WRESTLING HOMESTAND ENDS WITH AIR FORCE

Friday, January 26

Brookings, S.D.

7 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Air Force

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Photo by: Keith Lucas | Sideline Media Productions

1/25/2024 1:23:00 PM | Wrestling

#10 South Dakota State (8-2, 2-0 Big 12) vs. Air Force (2-4, 0-3 Big 12)

When	7 p.m. Friday \| Order Tickets
Where	Frost Arena \| Brookings, South Dakota
TV	FloWrestling.org (subscription required)
Live Results	Dual vs. Air Force (TrackWrestling)
Notes	SDSU \| Air Force
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram \| #GetJacked

The South Dakota State wrestling team wraps up a three-match homestand against Big 12 Conference opponents by hosting Air Force in dual action Friday night.

Start time is set for 7 p.m. at Frost Arena. The dual will be available for viewing through the FloWrestling.org subscription service.

The 10th-ranked Jackrabbits enter the matchup with an 8-2 overall record in duals after opening the Big 12 slate last weekend with home victories over Northern Colorado (29-16) and California Baptist (39-3). SDSU wrestlers tallied bonus-point wins in 12 of the 15 bouts they won over the two duals, including seven wins by technical fall.

Air Force brings a 2-4 dual record into the weekend, which will also include a Sunday matchup at North Dakota State. The Falcons are in search of their first win over a Big 12 opponent after dropping to 0-3 with a 30-14 setback at Wyoming on Jan. 12.

PROBABLE STARTERS: Following is the projected lineup for the Jackrabbits in Friday's dual against Air Force:
125:     #18 Tanner Jordan • Sr., St. Paris, Ohio (16-5 overall, 7-2 in duals)
133:     #17 Derrick Cardinal • So., Forest Lake, Minn. (16-4 overall, 7-1 in duals)
or        Logan Graf • R-Fr., Custer, S.D. (3-0 overall, 1-0 in duals)
141:     #25 Clay Carlson • Sr., Willmar, Minn. (7-4 overall, 3-2 in duals)
or        Caleb Gross • Sr., Pound, Wis. (9-7 overall,3-2 in duals)
149:     #21 Alek Martin • So., St. Paris, Ohio (12-6 overall, 5-3 in duals)
157:     #15 Cael Swensen • So., Plymouth, Minn. (12-5 overall, 7-2 in duals)
165:     Tanner Cook • Sr., Ilion, N.Y. (4-7 overall, 1-6 in duals)
or        Connor Gaynor • So., Mokena, Ill. (1-6 overall, 1-2 in duals)
174:     #4 Cade DeVos • Sr., Altoona, Iowa (13-1 overall, 8-1 in duals)
184:     #13 Bennett Berge • R-Fr., Mantorville, Minn. (9-2 overall, 5-1 in duals)
197:     #5 Tanner Sloan • Sr., Alburnett, Iowa (12-1 overall, 7-0 in duals)
285:     Luke Rasmussen • R-Fr., Brookings, S.D. (12-7 overall, 4-4 in duals)
or        Bowen McConville • Sr., Renton, Wash. (8-5 overall, 1-0 in duals)
            Notes: Rankings listed are highest of either Intermat or FloWrestling rankings as of Jan. 23, 2024

THE SERIES: South Dakota State and Air Force first wrestled during the 1992-93 season, and the Falcons have gone on to lead the all-time series by a 9-8 count. Air Force won the first two meetings and nine of the first 10 before SDSU began its current seven-match series winning streak with an 18-14 home victory during the 2013-14 campaign.

Friday's dual will mark the first time the Jackrabbits have hosted Air Force in dual action since the 2015-16 season.

In last season's meeting, Jan. 29, 2023, at Air Force's Clune Arena, pins by Cade DeVos and Tanner Jordan in the first half of the dual lifted South Dakota State to its 10th consecutive win, a 26-16 victory.

With the dual starting at 174 pounds, the 15th-ranked DeVos ignited a fast start for the Jackrabbits by posting a first-period fall in his match against Gage Musser.

A 4-3 decision by Cade King at 184 pounds and a 17-0 technical fall by Tanner Sloan gave SDSU a 14-0 lead through three matches. King's victory was his ninth in a row — all by decision during the Jackrabbits' dual winning streak — and Sloan ran his personal winning streak to 14 matches.

Air Force got on the board with technical-fall victories in two of the next three matches. First, sixth-ranked Wyatt Hendrickson handed the Jackrabbits' A.J. Nevills his first dual loss of the season with a 16-1 technical fall.

#18 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 26, AIR FORCE 16 (Jan. 29, 2023, at U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.)
174: #15 Cade DeVos (SDSU) def. Gage Musser (AF), by fall 2:22
184: #17 Cade King (SDSU) dec. Noah Blake (AF), 4-3
197: #11 Tanner Sloan (SDSU) tech. fall Calvin Sund (AF), 17-0 [5:00]
285: #6 Wyatt Hendrickson (AF) tech. fall #13 A.J. Nevills (SDSU), 16-1 [6:46]
125: #30 Tanner Jordan (SDSU) def. Tucker Owens (AF), by fall 6:10
133: #21 Cody Phippen (AF) tech. fall Derrick Cardinal (SDSU), 15-0 [5:13]
141: #10 Clay Carlson (SDSU) dec. Garrett Kuchan (AF), 13-7
149: Dylan Martinez (AF) dec. Alek Martin (SDSU), 3-1
157: #19 Cael Swensen (SDSU) dec. Jack Ganos (AF), 8-4
165: Giano Petrucelli (AF) dec. Connor Gaynor (SDSU), 3-0

LAST WEEK: Wrestling on their home mat for the first time in two months, the Jackrabbits opened the Big 12 portion of their dual season with two convincing victories.

No. 10 South Dakota State 29, Northern Colorado 16
SDSU spotted Northern Colorado an early lead, but the 10th-ranked Jackrabbits stormed back with five victories by technical fall and another by major decision to come out on top, 29-16, in their Big 12 Conference dual opener Jan. 19 at Frost Arena.

The Bears got out of the gates quickly, building a 7-0 advantage by winning a pair of matchups between ranked wrestlers. At 125 pounds, No. 16 Stevo Poulin registered a 14-6 major decision over 17th-ranked Tanner Jordan. Poulin, the defending Big 12 champion, raced out to a 7-2 first-period lead with a pair of takedowns and added a takedown in each of the next two periods to seal the victory.

The 133-pound matchup between No. 16 Derrick Cardinal and UNC's Dominick Serrano was a defensive battle through the first two periods. After a scoreless opening stanza, the 26th-ranked Serrano cracked the scoring column first with a reversal in the second period, then came up with the decisive takedown and added a point for a minute-plus advantage in riding time to come away with a 6-2 decision.

Returning All-American Clay Carlson put the Jackrabbits on the right path with a major decision of his own, posting a 14-3 victory over Armando Garcia. Carlson led 9-2 through one period after recording a three-point near-fall after his first takedown and tallying a second takedown later in the frame.

SDSU then reeled off five technical falls in the next six matches. Alek Martin won 15-0 over Kilian Schultz in a 149-pound matchup that went the distance, while Cael Swensen needed only a period and a half to post an 18-1 victory against Cameron Lucero. Swensen ended his 157-pound match with a scoring frenzy, putting together a takedown and two four-point near-falls in rapid succession to give the Jackrabbits 14-7 lead heading into the intermission.

The second half of the dual got off to a rough start for the Jackrabbits when UNC's Derek Matthews rolled through a takedown attempt by Tanner Cook and wound up with a quick pin to pull the Bears back to within a single point.

However, the Jackrabbit trio of Cade DeVos, Bennett Berge and Tanner Sloan lived up their national rankings with three dominant performances that all ended with technical falls. The fourth-ranked DeVos started the streak with a 16-0 whitewashing of Travis Mastrogiovanni at 174 pounds, while No. 13 Berge followed with an 18-3 victory in the 184-pound matchup. Sloan, ranked fifth at 197 pounds, continued his dual dominance with a 16-0 shutout of Xavier Vasquez.

UNC closed the dual with its fourth victory of the night as Xavier Doolin notched a 14-7 victory over Luke Rasmussen in the heavyweight bout. Doolin racked up a pair of four-point near-falls in the opening period and added two more back points in the second period en route to a 14-0 lead before Rasmussen mounted a comeback attempt in the final stanza that included a four-point near-fall of his own in the closing seconds.

No. 10 South Dakota State 39, California Baptist 3
South Dakota State wrapped up a successful opening weekend of Big 12 duals with a flourish in defeating California Baptist, 39-3, Jan. 21 at Frost Arena.

Leading 17-3 through six matches, the Jackrabbits closed the dual with four consecutive bonus-point victories. Fourth-ranked Cade DeVos started the streak with a 23-4 technical fall over Justin Phillips in the 174-pound matchup. DeVos registered two takedowns in each of the three periods before ending the match with a four-point near-fall at the 6:09 mark.

At 184 pounds, redshirt freshman Bennett Berge needed only 46 seconds to pin the Lancers' Nathan Haas for the first fall of the dual.

Tanner Sloan followed with a 17-1 technical fall against Eli Sheeran in the 197-pound bout. The victory by the fifth-ranked Sloan was his fifth in a row by tech fall.

In the final match of the dual, heavyweight Luke Rasmussen gave up an early takedown to CBU's Chris Island, but countered with a reversal and put his opponent's shoulders to the mat with a second remaining in the first period for a second Jackrabbit pin.

SDSU grabbed an early 3-0 lead as Tanner Jordan won a battle between ranked wrestlers in the 125-pound matchup. Trailing 3-2 through two periods, Jordan evened the bout with an escape early in the final stanza and then came up with the decisive takedown later in the frame before adding another point for riding time.

Redshirt freshman Logan Graf made his Jackrabbit dual debut a successful one with a 10-1 major decision against Mitchell Neiner. Graf held a 4-0 lead entering the third period before closing the match with a pair of takedowns in the final two minutes.

Clay Carlson and Alek Martin followed with respective 8-2 and 5-1 decisions to push the SDSU lead to 13-0, while 15th-ranked Cael Swensen closed the first half of the dual with a 15-2 major decision at 157 pounds against Chaz Hallmark.

Drayden Morton picked up the lone victory for the Lancers with a 4-2 decision over Tanner Cook in the 165-pound bout. After a scoreless first period, Morton got on the board in the second stanza with an escape and takedown, then fended off a takedown attempt by Cook down the stretch in the third period to secure the victory.

TEAM, JORDAN HONORED: South Dakota State was recognized earlier this month as the NCAA Wrestling Team of the Week following its Jan. 4 dual victory over Michigan.

Individually, 125-pounder Tanner Jordan was honored Nov. 28 on NCAA Wrestling social media channels as Wrestler of the Week.

A senior from St. Paris, Ohio, Jordan knocked off sixth-ranked Patrick McKee of Minnesota, 9-3, in dual action Nov. 26 in Minneapolis. Jordan held a 3-2 lead entering the third period and was able to extend his lead with a reversal and three-point near-fall, followed by a point for a minute advantage in riding time. With his victory, Jordan remained undefeated on the season at 9-0.

In addition, Jordan shared Big 12 Wrestler of the Week honors with Iowa State 133-pounder Evan Frost.

RABBITS RANKED: South Dakota State has been climbing the rankings during the new calendar year, reaching its first-ever top-10 ranking in a Division I team poll Jan. 23, checking in at No. 10 in the rankings conducted by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. The Jackrabbits moved up one spot following convincing victories over Kent State (50-0) and Navy (30-13) Jan. 12 at the Virginia Duals and remain 10th this week.

The Jackrabbits began the 2023-24 season with their highest preseason ranking ever in the NWCA poll with a 12th-placed showing in the initial survey, which was announced Oct. 31. That matched SDSU's previous high-water mark as the Jackrabbits were ranked 12th for five weeks during the 2017-18 season.

SDSU was one of six Big 12 Conference teams to be ranked in the preseason 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 other team rankings, SDSU is 11th in this week's dual rankings by InterMat and 15th in team tournament surveys conducted by InterMat and FloWrestling.

Individually, all 10 Jackrabbit starters appear in the first NCAA coaches' rankings of the season, which were released Monday.

The coaches' rankings are determined by 14 coaches in each weight class, with two head coaches from each of the seven Division I wrestling conferences making up the voting panel. For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class. Wrestlers must have eight Division I matches in the weight class to be considered with at least one within the last 30 days.

Cade DeVos leads the Jackrabbit contingent with a third-place showing in the 174-pound coaches' rankings. A senior from Altoona, Iowa, and a three-time NCAA qualifier, DeVos has compiled a 13-1 record so far this season.

Also posting a top-five ranking is returning All-American Tanner Sloan in the 197-pound weight class. With a No. 5 ranking, the senior from Alburnett, Iowa, enters the week with a 12-1 record thus far during the 2023-24 campaign. Seven of Sloan's victories this season have been by technical fall.

Five Jackrabbit wrestlers are ranked between 12th and 19th in their respective weight classes:

Derrick Cardinal, 12th at 133 pounds (16-4 record);
Bennett Berge, 12th at 184 pounds (9-2 record);
Tanner Jordan, 14th at 125 pounds (16-5 record);
Cael Swensen, 15th at 157 pounds (12-5 record);
Alek Martin, 19th at 149 pounds (12-6 record).

Jordan and Swensen also were among the Jackrabbits' school-record eight NCAA qualifiers last season.

Completing the rankings for the Jackrabbits were two-time All-American Clay Carlson (27th at 141 pounds), Luke Rasmussen (27th at heavyweight) and Tanner Cook (33rd at 165 pounds). Carlson recently returned to the lineup and is 7-4 on the season, while Rasmussen has turned in a 12-7 mark in his first season as a starter. Cook has posted a 4-7 mark thus far during the 2023-24 campaign.

The next coaches' rankings are slated to be released Feb. 19.

CARLSON, SLOAN SELECTED FOR ALL-STAR CLASSIC: Returning All-Americans Clay Carlson and Tanner Sloan were selected to represent the South Dakota State University wrestling team at the 2023 NWCA All-Star Classic, presented by Cliff Keen, Nov. 21 in State College, Pennsylvania.

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, was 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, who is 7-4 this season after missing the first two months due to injury , now holds a career record of 108-45. He has moved into a tie for ninth place on the SDSU career victories list with Mike Pankratz (108-27-2 record from 1990-93) and David Kocer (108-51 from 2015-18).

Two other Jackrabbits could join the 100-victory club this season: senior 197-pounder Tanner Sloan has compiled a 98-21 career record, while Cade DeVos enters the week with an 83-30 career mark. Sloan's career totals include a 56-4 mark in duals, featuring a current 32-match winning streak that dates back to early in the 2021-22 season.

NEW STANDARD: The Jackrabbits recorded their highest point total and largest margin of victory ever against a Division I opponent by blanking Kent State, 50-0, in dual action Jan. 12 at the Virginia Duals in Hampton, Virginia.

The Jackrabbits tallied five wins by technical fall and three more via pin.

BIG 12 SUCCESS: Now in its ninth season as an affiliate member of the Big 12 Conference for wrestling, South Dakota State has proven to be a contender 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 45-22 record (.672 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.

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.

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 were 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 53-32 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 next 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 35 student-athletes from 15 different states from coast to coast. Minnesota has the most wrestlers with seven, followed by six from Iowa, 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, six 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 resume action with Big 12 road duals Feb. 1 at Wyoming and Feb. 3 at Utah Valley. Both matchups are slated for 6 p.m. Mountain Time (7 p.m. Central) starts.

-GoJacks.com