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South Dakota State University Athletics
Thursday, February 1
Laramie, Wyo.
6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT
South Dakota State University
at
Wyoming
Photo by: Keith Lucas | Sideline Media Productions
JACKS GO ON THE ROAD FOR TWO DUALS
1/31/2024 12:45:00 PM | Wrestling
#11 South Dakota State (9-2, 3-0 Big 12) at Wyoming/Utah Valley
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The 11th-ranked South Dakota State wrestling team kicks off the final month of the regular season with a pair of road duals against Big 12 Conference opponents.
The Jackrabbits, 9-2 overall and 3-0 versus Big 12 foes, open their trip Thursday night with a matchup at Wyoming. Start time is slated for 6 p.m. Mountain Time (7 p.m. Central) at the Uniwyo Sports Complex in Laramie, Wyoming. The dual will be available for viewing through FloWrestling.org (subscription required).
SDSU ran its winning streak to six and stayed unbeaten in the Big 12 with a 32-9 home victory over Air Force on Jan. 26. Wyoming, 6-5 overall and 4-3 versus Big 12 squads, downed Northern Colorado, 23-16, in road action last weekend.
Saturday, the scene shifts to Lockhart Arena in Orem, Utah, for a meeting with Utah Valley that can be viewed through the GoUVU YouTube channel. The Wolverines enter the week with a 1-3 overall dual record and will be in search of their first Big 12 victory (0-3) when starting the week with another home dual Friday against North Dakota State.
PROBABLE STARTERS: Following is the projected lineup for the Jackrabbits in this week's duals at Wyoming and Utah Valley:
125: #18 Tanner Jordan • Sr., St. Paris, Ohio (17-5 overall, 8-2 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. (4-0 overall, 2-0 in duals)
141: #25 Clay Carlson • Sr., Willmar, Minn. (8-4 overall, 4-2 in duals)
149: #21 Alek Martin • So., St. Paris, Ohio (13-6 overall, 6-3 in duals)
157: #15 Cael Swensen • So., Plymouth, Minn. (13-5 overall, 8-2 in duals)
165: Tanner Cook • Sr., Ilion, N.Y. (4-8 overall, 1-7 in duals)
or Connor Gaynor • So., Mokena, Ill. (1-6 overall, 1-2 in duals)
174: #4 Cade DeVos • Sr., Altoona, Iowa (14-1 overall, 9-1 in duals)
184: #13 Bennett Berge • R-Fr., Mantorville, Minn. (10-2 overall, 6-1 in duals)
197: #5 Tanner Sloan • Sr., Alburnett, Iowa (13-1 overall, 8-0 in duals)
285: Luke Rasmussen • R-Fr., Brookings, S.D. (12-8 overall, 4-5 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. 30, 2024
SERIES vs. WYOMING: Thursday's dual will mark the 23rd meeting on the mat between South Dakota State and Wyoming, a series that dates back to the 1953-54 season. Wyoming holds a 16-6 advantage, but the Jackrabbits have held the upper hand recently with all six of their victories in the series coming in the last eight matchups.
SDSU cruised to a 42-3 victory in the last meeting between the Jackrabbits and Cowboys on Jan. 22, 2023, at Frost Arena. Jackrabbit wrestlers recorded four wins by fall in the dual, including pins by backups Connor Gaynor and Cody Donnelly at 165 and 197 pounds, respectively.
Jore Volk opened the dual with Wyoming's only victory as SDSU closed out its largest-ever win over the Cowboys by claiming the final nine bouts.
South Dakota State 42, Wyoming 3 (Jan. 22, 2023 • Frost Arena)
125: #25 Jore Volk (WYO) dec. #26 Tanner Jordan, 7-1
133: Derrick Cardinal (SDSU) def. Garrett Ricks (WYO), by fall 5:00
141: #9 Clay Carlson (SDSU) dec. Job Greenwood (WYO), 6-5
149: Alek Martin (SDSU) major dec. Chase Zollmann (WYO), 15-5
157: #23 Cael Swensen (SDSU) dec. #13 Jacob Wright (WYO), 3-1
165: Connor Gaynor (SDSU) def. Cole Moody (WYO), by fall 2:20
174: #15 Cade DeVos (SDSU) tech. fall Hayden Lieb (WYO), 19-4 [5:28]
184: #17 Cade King (SDSU) dec. Quayin Short (WYO), 6-2
197: Cody Donnelly (SDSU) def. Tyce Raddon (WYO), by fall 5:33
285: #14 A.J. Nevills (SDSU) def. Mason Ding (WYO), by fall 1:41
SERIES vs. UTAH VALLEY: Saturday's dual at Utah Valley will mark the 18th time the Jackrabbits and Wolverines on the wrestling mat since the series began during the 2005-06 season. After splitting the first two meetings, each program has put together at least a seven-match winning streak in the series, which SDSU leads by a 9-8 count.
SDSU's winning streak against the Wolverines reached eight with a 29-12 victory at Frost Arena on Jan. 20, 2023. SDSU won seven of the 10 matches in the dual, including pins by Connor Gaynor (165 pounds) and Tanner Sloan (197 pounds).
South Dakota State 29, Utah Valley 12 (Jan. 20, 2023 • Frost Arena)
149: Alek Martin (SDSU) dec. Isaiah Delgado (UVU), 9-7 [SV-1]
157: #23 Cael Swensen (SDSU) tech. fall Kyler Lake (UVU), 15-0 [6:49]
165: Connor Gaynor (SDSU) def. Danny Snediker (UVU), by fall 0:48
174: #7 Demetrius Romero (UVU) dec. #15 Cade DeVos (SDSU), 4-2
184: #17 Cade King (SDSU) dec. Hunter Morse (UVU), 3-2
197: #12 Tanner Sloan (SDSU) def. Jack Forbes (UVU), by fall 4:55
285: #14 A.J. Nevills (SDSU) dec. Chase Trussell (UVU), 2-0
125: Kase Mauger (UVU) def. #26 Tanner Jordan (SDSU), by fall 3:50
133: Derrick Cardinal (SDSU) dec. Kobe Nelms (UVU), 5-0
141: Ty Smith (UVU) dec. #9 Clay Carlson (SDSU), 7-6
LAST WEEK: South Dakota State swept the first half of its wrestling dual against Air Force and pulled away with three bonus-point wins down the stretch for a 32-9 victory Jan. 26 at Frost Arena.
The 10th-ranked Jackrabbits recorded their sixth consecutive dual victory to improve to 9-2 overall and 3-0 against Big 12 Conference opponents. Air Force dropped to 2-5 overall and 0-4 in the Big 12.
SDSU won three narrow decisions to open an early 9-0 lead. Tanner Jordan recorded a hard-fought 5-3 decision over Tucker Owens at 125 pounds after allowing an early takedown, followed by backup 133-pounder Logan Graf posting a 4-3 victory over Brenden Barnes.
In the 141-pound matchup, Air Force's Garrett Kuchan jumped out to a 6-1 first-period lead over 25th-ranked Clay Carlson with a pair of takedowns. Carlson trimmed the deficit to 6-2 by the end of the first period with an escape, then put together a seven-point second period with an escape and two takedowns of his own to grab the lead for good. He added a point for a minute-plus advantage in riding time to complete the 10-7 victory.
Alek Martin started a string of bonus-point victories with a 9-1 major decision over Joe Fernau in the 149-pound bout and Cael Swensen pushed his winning streak to six matches with a 17-2 technical fall against fellow 157-pounder Brooks Gable in a match that ended 23 seconds into the third period.
Air Force got on the board with a 5-0 decision by 14th-ranked Giano Petrucelli over Tanner Cook in the 165-pound matchup.
The Jackrabbits, however, reeled off three more bonus-point wins in a row, starting with a 14-4 major decision by fourth-ranked Cade DeVos at 174 pounds.
The marquee matchup of the dual pitted seventh-ranked Sam Wolf of Air Force against the Jackrabbits' 13th-ranked Bennett Berge in the 184-pound bout. A redshirt freshman from Mantorville, Minnesota, Berge opened the scoring with a takedown with 30 seconds remaining in the first period and carried that 3-0 lead into the final stanza after Wolf rode out the entire second period. After Wolf chose a neutral start to begin the third, Berge came up with his second takedown of the match and quickly put Wolf to his back for a two-point near-fall that provided the final points in an 8-0 major decision.
Tanner Sloan, ranked fifth at 197 pounds, continued his dual domination with a first-period fall against the Falcons' Calvin Sund. The victory was Sloan's 99th of his career as he ran his dual winning streak to 33.
Second-ranked heavyweight Wyatt Hendrickson closed the dual with a quick fall of his own versus SDSU redshirt freshman Luke Rasmussen.
JANUARYS TO REMEMBER: The Jackrabbit wrestling team has found its stride in dual competition during the month of January each of the last three seasons, combining for a 23-1 record over that span.
SDSU's 32-9 victory over Air Force on last week marked the 17th win in a row for the Jackrabbits in a dual contested during the month of January. Overall, compiled a 10-0 record in January 2023, followed by ringing in 2024 with six straight wins. The Jacks won their final dual of January in 2022 after their lone recent January loss — a 21-17 setback at the hands of Central Michigan.
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.
10-WIN SEASONS: South Dakota State will be in search of its third consecutive 10-win season when it takes to the mat Thursday at Wyoming.
The Jackrabbits have reached double figures in dual victories eight times in the Division I era (since 2004-05), including seven of the last nine seasons. The most dual wins by a Jackrabbit squad in the D-I era is 14, which was accomplished in three consecutive seasons (2015-16 through 2017-18), while the overall record is 17 (17-5) during the 1972-73 campaign, which was Warren Williamson's final season as head coach.
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. 16, checking in at No. 10 in the rankings conducted by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Despite winning six duals in a row, the Jackrabbits dropped one spot this week to No. 11.
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 appeared in the first NCAA coaches' rankings of the season, which were released Jan. 22.
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 14-1 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 13-1 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 (10-2 record);
- Tanner Jordan, 14th at 125 pounds (17-5 record);
- Cael Swensen, 15th at 157 pounds (13-5 record);
- Alek Martin, 19th at 149 pounds (13-6 record)
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 8-4 on the season, while Rasmussen has turned in a 12-8 mark in his first season as a starter. Cook has posted a 4-8 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 8-4 this season after missing the first two months due to injury, now holds a career record of 109-45. He has moved into a tie for eighth place on the SDSU career victories list with Chad Wickman (109-36 record from 1996-99).
Two other Jackrabbits could join the 100-victory club this season: senior 197-pounder Tanner Sloan has compiled a 99-21 career record, while Cade DeVos enters the week with an 84-30 career mark. Sloan's career totals include a 57-4 mark in duals, featuring a current 33-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 46-22 record (.676 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 54-32 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 continue Big 12 road action with two duals in the Sooner State. SDSU is scheduled to wrestle Oklahoma at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 9, followed by a 6 p.m. matchup the next night at Oklahoma State.
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