SWENSEN, RASMUSSEN LEAD JACKS AS RUNNERS-UP

Friday, December 29

Coralville, Iowa

10 a.m./11 a.m.

South Dakota State University

Soldier Salute

Photo by: Zoey Schentzel

12/30/2023 8:07:00 PM | Wrestling

CORALVILLE, Iowa — Cael Swensen and Luke Rasmussen each recorded runner-up finishes Saturday to help lead the South Dakota State wrestling squad to a fourth-place showing in the team standings at the Soldier Salute held at Xtream Arena.

In all, seven Jackrabbits earned spots on the podium with top-eight individual finishes in the two-day event.

Swensen, a sophomore from Plymouth, Minnesota, split a pair of overtime matches Saturday in the 157-pound weight class. He opened the day with a 4-1 sudden victory over Paniro Johnson, who was wrestling unattached, in which Swensen recorded the lone takedown of the match halfway through the overtime session.

That set up a meeting with second-ranked Jared Franek of Iowa and formerly of North Dakota State. The two wrestlers were tied at 1-all through regulation, but Franek struck quickly with a takedown 10 seconds into overtime to secure a 4-1 victory and the tournament title.

A redshirt freshman from Brookings, Rasmussen advanced to the heavyweight final by outlasting Missouri's Seth Nitzel, 17-13, during the morning session. That set up his second meeting of the season against Minnesota's Bennett Tabor, who entered the tournament ranked 33^rd. Tabor once again held the upper hand, posting a 7-2 victory over Rasmussen, who placed third in the heavyweight division at last year's Soldier Salute.

Sophomore 149-pounder Alek Martin captured third place with a pair of wins over Iowa wrestlers on Saturday. A native of St. Paris, Ohio, Martin opened the day with a 5-2 overtime loss in the semifinals to unattached wrestler Anthony Ferrari, but countered with an 11-2 major decision against the Hawkeyes' Joel Jesuroga later in the afternoon session.

During the evening session, Martin was matched up against Victor Voinovich of Iowa. Martin took the eighth-ranked Voinovich to overtime and came up with the winning takedown at about the midway point of the added session for a 7-4 decision and a 4-1 tournament record.

Fellow 149-pounder Daniel Kimball contributed a fifth-place finish in the weight class with a 5-2 mark. Kimball sandwiched narrow victories over North Carolina's Wil Guida and Iowa's Jesuroga around a 9-3 defeat at the hands of Voinovich during competition Saturday.

Freshman Brady Roark, who was competing unattached in the 125-pound weight class, notched a fifth-place finish. Both of Roark's tournament losses in a 4-2 weekend were against 19^th-ranked Patrick McKee of Minnesota, the second of which was a 9-4 setback on Saturday. Roark began the day with a 10-3 decision over Northern Iowa's Garret Rinken.

Other placewinners for the Jackrabbits were Bowen McConville, who finished sixth at heavyweight, and Clay Carlson, seventh at 141 pounds.

Several Jackrabbit wrestlers who were eliminated during the double-elimination portion of the tournament on Friday competed in additional consolation matches on Saturday. Colin Dupill (149 pounds), Moses Espinoza-Owens (165 pounds) and Thomas Dineen (197 pounds) each posted 2-0 records on the day.

The Jackrabbits remained in fourth place among the 13 teams in the tournament, tallying 90.5 points. Iowa claimed the tournament title with 251.5 points, followed by Minnesota with 148.5 and Columbia with 102.5. North Carolina rounded out the top five with 78 points.

UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits begin a two-month stretch of dual competition Thursday by taking on nationally ranked Michigan at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls. Start time is set for 7 p.m.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
141 | #7 Clay Carlson, Sr., Willmar, Minnesota (2-2 record)