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South Dakota State University Athletics
Friday, January 20
Brookings, S.D.
7 p.m.
South Dakota State University
vs
Utah Valley
Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia
JACKRABBITS RETURN HOME FOR TWO DUALS
1/19/2023 10:54:00 AM | Wrestling
DUAL 10: Utah Valley (1-5, 1-2 Big 12) at #18 South Dakota State (7-2, 1-0 Big 12)
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DUAL 11: Wyoming at South Dakota State
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The South Dakota State wrestling team returns home this weekend to kick off a string of seven consecutive duals against Big 12 Conference opponents.
The 18th-ranked Jackrabbits, 7-2 in duals this season, including a 1-0 mark in the Big 12, open the weekend by hosting Utah Valley at 7 p.m. Friday at Frost Arena. The visiting Wolverines are 1-5 in duals so far this season, including a 1-2 mark against Big 12 foes. Utah Valley was swept at home by nationally ranked Northern Iowa (L, 9-34) and Iowa State (L, 9-31) last weekend.
Sunday, SDSU welcomes Wyoming to Frost Arena for a noon matinee. The Cowboys come into the week in search of their first dual victory of the season after an 0-5 start — all against Big 12 opponents. Wyoming, which fell to Missouri, 28-10, in its home opener last week, wrestles Saturday at North Dakota State.
Video coverage of both duals will be available through FloWrestling.org.
The Jackrabbits extended their dual winning streak to six matches by winning all four of their contests Jan. 13-14 at the Virginia Duals. SDSU has outscored its opponents by a 175-27 margin during its winning streak.
In addition, a small contingent of Jackrabbit wrestlers is expected to compete Saturday at the Worthington Open in Worthington, Minnesota. Competition is slated to begin at 9 a.m. at the Center of Health and Wellness located at Minnesota West Community College.
SERIES vs. UTAH VALLEY: Friday's dual against Utah Valley will mark the 17th time the Jackrabbits and Wolverines on the wrestling mat since the series began during the 2005-06 season. Both teams have put together seven-match winning streaks in the series that is tied at eight wins apiece
The two programs last met in dual action on Feb. 13, 2021, at Frost Arena, with the Jackrabbits notching their seventh win in a row in the series with a 22-11 victory. SDSU won seven of the 10 matches in the dual, led by Tanner Sloan's major decision against Jacob Armstrong at 197 pounds.
South Dakota State 22, Utah Valley 11 (Feb. 13, 2021 • Frost Arena)
125: Danny Vega (SDSU) dec. Kase Mauger (UVU), 4-3
133: #15 Zach Price (SDSU) dec. #18 Ty Smith (UVU), 7-5
141: #16 Clay Carlson (SDSU) dec. Stockton O'Brien (UVU), 13-12
149: Hunter Marko (SDSU) dec. #27 Cameron Hunsaker (UVU), 5-4
157: #18 Cade DeVos (SDSU) dec. Danny Snediker (UVU), 12-8
165: Kekana Fouret (UVU) major dec. Colten Carlson (SDSU), 18-10
174: #5 Demetrius Romero (UVU) major dec. #31 Cade King (SDSU), 10-2
184: Hunter Morse (UVU) dec. Jacob Schoon (SDSU), 4-1
197: #5 Tanner Sloan (SDSU) major dec. Jacob Armstrong (UVU), 14-1
285: Blake Wolters (SDSU) dec. Chase Trussell (UVU), 2-1 [TB-1]
SERIES vs. WYOMING: Sunday's dual will mark the 22nd meeting on the mat between South Dakota State and Wyoming, a series that dates back to the 1953-54 season. Wyoming holds a 16-5 advantage, but the Jackrabbits have held the upper hand recently with all five of their victories in the series coming in the last seven matchups.
The last meeting between the two foes came down to the wire with the Jackrabbits posting a 17-16 home victory on Jan. 12, 2020. Danny Vega's 18-3 win by technical fall over Jacob Svihal in the opening bout of the dual proved to be the difference.
South Dakota State 17, Wyoming 16 (Jan. 12, 2020 • Frost Arena)
125: Danny Vega (SDSU) tech. fall Jacob Svihal (WYO), 18-3 [4:05}
133: #7 Montorie Bridges (WYO) dec. Zach Price (SDSU), 5-1
141: Clay Carlson (SDSU) dec. Trevor Jeffries (WYO), 12-6
149: #17 Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU) dec. Jaron Jensen (WYO), 6-2
157: Dewey Krueger (WYO) dec. Colten Carlson (SDSU), 9-4
165: Cole Moody (WYO) major dec. Tanner Cook (SDSU), 13-3
174: #12 Hayden Hastings (WYO) dec. Cade King (SDSU), 5-0
184: #16 Zach Carlson (SDSU) dec. Tate Samuelson (WYO), 3-2
197: #20 Tanner Sloan (SDSU) dec. Stephen Buchanan (WYO), 6-3
285: #20 Brian Andrews (WYO) dec. Blake Wolters (SDSU), 1-0
LAST WEEK: South Dakota State continued its recent dominance by posting a 4-0 record at the Virginia Duals Jan. 13-14 in Hampton, Virginia. Jackrabbit wrestlers combined for a 34-6 record and recorded 23 bonus-point victories over the four duals (9 major decisions, 3 technical falls, 9 falls and 2 forfeits) and outscored the opposition by a 150-21 margin.
South Dakota State 31, Navy 6
The Jackrabbits posted four major-decision victories and received another win by fall from Tanner Cook.
Tanner Jordan got things started for the Jackrabbits with a 12-0 major decision over Dayton Del Viscio in the 125-pound matchup.
After the Midshipmen's Brendan Ferretti notched a 4-3 decision over SDSU's Derrick Cardinal, the Jackrabbits reeled off victories in each of the next seven matches. Ninth-ranked Clay Carlson tallied an 11-6 over Josh Koderhandt in a battle of ranked 141-pound wrestlers to start the string, while nationally ranked Cael Swensen (157 pounds), Cade DeVos (174) and Tanner Sloan (197) also won by major decision.
Cook, ranked 14th at 165 pounds, needed only 29 seconds to stick Navy's Val Park. It was Cook's eighth win by fall this season.
Others to win by decision for the Jackrabbits were Alek Martin at 149 pounds and Cade King in the 184-pound weight class.
At heavyweight, Bowen McConville made his Jackrabbit dual debut in place of A.J. Nevills, but suffered a 5-1 setback to 20th-ranked Grady Griess.
South Dakota State 38, Kent State 9
SDSU spotted the Golden Flashes an early 9-0 lead, but closed the dual with eight consecutive victories. Highlighting the Jackrabbit victory were four wins by fall.
Kent State's 14th-ranked Jake Ferri held off Tanner Jordan for a one-point (7-6) victory in the opening bout of the dual and Brendon Fenton followed with a pin of Derrick Cardinal in the 133-pound matchup.
Once again, Clay Carlson started a Jackrabbit winning streak with a first-period fall of his own, which was followed by a match-tying decision by Alek Martin at 149 pounds. Martin and 32nd-ranked Kody Komara were tied at 3-all entering the third period before Martin put together a big final stanza in which he outscored Komara, 6-0, for a 9-3 victory.
Fellow redshirt freshman Cael Swensen continued his hot streak with a pin of Ethan Barr at 157 pounds and Cade DeVos added a technical fall two matches later to push the SDSU lead to 26-9.
Tanner Sloan and A.J. Nevills finished off the Jackrabbit run with wins by fall.
Tanner Cook and Cade King each added decisions, with Cook outlasting 25th ranked Enrique Munguia in a high-scoring match, 15-11.
South Dakota State 39, Campbell 3
The Jackrabbits took control with three consecutive wins by major decision to close out the first half of the dual.
Tanner Jordan set the tone for SDSU with a second-period fall against Anthony Molton in the 125-pound matchup. After Campbell pulled to within 6-3 on a win by decision from Gabe Hixenbaugh in the 133-pound matchup, the Jackrabbits' Clay Carlson (141 pounds), Alek Martin (149) and Cael Swensen (157) all recorded victories by major decision.
The second half was more of the same for the Jackrabbits, who turned in three more bonus-point victories. Tanner Cook continued his pinning prowess by sticking Domonic Baker in 2 minutes and 38 seconds in the 165-pound match, while Cade DeVos won by technical fall at 174 pounds and 197-pounder Tanner Sloan notched the fourth major decision of the day for SDSU.
Winning by decision for the Jackrabbits were Cade King at 184 pounds and A.J. Nevills at heavyweight.
Nevills, ranked 14th by FloWrestling, posted a 9-3 decision over No. 12 Taye Ghadiali, while King, the No. 17 wrestler in his weight class, knocked off No. 27 Caleb Hopkins, 6-3. At heavyweight, Bowen McConville made his Jackrabbit dual debut in place of A.J. Nevills, but suffered a 5-1 setback to 20th-ranked Grady Griess.
South Dakota State 42, Ohio 3
The Jackrabbits tallied six bonus-point victories, highlighted by pins from Derrick Cardinal and A.J. Nevills, en route to claiming nine of 10 bouts.
SDSU led 14-0 through three matches as Tanner Jordan won by decision at 125 pounds, Cardinal pinned Mason Brugh in 2 minutes and 5 seconds in their 133-pound matchup and Clay Carlson won by technical fall at 141 pounds.
Alec Hagan, ranked 31st at 149 pounds, recorded what would be the lone victory of the dual for Ohio as he turned in a 5-1 decision over the Jackrabbits' Alek Martin. Their bout was a rematch from the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational earlier this season in which Hagan posted a one-point, 6-5 decision.
In the second half of the dual Cade DeVos won by technical fall at 174 pounds and A.J. Nevills was victorious by pin to give the Jackrabbits two more bonus-point wins. Tanner Cook turned in a 6-2 decision over No. 32 Jordan Slivka at 165 pounds and Cade King added a one-point victory with a 3-2 decision over Zayne Lehman in the 184-pound matchup.
Cael Swensen (157) and Tanner Sloan (197) picked up wins by forfeit.
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 maintained a national ranking for most 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 UNI.
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 but moved back to No. 18 following their strong performance last weekend at the Virginia Duals.
SDSU also has a season-high eight wrestlers ranked individually for the sixth week in a row, with 141-pounder Clay Carlson holding the highest ranking at No. 9 in both the InterMat and FloWrestling rankings, followed by fellow NCAA qualifier Tanner Sloan in 12th at 197 pounds.
Cael Swensen, who is ranked 23rd in the 157-pound rankings by InterMat and Tanner Jordan at 125 pounds (26th by InterMat) each joined the rankings after their outings at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
Other returning NCAA qualifiers Cade DeVos (15th at 174 pounds by FloWrestling) and A.J. Nevills (14th at heavyweight by FloWrestling) have maintained top-20 rankings throughout the season, while Cade King (17th at 184 pounds by FloWrestling) rounds out the list of SDSU's ranked wrestlers.
COOK AMONG PIN LEADERS: South Dakota State 165-pounder Tanner Cook enters the week tied for the lead among NCAA?Division I wrestlers with nine wins by fall. Cook is one of five wrestlers who has tallied nine pins against D-I wrestlers this season.
A junior from Ilion, New York, Cook has needed only 15 minutes and 19 seconds of mat time to post his nine falls, with six of those pins occurring in less than a minute. He added to his total with two pins in action last weekend at the Virginia Duals.
Cook was honored Dec. 20 as Big 12 Conference Wrestler of the Week after pinning 13th-ranked Bubba Wilson of Nebraska in only 29 seconds in dual action Dec. 18. He brings a 13-2 season record and a 54-17 career mark into competition this weekend.
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 19-1 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 15 consecutive dual matchups.
For his career, Sloan has compiled a 43-4 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 22-3 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 8-0.
Sloan also holds an 8-0 record in duals heading into the weekend.
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 38-20 record (.655 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 record 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 OPENS: South Dakota State marked the start of the calendar year by moving into a new home with the opening of the 16,000-square-foot Kurtenbach Family Wrestling Center.
The South Dakota Board of Regents approved plans for the project in December 2020 and ground was broken in September 2021 for the $4 million on-campus training facility, which is located 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 features four competition mats, plus a strength and conditioning area, locker rooms, team room, coaches' offices and spaces for academics and nutrition.
"This 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."
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 40-28 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 are scheduled to head back out on the road for two duals next week:
Friday, Jan. 27
• at Northern Colorado, 6 p.m. MT (7 p.m. Central)
Sunday, Jan. 29
• at Air Force, 1 p.m. MT (2 p.m. Central)
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