Completed Event: Wrestling at NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on March 20, 2025 , , 23rd Place - 19.0 Points (1 All-American)
/
FINAL
Wrestling
(23rd Place - 19.0 Points (1 All-American))
at NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
South Dakota State University Athletics
Sunday, November 26
Minneapolis, Minn.
noon
South Dakota State University
at
Minnesota
Photo by: Zoey Schentzel
JACKS MEET MINNESOTA IN RANKED BATTLE
11/25/2023 5:20:00 PM | Wrestling
DUAL 4: #12 South Dakota State (3-0) at #13 Minnesota (3-0)
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The South Dakota State wrestling team faces a fellow ranked opponent for the first time in dual action this season, traveling Sunday to 13th-ranked Minnesota.
Action is set for a noon start at the Maturi Pavilion on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis. The match will be available for viewing through the Big Ten Plus video streaming platform (subscription required).
The 12th-ranked Jackrabbits enter Sunday's dual with a 3-0 record after opening the dual season by sweeping three duals from in-state, lower-division opponents on Nov. 17. SDSU downed Dakota Wesleyan (46-4), Northern State (33-6) and Augustana (37-9) in matches held at Frost Arena.
Minnesota also holds a 3-0 dual record after posting three wins on the East Coast last week. The Golden Gophers tallied a 37-3 victory at Bucknell on Nov. 16, followed by 52-0 and 37-6 wins over Morgan State and George Mason, respectively, Nov. 18 in Fairfax, Virginia.
THE SERIES: Minnesota has held the upper hand over the Jackrabbits in dual action, leading the all-time series, which dates back to the 1949-50 season, by a 28-4 count. SDSU's last victory over the Golden Gophers was a 23-18 triumph during the 1974-75 campaign. Minnesota has won the last 11 meetings overall.
In last season's meeting, Nov. 27, 2022, at Frost Arena, Minnesota closed the dual 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.
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 11th 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 14th 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 straight 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, at 125 pounds. 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 Vance VomBaur stymied sixth-ranked Clay Carlson with a 6-4 decision that knotted the dual.
That left the outcome to the 149-pound bout, where 17th-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 12th-ranked Isaiah Salazar turned in a 12-0 major decision over Jackrabbit newcomer Bennett Berge.
#13 MINNESOTA 19, #25 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 16 (Nov. 27, 2022, at Brookings, S.D.)
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
LAST WEEK: The Jackrabbits put together a successful weekend on their home mat as they won all three duals at the Dakota Showcase and had three wrestlers crowned champions at the Daktronics Open.
Dakota Showcase Recap
The South Dakota State wrestling team opened the dual portion of its schedule Nov. 17 by winning all three of its matchups in the Dakota Showcase in convincing fashion.
The 12th-ranked Jackrabbits opened the night with a 46-4 victory against Dakota Wesleyan, followed by respective 33-6 and 37-9 wins over Northern State and Augustana.
Caleb Gross won a pair of decisions and added a win by forfeit to post a 3-0 record on the evening and lead a sweep of the five lower weights in all three duals. The senior from Pound, Wisconsin, tallied an 8-2 victory over Zach Zitek of Dakota Wesleyan in the opener and added a 3-0 win against Braydon Mogle of Northern State.
Tanner Jordan and Brandon Meredith posted consecutive first-period pins to get things started in the dual against Dakota Wesleyan. Both wrestlers also notched a victory by major decision — Jordan's win was by an 18-6 count over Landen Fischer of Northern State, while Meredith, who wrestled up a weight class in his first match, recorded a 14-3 victory over Augustana's Jaxson Rohman at 125 pounds.
Other two-time winners for the Jackrabbits were Cael Swensen at 157 pounds, Cade DeVos in the 174-pound weight class and freshman 197-pounder Thomas Dineen. Swensen, ranked 13th at 157 pounds, won a pair of decisions, while the eighth-ranked DeVos tallied both of his victories by technical fall. Dineen won by technical fall versus DWU and claimed his second victory of the night by fall versus Northern State.
Heavyweight Regan Bollweg also won by fall versus Dakota Wesleyan.
In all, SDSU wrestlers combined for 18 bonus-point victories over the three matches — seven by technical fall, four by fall, four by forfeit and three by major decision. A total of 17 different Jackrabbits were credited with at least one victory.
Daktronics Open Recap
Three South Dakota State wrestlers claimed titles at the Daktronics Open held Nov. 19 at Frost Arena.
The Jackrabbits' three championships came from opposite ends of the weight-class spectrum as Tanner Jordan and Derrick Cardinal were victorious in the lower weights, while Luke Rasmussen earned the heavyweight title.
Jordan, who entered the week ranked 26th at 125 pounds, improved to 8-0 on the season with three convincing victories. A senior from St. Paris, Ohio, and a returning national qualifier, Jordan opened the day with a 12-0 major decision over Brandon Paez of Northern Iowa. He posted another major decision in the semifinals, winning 8-0 over Trever Anderson of Northern Iowa, then won by technical fall, 18-3, against Iowa State's Ethan Perryman in the championship match.
Cardinal, meanwhile, competed in a round-robin format in the 133-pound weight class and also posted a 3-0 record on the day. A sophomore from Forest Lake, Minnesota, Cardinal knocked off 21st-ranked Julian Farber of Northern Iowa, 8-3, in the opening round. He later secured the title with a pair of technical falls against unattached wrestlers Garrett Grice (18-0) and Julian Tagg (20-2).
A redshirt freshman from Brookings, Rasmussen picked up a pair of bonus-point victories in winning the heavyweight division. After receiving a first-round bye, he turned in a 16-1 technical fall against teammate Regan Bollweg in the semifinals. The championship match against Jose Valdez of Northern Iowa was scoreless after a period, but Rasmussen came up with a quick turn while working from the top to start the second period and put Valdez's shoulders to the mat to win by fall.
Recording third-place finishes for the Jackrabbits were 141-pounder Caleb Gross and heavyweight Bowen McConville. Falling in third-place matches to finish fourth were 125-pounder Brandon Meredith and Jaxon Bowes at 184 pounds.
Placing fifth were Colin Dupill (149) and Kalen Meyer (184), while Bollweg and freshmen Parker Janssen (141) and Thomas Dineen garnered sixth-place finishes.
RABBITS RANKED: South Dakota State began the 2023-24 season with its highest preseason ranking ever in the NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll, checking in at No. 12 in the survey, which was announced Oct. 31.
The Jackrabbits also tied their highest-ever ranking in the national poll. SDSU was previously ranked 12th for five weeks during the 2017-18 season.
SDSU, coached by Damion Hahn, was one of six Big 12 Conference teams to be ranked in the top 25. Missouri was ranked fourth, followed by Iowa State in 10th and Oklahoma State at No. 11. Also ranked were Northern Iowa at No. 17 and Oklahoma, which is tied for 20th. Defending national champion Penn State was a unanimous pick for the top spot in the poll.
Besides Missouri (Feb. 18), Oklahoma State (Feb. 10) and Oklahoma (Feb. 9), the Jackrabbits are scheduled to face at least three other teams in the preseason poll — all from the Big Ten Conference — in dual action this season. SDSU is slated to travel to 14th-ranked Minnesota on Nov. 26, followed by a Dec. 16 trip to ninth-ranked Nebraska. A Jan. 4 date against Michigan at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls further highlights the schedule.
The Jackrabbits have maintained their No. 12 ranking so far this season and eight Jackrabbit wrestlers appear in this week's individual rankings conducted by InterMat and FloWrestling:
- 125: Tanner Jordan (22nd by InterMat/32nd by FloWrestling)
- 133: Derrick Cardinal (21st by FloWrestling)
- 141: Clay Carlson (6th by FloWrestling/6th by InterMat)
- 157: Cael Swensen (11th by InterMat/13th by FloWrestling)
- 165: Tanner Cook (11th by FloWrestling/19th by InterMat)
- 174: Cade DeVos (7th by InterMat/8th by FloWrestling)
- 184: Bennett Berge (19th by InterMat/21st by FloWrestling)
- 197: Tanner Sloan (2nd by FloWrestling/3rd by InterMat)
Sloan, the 2023 national runner-up at 197 pounds, squared off against top-ranked Aaron Brooks of Penn State and dropped an 11-2 major decision.
A native of Alburnett, Iowa, Sloan compiled a 27-3 record in advancing to the national championship bout last season, while Brooks is a three-time NCAA champion at 184 pounds who is moving up a weight class this season.
Carlson, a two-time All-American at 141 pounds, ws slated to face Lachlan McNeil of North Carolina, but withdrew from the event due to injury.
A native of Willmar, Minnesota, Carlson placed fifth at 141 pounds at the 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, finishing the season with a 27-10 record.
100 WINS: Clay Carlson became the 15th wrestler in South Dakota State history to record 100 career victories, when he accomplished the feat at the 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Carlson's milestone victory came against Purdue's Parker Filius, 3-1, in the consolation semifinals. He added another victory the following day to close out his second career All-America performance with a fifth-place finish at nationals.
Carlson has yet to wrestle this season due to injury, with his career record holding at 101-41.
Two other Jackrabbits could join the 100-victory club this season: senior 197-pounder Tanner Sloan has compiled an 87-20 career record, while Cade DeVos enters the week with a 72-29 career mark. Sloan's career totals include a 50-4 mark in duals.
WORLD MEDALIST: South Dakota State wrestler Bennett Berge earned his second career individual medal at the United World Wrestling U20 World Championships, claiming bronze as competition wrapped up in September.
Competing in the 86-kilogram freestyle division, Berge compiled a 3-1 record over two days of wrestling in Amman City, Jordan. He began the tournament with back-to-back victories over Ivan Chornohuz, Ukraine (9-5, VPO1) and Slavi Stamenov, Bulgaria (11-0, VSU 1:49), but dropped his semifinal match later in the day to France's Rakhim Madmadov by a 9-4 (VPO1) score.
In his final match of the competition, Berge wasted little time in posting an 11-0 (VSU 2:09) victory over Shakjir Bislimi of North Macedonia.
Berge was part of a Team USA squad that came in second in the team standings behind Iran. As a unit, Team USA set a record with medalists in eight of 10 weight classes — two gold, two silver and four bronze.
A native of Mantorville, Minnesota, Berge previously won an individual silver medal at the 2022 U20 World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria.
BIG 12 SUCCESS: Now in its ninth 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 43-22 record (.662 winning percentage) in duals against Big 12 foes. SDSU posted an 8-0 mark in Big 12 duals during the 2017-18 campaign and turned in a 6-2 mark last season.
The Jacks 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 championship in 2016. SDSU finished sixth out of 13 teams at the 2023 meet.
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, 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 sixth season at the helm of the Jackrabbits' program. Hahn has compiled a 48-30 career dual record and has coached six All-Americans and 30 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 sent four wrestlers on to the NCAA Championships in Detroit.
The 2022-23 season included a 10-dual winning streak en route to a 12-4 record. The Jackrabbits also were strong in tournament settings, placing third at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in December and posting a sixth-place finish at the Big 12 Wrestling Championship. SDSU went on to send a program-record eight wrestlers to the NCAA Championships, coming away with a 14th-place finish and two All-Americans — Clay Carlson, who placed fifth at 141 pounds and 197-pound runner-up Tanner Sloan.
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 three 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 2023-24 South Dakota State wrestling roster is made up of 36 student-athletes from 15 different states from coast to coast. Iowa and Minnesota have the most wrestlers with seven, while five hail from South Dakota. Three Jackrabbit wrestlers are from Ohio and Utah, with a pair from Wisconsin. Nine states have produced one wrestler each: Arizona, Illinois, Missouri, Montana, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Washington.
By class, 11 are seniors, seven are sophomores and eight are redshirt freshmen. Ten are incoming freshmen. There are no juniors on this season's squad.
A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits flip back to tournament action by sending a contingent of wrestlers to the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Competition runs Dec. 1-2, with action beginning at 11 a.m. Central Time (9 a.m. Pacific) each day.
SDSU placed third out of 33 teams at last year's competition. Tanner Cook reached the 165-pound finals, while Tanner Sloan placed third at 197 pounds.
-GoJacks.com-
Players Mentioned
184
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285
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174/184
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133
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141
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165
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174
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197
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149
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141
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141
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125
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149
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285
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125
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184
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285
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285
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197
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157
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