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South Dakota State University Athletics
Thursday, January 4
Sioux Falls, S.D. // Sanford Pentagon
7 p.m.
South Dakota State University
vs
Michigan
Photo by: Justin Hoch | jhoch.com
SDSU, MICHIGAN MEET AT THE PENTAGON
1/3/2024 1:30:00 PM | Wrestling
#6 Michigan (6-0) vs. #15 South Dakota State (3-2)
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The 15th-ranked South Dakota State wrestling team begins a two-month stretch of dual meets Thursday night as it makes the short trip to Sioux Falls for a neutral-site matchup against sixth-ranked Michigan.
Start time is set for 7 p.m. at the Sanford Pentagon. The dual is slated to be televised by Midco Sports and streamed at MidcoSportsPlus.com, with Jay Elsen calling the play-by-play and former Jackrabbit wrestler Toby Bryant providing color commentary.
The Jackrabbits, who have their entire starting lineup ranked nationally for the first time in program history, enter the meet with a 3-2 overall record in duals, but are in search of their first victory of the season over a Division I opponent. After a 3-0 start versus lower-division opponents at the season-opening Dakota Showcase on Nov. 17, SDSU dropped a pair of road duals against ranked Division I opponents.
Michigan is 2-0 so far this season, but the Wolverines haven't wrestled a dual meet since posting a 27-14 victory at Rider on Nov. 19.
Both squads recorded top-10 team finishes at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in early December; Michigan placed eighth, with the Jackrabbits earning 10th place behind an individual title at 174 pounds by Cade DeVos.
PROBABLE STARTERS: Following is the Jackrabbits' projected starting lineup for Thursday's dual:
125: #18 Tanner Jordan • Sr., St. Paris, Ohio (12-4 overall, 3-1 in duals)
133: #15 Derrick Cardinal • So., Forest Lake, Minn. (13-3 overall, 4-0 in duals)
141: #14 Clay Carlson • Sr., Willmar, Minn. (2-2 overall, 0-0 in duals)
or Caleb Gross • Sr., Pound, Wis. (9-6 overall, 3-2 in duals)
149: #18 Alek Martin • So., St. Paris, Ohio (8-5 overall, 1-2 in duals)
or Daniel Kimball • Sr., Buckingham, Iowa (14-4 overall, 1-0 in duals)
157: #16 Cael Swensen • So., Plymouth, Minn. (7-5 overall, 2-2 in duals)
or Moses Espinoza-Owens • Fr., Woods Cross, Utah (6-6 overall, 0-0 in duals)
165: #27 Tanner Cook • Sr., Ilion, N.Y. (3-3 overall, 0-2 in duals)
or Marcus Espinoza-Owens • Fr., Woods Cross, Utah (6-7 overall, 0-0 in duals)
174: #3 Cade DeVos • Sr., Altoona, Iowa (9-0 overall, 4-0 in duals)
184: #26 Bennett Berge • R-Fr., Mantorville, Minn. (4-2 overall, 0-1 in duals)
197: #5 Tanner Sloan • Sr., Alburnett, Iowa (8-1 overall, 3-0 in duals)
285: #33 Luke Rasmussen • R-Fr., Brookings, S.D. (10-4 overall, 2-1 in duals)
or Bowen McConville • Sr., Renton, Wash. (8-5 overall, 1-0 in duals)
Note: Rankings listed are highest of either Intermat or FloWrestling rankings as of Jan. 3, 2024
THE SERIES: Thursday's matchup will mark the first-ever dual meet between South Dakota State and Michigan.
The Jackrabbits will be wrestling a ranked opponent from the Big Ten Conference for the third time this season after squaring off at 13th-ranked Minnesota on Nov. 26 (L, 13-19) and at then-No. 8 Nebraska on Dec. 16 (L, 17-21).
SDSU's last dual win over a Big Ten opponent was a 28-6 victory over Maryland at the Virginia Duals on Jan. 15, 2022.
AT THE PENTAGON: The Jackrabbit wrestling team will be making its first appearance at the Sanford Pentagon in more than four years when it takes to the mat Thursday against Michigan.
SDSU made at least one appearance at the Sanford Pentagon every year between the 2013-14 and 2019-20 seasons, compiling an 11-2 dual record. The venue was the site of the Dakota Showcase for three consecutive seasons (2016-18) and most recently hosted a Jackrabbit wrestling dual on Nov. 15, 2019, when Binghamton upended SDSU, 25-16.
LAST TIME OUT: Cael Swensen and Luke Rasmussen each recorded runner-up finishes to help lead South Dakota State to a fourth-place showing in the team standings at the Soldier Salute held Dec. 29-30 at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa.
In all, seven Jackrabbit wrestlers 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 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 33rd. 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.
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 19th-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. Both Carlson and Roark were wrestling in their first events of the season.
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.
SDSU set the tone on Day 1 with 13 of its 14 wrestlers entered in the tournament winning at least one match and and a total of 10 Jackrabbits notching at least two victories.
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.
JORDAN HONORED: South Dakota State 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.
A returning NCAA qualifier, Jordan has seen a steady climb in the national rankings during the first month of the season. He rose as high as 16th in the individual 125-pound rankings compiled by InterMat, while checking in at No. 17 in this week's rankings by FloWrestling and No. 18 by InterMat. Jordan is one of eight Jackrabbit wrestlers currently in the NCAA Division I individual rankings.
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 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.
Following their recent dual loss at Nebraska, the Jackrabbits dropped one spot to No. 15 in the latest coaches' poll.
In other team rankings, SDSU is 13th in this week's dual rankings by InterMat and 15th in team tournament surveys conducted by both InterMat and FloWrestling.
Individually, all 10 Jackrabbit starters are ranked in the most recent InterMat rankings after 149-pounder Alek Martin and heavyweight Luke Rasmussen joined the group following strong showings at last weekend's Soldier Salute.
Highlighting the rankings is senior Cade DeVos, who is ranked third by FloWrestling and fourth by InterMat. DeVos, who won the 174-pound title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational to open the month, is undefeated on the season with a 9-0 record.
Following is the list of Jackrabbits in the most recent individual rankings:
- 125: Tanner Jordan (18th by FloWrestling/18th by InterMat)
- 133: Derrick Cardinal (15th by FloWrestling/16th by FloWrestling)
- 141: Clay Carlson (14th by InterMat/23rd by FloWrestling)
- 149: Alek Martin (18th by InterMat)
- 157: Cael Swensen (16th by InterMat/17th by FloWrestling)
- 165: Tanner Cook (27th by FloWrestling/33rd by InterMat)
- 174: Cade DeVos (3rd by FloWrestling/4th by InterMat)
- 184: Bennett Berge (26th by InterMat/28th by FloWrestling)
- 197: Tanner Sloan (5th by FloWrestling/6th by InterMat)
- 285: Luke Rasmussen (33rd 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, 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 went 2-2 in his first action of the season en route to a seventh-place finish in the 141-pound division at the Soldier Salute, now holds a career record of 103-43. He moved into 12th place on the SDSU career victories charts last weekend, passing both Mike Engels (101-14-1 record from 1971-74) and Tyler Jones (102-17 record from 1999-2003).
Two other Jackrabbits could join the 100-victory club this season: senior 197-pounder Tanner Sloan has compiled a 94-21 career record, while Cade DeVos enters the week with a 79-29 career mark. Sloan's career totals include a 52-4 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 48-32 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 are scheduled to compete Jan. 12-13 at the Virginia Duals, marking the third season in a row SDSU has made the trip to Hampton, Virginia. SDSU is slated to wrestle three duals in the two-day event, with the schedule as follows:
Friday, Jan. 12
- vs. Kent State, 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time
- vs. Virginia, noon ET
- vs. Navy, 1:30 p.m. ET
-GoJacks.com-
Players Mentioned
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149
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285
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