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South Dakota State University Athletics
Sunday, February 19
Fargo, N.D.
2 p.m.
South Dakota State University
at
North Dakota State
Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia
DUAL SEASON CONCLUDES SUNDAY AT NDSU
2/17/2023 10:00:00 PM | Wrestling
DUAL 16: #17 South Dakota State (11-4, 5-2) at #15 North Dakota State (11-2, 6-1)
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The 2022-23 wrestling dual season comes to an end Sunday afternoon with South Dakota State and North Dakota State renewing their Border Bell rivalry in Fargo, North Dakota.
Match time is set for 2 p.m. at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse on the NDSU campus. The dual can be viewed through WDAY Xtra and GoBison.com/watch.
The Jackrabbits enter the matchup 11-4 overall and 5-2 against Big 12 Conference opponents after dropping a pair of home duals to Oklahoma State (L, 12-19) and Oklahoma (L, 13-18) last weekend.
NDSU, meawhile, posted a 21-12 victory over Oklahoma on Feb. 10 to improve to 11-2 overall and 6-1 in the Big 12. The Bison have won seven duals in a row since a 28-11 setback at Missouri on Dec. 20.
THE SERIES: South Dakota State and North Dakota State will meet for the 71st time in dual competition when the two programs square off Sunday. NDSU leads the all-time series between the two longtime rivals, 45-24-1, including a 15-6-1 advantage in the Division I era for both programs. The series began with a 22-9 Jackrabbit victory during the 1958-59 season.
SDSU ended a four-match losing streak in the Border Bell series with a convincing 32-3 victory at Frost Arena on Feb. 20, 2022, in the most recent meeting. The Jacks won each of the first matches for a 13-0 lead, then received bonus-point victories from Cade DeVos (major decision) and Tanner Sloan (fall) in sweeping the second half of the dual.
#25 South Dakota State 32, North Dakota State 3 (Feb. 20, 2022 • Frost Arena)
125: Tanner Jordan (SDSU) major dec. Lucas Rodriguez (NDSU), 9-0
133: #31 Gabriel Tagg (SDSU) dec. #22 Kellyn March (NDSU), 10-3
141: #5 Clay Carlson (SDSU) dec. #28 Dylan Droegemueller (NDSU), 8-3
149: Daniel Kimball (SDSU) dec. Gaven Sax (NDSU), 8-7
157: #6 Jared Franek (NDSU) dec. Kenny O'Neil (SDSU), 10-3
165: #33 Tanner Cook (SDSU) dec. #13 Luke Weber (NDSU), 8-2 [SV-1]
174: #10 Cade DeVos (SDSU) major dec. #22 Austin Brenner (NDSU), 9-0
184: #30 Cade King (SDSU) dec. D.J. Parker (NDSU), 5-4
197: #7 Tanner Sloan (SDSU) def. #21 Owen Pentz (NDSU), by fall 5:25
285: #21 A.J. Nevills (SDSU) dec. #23 Brandon Metz (NDSU), 3-2 [TB-1]
Extra Matches
133: #31 Gabriel Tagg (SDSU) dec. Ryan Henningson (NDSU), 9-5
174: Riley Habisch (NDSU) dec. Jack Thomsen (SDSU), 8-1
LAST WEEK: South Dakota State had its 10-dual winning streak snapped in a loss to seventh-ranked Oklahoma State, then dropped a second dual at Frost Arena to Oklahoma to close the home portion of the schedule.
Oklahoma State 19, South Dakota State 12
On a night filled with matchups between ranked wrestlers, seventh-ranked Oklahoma State controlled the first half of the dual and went on to defeat No. 16 South Dakota State, 19-12, Feb. 10 at Frost Arena.
Trailing 7-0 through two matches, 10th-ranked Clay Carlson put SDSU on the board with a 4-3 decision over No. 13 Carter Young. After giving up an early takedown, Carlson escaped and came up with a takedown of his own later in the first period to take a 3-2 lead. He added another escape in the second period for what proved to be the decisive point in a one-point victory.
The Cowboys added three more wins — all by decision — to extend their lead to 16-3 before Cade DeVos came through with a mild upset in the 174-pound bout to keep SDSU's hopes momentarily alive. The 13th-ranked DeVos trailed No. 7 Dustin Plott, 4-3, early in the second period before DeVos swung the momentum firmly in his favor with a takedown and two-point near-fall for a 7-4 lead.
DeVos then added points on an escape and riding-time advantage in the third period for a 9-5 decision.
SDSU closed the dual with back-to-back victories by 197-pouner Tanner Sloan and heavyweight A.J. Nevills. Sloan, ranked ninth, dominated his match against No. 16 and reigning Big 12 Wrestler of the Week Luke Surber by racking up more than five minutes of riding time and being awarded four points for stalling by Surber in a 7-0 victory. Sloan improved to 12-0 in duals this season.
Nevills rebounded from his first dual loss of the season in the Jackrabbits' last outing by outlasting 19th-ranked Konner Doucet by tiebreaker, 4-3. Nevills, ranked 12th at heavyweight, scored on a reversal in the second half of the first tiebreaker before allowing an escape by Doucet in the closing seconds for the final margin.
While Sloan extended his winning streak to 15 matches, two other Jackrabbits had long winning streaks come to an end in the dual. At 157 pounds, redshirt freshman and 18th-ranked Cael Swensen dropped an 8-1 decision to No. 10 Kaden Gfeller to stop a 10-match victory string, and 184-pounder Cade King had his nine-match streak come to an end when he was blanked, 3-0, by Travis Wittlake in a meeting between the 17th- and 10th-ranked wrestlers, respectively, in the weight class.
Oklahoma State's early surge began with a 9-5 decision by Reece Witcraft over the Jackrabbits' 25th-ranked Tanner Jordan in the 125-pound matchup. Multi-time All-American and second-ranked Daton Fix followed with an 11-1 major decision against Derrick Cardinal in what was the only bonus-point victory by either team in the dual.
Wyatt Sheets, ranked 22nd at 165 pounds, rounded out the Cowboys' victory by knocking off 14th-ranked Tanner Cook by an 8-6 decision.
Oklahoma 18, South Dakota State 13
Oklahoma rattled off four consecutive victories in the middle of the match, propelling the Sooners past South Dakota State, 18-13, in a Big 12 Conference wrestling dual Feb. 12 at Frost Arena.
Tied at 6-all through four matches, the Oklahoma winning streak began at 157 pounds with a 9-2 decision by Jacob Butler. His Jackrabbit opponent, Caleb Gross, who was wrestling up two weight classes in place of an injured Cael Swensen, prevented a bonus-point victory as he recorded a late escape to keep the OU victory to a decision.
The next three Sooner victories all came against higher-ranked opponents. No. 16 Gerrit Nijenhuis kept 14th-ranked Tanner Cook at bay by recording an 8-5 decision in the 165-pound matchup, while No. 23 Tate Picklo gained the momentum in his 174-pound match against 13th-ranked Cade DeVos with a takedown in the closing seconds of the second period for a 5-4 lead and carried that through en route to another 8-5 decision in favor of OU.
Keegan Moore closed out the run with a match-sealing 10-6 decision over No. 17 Cade King in the 184-pound bout. That pushed the Sooners' lead to 18-6.
SDSU needed pins in the last two matches to pull out a victory, but had to settle for a major decision victory by Tanner Sloan at 197 pounds and an overtime decision by heavyweight A.J. Nevills. For the second consecutive match, Sloan racked up more than five minutes of riding time as he posted a 13-4 victory over Carson Berryhill to stay unbeaten in duals this season.
The 12th-ranked Nevills and No. 14 Josh Heindselman traded escapes to end regulation tied at 1-all before Nevills came up with a takedown in the final minute of overtime for a 3-1 sudden victory.
The Jackrabbits also came out victorious in overtime in the opening match of the afternoon as 25th-ranked Tanner Jordan downed No. 19 Joey Prata in dramatic fashion. Jordan trailed 1-0 until being awarded a reversal a split second before the horn sounded to signal the end of regulation.
With Prata holding a minute-plus of riding time, the match went to an extra session, which ended when Jordan came up with the first takedown of the bout.
Wyatt Henson and No. 7 Mosha Schwartz recorded back-to-back victories by decision to put Oklahoma on the board. Schwartz's victory was an 8-2 decision over 10th-ranked Clay Carlson at 141 pounds.
Alek Martin momentarily tied the dual at 6-all with a 3-2 victory over John Wiley on a late takedown in the 149-pound matchup.
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. The Jackrabbits moved up two more spots in recent weeks to No. 16 — marking their highest ranking during head coach Damion Hahn's five-year tenure — before slipping back to No. 17 in the most recent poll.
SDSU also has a season-high eight wrestlers ranked individually for the 10th week in a row, with 197-pounder Tanner Sloan holding the highest ranking at No. 9 in both the InterMat and FloWrestling polls.
Just outside the top 10 are returning national qualifers in 141-pounder Clay Carlson (11th by InterMat and 12th by FloWrestling this week) and A.J. Nevills (12th by FloWrestling and 14th by InterMat).
Cael Swensen, who is No. 18 in the 157-pound rankings by FloWrestling and Tanner Jordan at 125 pounds (29th by InterMat) each joined the rankings after their outings at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
Other returning NCAA qualifiers Cade DeVos (14th at 174 pounds by FloWrestling), Tanner Cook (16th by FloWrestling at 165 pounds) and Cade King (19th at 184 pounds by FloWrestling) round out the list of SDSU's ranked wrestlers.
COOK, NEVILLS AMONG PIN LEADERS: Two South Dakota State wrestlers enter the weekend ranked in the top 10 among Division I wrestlers for wins by fall this season.
Jackrabbit 165-pounder Tanner Cook enters the week ranked in a tie for sixth with nine wins by fall against D-I competition. 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 last added to his total with two pins in action Jan. 13-14 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 14-4 season record and a 55-19 career mark into competition this weekend.
At heavyweight, SDSU's A.J. Nevills ranks in a tie for ninth place with eight wins by fall. Nevills has recorded his eight pins against D-I opponents in 25 minutes and 38 seconds, adding to his total with a Jan. 22 pin against Wyoming's Mason Ding.
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 24-1 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 24 consecutive dual matchups.
For his career, Sloan has compiled a 48-4 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.
Sloan holds a 13-0 season record in duals heading into Sunday's season finale.
Nevills, a graduate student from Clovis, California, has turned in a 27-4 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 13-1 so far this season, with his lone loss to Wyatt Hendrickson of Air Force.
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).
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 42-22 record (.656 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 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, 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 44-30 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 will turn their attention to postseason tournament competition for the remainder of the season, starting with the Big 12 Wrestling Championship March 4-5 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Tulsa and the BOK Center also will be the site of the NCAA?Division I Wrestling Championships March 16-18.
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