Wrestling

DUAL 17: NORTH DAKOTA STATE (10-3, 4-3 Big 12) at #25 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (12-4, 4-2)

When	Sunday, Feb. 20 \| 2 p.m.
Where	Frost Arena \| Brookings, South Dakota \| ORDER TICKETS
TV	FloWrestling.org (subscription)
Live Results	TrackWrestling.com
Match Notes	South Dakota State \| North Dakota State
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram \| #GetJacked

The South Dakota State wrestling team closes out the dual portion of its schedule Sunday afternoon by hosting rival North Dakota State.

Action in the battle for the Border Bell is set to begin at 2 p.m. at Frost Arena. The dual can be viewed online through FloWrestling.org (subscription required).

The 25th-ranked Jackrabbits enter their Senior Day dual finale with a 12-4 overall record and a 4-2 mark against Big 12 Conference foes. Jackrabbit seniors Gregory Coapstick, Dalton Lakmann, Hunter Marko, Rylee Molitor, Kenny O'Neil will be honored prior to the match.

NDSU comes into the matchup 10-3 overall and 4-3 in Big 12 duals. The Bison have won each of their last four duals.

PROBABLE STARTERS: Following are the projected Jackrabbit starters for Sunday's dual against North Dakota State:

125:     Tanner Jordan • So., St. Paris, Ohio (18-15 overall, 8-8 duals)
133:     #31 Gabriel Tagg • So., Lodi, Ohio (10-3, 7-3)
or        Caleb Gross • So., Pound, Wis. (10-15, 2-2)
141:     #5 Clay Carlson • Jr., Willmar, Minn. (26-3, 14-2)
149:     Daniel Kimball • So., Buckingham, Iowa (18-18, 7-7)
157:     Kenny O'Neil • Jr., Prior Lake, Minn. (14-19, 6-10)
165:     #33 Tanner Cook • So., Ilion, N.Y. (17-9, 10-5)
174:     #10 Cade DeVos • So., Altoona, Iowa (25-5, 12-3)
184:     #30 Cade King • Jr., Waseca, Minn. (13-7, 10-4)
or        Caleb Orris • So., Clark, S.D. (5-9, 0-0)
197:     #7 Tanner Sloan • Jr., Alburnett, Iowa (16-4, 10-1)
            Nick Casperson • Jr., Beresford, S.D. (13-9, 4-1)
285:     #23 A.J. Nevills • Jr., Clovis, Calif. (23-9, 13-3)

THE SERIES: South Dakota State and North Dakota State will meet for the 70th time in dual competition, when the two programs square off Sunday. NDSU leads the all-time series between the two longtime rivals, 45-23-1, including a 15-5-1 advantage in the Division I era for both programs. The series began with a 22-9 Jackrabbit victory during the 1958-59 season.

NDSU has won the last four matchups, including both meetings last season. The Bison recorded a 21-13 victory early in the 2020-21 season at Frost Arena in which their seven victories were by a total of 11 points.

NORTH DAKOTA STATE 21, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 13 (Jan. 10, 2021 • at Frost Arena)
125: McGwire Midkiff (NDSU) dec. Tanner Jordan (SDSU), 3-1
133: #13 Zach Price (SDSU) major dec. Kellyn March (NDSU), 13-5
141: #22 Clay Carlson (SDSU) dec. Dylan Droegemueller (NDSU), 8-6
149: Jared Van Maanen (NDSU) dec. Hunter Marko (SDSU), 4-2
157: #15 Jared Franek (NDSU) dec. #18 Cade DeVos (SDSU), 4-2 [SV-1]
165: Austin Brenner (NDSU) dec. Colten Carlson (SDSU), 6-5
174: Luke Weber (NDSU) dec. Cade King (SDSU), 6-4
184: T.J. Pottinger (NDSU) dec. Nick Casperson (SDSU), 6-5
197: #10 Tanner Sloan (SDSU) def. Michael Nelson (NDSU), by fall 6:28
285: #15 Brandon Metz (NDSU) dec. Blake Wolters (SDSU), 5-4 [TB-2]

The Bison retained the Border Bell with an 18-16 dual victory on their home mat on Feb. 7, 2021. SDSU led 11-0 through three matches before the Bison stormed back to win six of the final seven bouts — all by decision.

NORTH DAKOTA STATE 18, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 16 (Feb. 7, 2021 • at Fargo, N.D.)
125: Danny Vega (SDSU) major dec. McGwire Midkiff (NDSU), 17-4
133: #18 Zach Price (SDSU) major dec. Kellyn March (NDSU), 10-2
141: #19 Clay Carlson (SDSU) dec. Dylan Droegemueller (NDSU), 5-3 [SV-1]
149: Jaden Van Maanen (NDSU) dec. Hunter Marko (SDSU), 4-0
157: #16 Jared Franek (NDSU) dec. #19 Cade DeVos (SDSU), 3-2
165: Luke Weber (NDSU) dec. Colten Carlson (SDSU), 6-1
174: Riley Habisch (NDSU) dec. Cade King (SDSU), 4-3
184: Michael Nelson (NDSU) dec. Nick Casperson (SDSU), 7-4
197: #11 Tanner Sloan (SDSU) tech. fall Owen Pentz (NDSU), 16-1 [5:00]
285: #17 Brandon Metz (NDSU) dec. Blake Wolters (SDSU), 5-3
Note: Rankings by FloWrestling.org

LAST WEEK: The Jackrabbits got back on the winning track by defeating Northern Colorado and Little Rock to run its record in home duals to 5-0.

No. 25 South Dakota State 29, Northern Colorado 9
South Dakota State got a key victory from Clay Carlson in the front half of the dual, then swept the final five bouts to defeat Northern Colorado, 29-9, in Big 12 Conference wrestling action Feb. 11 at Frost Arena.

The 25th-ranked Jackrabbits ended a two-match losing skid in improving to 11-4 overall and 4-2 in the Big 12. UNC dropped to 5-5 overall and 1-4 against conference opponents.

In a rematch of the 141-pound championship at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in December, the eighth-ranked Carlson squared off against Andrew Alirez, who entered the dual ranked fifth. Alirez led 5-2 early in the second period and was on the verge of increasing his lead when Carlson swung the momentum in his favor by fending off a shot and turning it into a takedown of his own.

Like their first meeting this season, Carlson held the upper hand in the third period, tying the match with an escape early in the frame and then taking the lead for good with his second takedown of the match, followed by insurance points for stalling and riding time.

Northern Colorado won closely contested matches at 149 and 157 pounds to take a 9-6 lead into the intermission, but the Bears' lead would be short-lived. Tanner Cook opened the second half of the dual with a first-period pin of Nick Knutson at 165 pounds and No. 11 Cade DeVos added a bonus-point victory with a 17-6 major decision over Damen Pape in the 174-pound matchup.

After Cade King won by decision at 184 pounds, the Jackrabbits tacked on two more bonus-point wins to close out the dual. Tenth-ranked Tanner Sloan posted a 15-6 major decision over Alan Clothier at 197 pounds and SDSU heavyweight A.J. Nevills closed out the dual with a first-period fall over Robert Winters.

The two squads split the first two bouts of the night as UNC's Jace Koelzer won by decision over Tanner Jordan and SDSU's Gabriel Tagg recorded a 15-2 major decision over Dyson Kunz.

No. 25 South Dakota State 43, Little Rock 3
South Dakota State wrestlers won five matches by fall, including in each of the final four bouts, to defeat Little Rock 43-3 count in nonconference dual action Feb. 13 at Frost Arena.

The 25th-ranked Jackrabbits improved to 12-4 in duals, while Little Rock dropped to 1-13.

Tanner Jordan gave SDSU an early lift by recording the first pin of the day in the opening match of the dual at 125 pounds. Jordan posted a first-period takedown, and added another takedown and four-point near-fall in the second period against Jayden Carson before getting another turn later in the stanza to end the match at the 4-minute, 45-second mark.

The Jackrabbits went on to post three more wins in the front half of the dual as Gabriel Tagg (133 pounds) and Kenny O'Neil (157) each won by decision and eighth-ranked Clay Carlson turned in a huge third period to defeat Conner Ward by major decision, 13-3. Carlson trailed 1-0 going into the final period, but after an escape in the opening seconds of the frame, tallied three takedowns and a four-point near-fall over the final two minutes, while also picking up points for stalling and riding time.

After Tanner Cook notched a 7-1 decision over the Trojans' Tyler Brennan at 165 pounds to start the second half of the dual, each of the next four matches resulted in a Jackrabbit pin over a total of 11:46 in mat time.

Cade DeVos, ranked 11th at 174 pounds, started the string with a second-period fall over Triston Willis, while Cade King (184 pounds) and 10th-ranked Tanner Sloan (197) each posted pins in the first periods of their respective matches.

A.J. Nevills closed the dual with a pin in the second period of his match against Josiah Hill for the final margin.

For good measure, Jacob Schoon recorded a quick pin of his Little Rock opponent, in an extra match at 184 pounds.

Joseph Bianchi picked up the lone victory of the afternoon for Little Rock, downing Daniel Kimball by a 7-4 count at 149 pounds.

WRESTLERS OF THE WEEK: South Dakota State 197-pounder Tanner Sloan was honored Jan. 25 as Big 12 Wrestler of the Week, becoming the second Jackrabbit to earn the award this season.

A junior from Alburnett, Iowa, Sloan posted a 3-0 record in dual competition over the weekend, starting with a 5-2 decision over fifth-ranked Rocky Elam of Missouri. The victory helped propel the Jackrabbits to their first-ever dual win over a top-10 team at the Division I level.

Sloan closed with weekend with a pair of first-period pins in a triangular at Southern Illinois Edwardsville and against Central Michigan. With his perfect weekend, the two-time NCAA qualifier improved to 11-4 overall this season, including a 5-1 mark in duals.

Sloan joined teammate Clay Carlson, who earned the honor Dec. 7 after winning the 141-pound title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Carlson pinned Northern Colorado's Andrew Alirez in the championship bout of the tournament and the two are poised for another top-10 matchup on Friday as Carlson is eighth and Alirez stands fifth in this week's FloWrestling rankings.

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 on Jan. 15. SDSU remains in the poll for the fifth week in a row, remaining at No. 25 in this week's rankings after two dual wins last 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. 5 Iowa State, No. 10 Missouri, No. 12 Oklahoma State and No. 24 Oklahoma. The Jackrabbits also are ranked in a tie for fifth with Princeton in the latest NWCA?Mid-Major Division I Poll.

In addition, seven Jackrabbit wrestlers are individually ranked by a variety of wrestling organizations. Returning All-American Clay Carlson is ranked as high as fifth by FloWrestling at 141 pounds, while two-time NCAA?qualifier Tanner Sloan continues his surge up the 197-pound standings with a seventh-place nod from Intermat.

Sloan enters the weekend on an 11-match winning streak.

Cade DeVos moved back into the top 10 of the 174-pound division this week with a 10th-place showing in the Intermat rankings, while A.J. Nevills checks in at No. 23 in the heavyweight division.

Tanner Cook remains in the rankings with a 33rd-place showing in the 165-pound division, while Cade King (184 pounds) holds an honorable mention ranking in this week's FloWrestling survey.

Returning to the rankings this week is 133-pounder Gabriel Tagg at No. 31 (Intermat).

20 AND 10: Three Jackrabbit wrestlers have reached the 20-win mark so far this season and all three have also posted 10 or more wins in dual competition.

Leading the way is 141-pounder Clay Carlson with a 26-3 overall record and a 13-2 dual mark, while 174-pounder Cade DeVos is right behind at 25-5 overall. After sitting out the team's opening dual Nov. 19 against Augustana, DeVos has turned in a 12-3 record in head-to-head competitions.

Heavyweight A.J. Nevills reached both progress points in his Jan. 28 victory against West Virginia. Nevills enters the week with a 23-9 overall mark and a 13-3 dual record in his first season in the Jackrabbit lineup.

Three other Jackrabbits reached the 10-win mark in duals last week: Tanner Cook (11-5 at 165 pounds), Cade King (10-4 at 184 pounds) and Tanner Sloan (10-1 at 197 pounds). Sloan has a career dual record of 34-4.

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 36-20 record (.643 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.

COOK AMONG NCAA LEADERS: Jackrabbit 165-pounder Tanner Cook enters the week tied for second place among NCAA?Division I wrestlers for falls. Cook has recorded 11 pins against D-I opponents so far this season, tying him with North Dakota State 197-pounder Owen Pentz, Bloomsburg 141-pounder Josh Mason and Air Force heavyweight Wyatt Hendrickson.

Overall, Cook has racked up 14 pins this season, with three coming against non-Division I opponents.

Leading the Division I ranks is Maryland 133-pounder King Sandoval with 11 falls.

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 in early January and made his Jackrabbit debut by recording a 19-1 technical fall against Darrick Stacey of Wyoming in an additional match Jan. 9.

Tagg holds a 10-3 record, including a 7-3 mark in duals, since joining the lineup.

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 study 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 has compiled a 32-26 career dual record.

Hahn has coached four All-Americans and 10 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.

Last 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.

In all, five SDSU wrestlers earned a trip to the NCAA?Championships in March 2021.
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 will turn their attention to the Big 12 Wrestling Championship, which is set for March 5-6 at BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

-GoJacks.com-