JACKS SET FOR SHOWDOWN WITH MIZZOU

Sunday, February 18

Brookings, S.D.

2 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Missouri

Buy Tickets

Photo by: Keith Lucas | Sideline Media Productions

2/16/2024 2:40:00 PM | Wrestling

#7 Missouri at #11 South Dakota State (12-3, 6-1 Big 12)

When	2 p.m. Sunday \| ORDER TICKETS
Where	Frost Arena \| Brookings, South Dakota
TV	FloWrestling.org (subscription required)
Live Results	Click here for live results
Notes	SDSU \| Missouri
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram \| #GetJacked

The South Dakota State wrestling team enters the home stretch of the 2023-24 dual season with a matchup against another highly ranked opponent, hosting Missouri Sunday afternoon.

Action is set for a 2 p.m. start at Frost Arena. The dual will be available for viewing through the FloWrestling streaming platform (subscription required).

The 11th-ranked Jackrabbits enter the weekend with a 12-3 overall record in duals, including a 6-1 mark against Big 12 opponents. SDSU extended its winning streak to nine with a 20-13 victory at then-No. 23 Oklahoma on Feb. 9, followed by a 31-6 setback at second-ranked Oklahoma State a day later.

Missouri has compiled an 8-2 dual record and 4-1 mark against Big 12 foes heading into a Friday night dual at North Dakota State. The Tigers have been off from competition since Feb. 4, when they dropped a 24-10 home decision to Oklahoma State.

THE LINEUP: Following are the Jackrabbits' probable starters for Sunday's dual against Missouri.
125:     #13 Tanner Jordan • Sr., St. Paris, Ohio (20-6 overall, 11-3 in duals)
133:     #18 Derrick Cardinal • So., Forest Lake, Minn. (18-6 overall, 9-3 in duals)
or        Logan Graf • R-Fr., Custer, S.D. (5-0 overall, 2-0 in duals)
141:     #22 Clay Carlson • Sr., Willmar, Minn. (9-5 overall, 5-3 in duals)
or        Caleb Gross • Sr., Pound, Wis. (9-9 overall, 3-4 in duals)
149:     #22 Alek Martin • So., St. Paris, Ohio (15-8 overall, 8-5 in duals)
157:     #16 Cael Swensen • So., Plymouth, Minn. (16-6 overall, 11-3 in duals)
165:     Tanner Cook • Sr., Ilion, N.Y. (6-9 overall, 3-8 in duals)
or        Connor Gaynor • So., Mokena, Ill. (2-7 overall, 1-3 in duals)
174:     #4 Cade DeVos • Sr., Altoona, Iowa (18-1 overall, 13-1 in duals)
184:     #8 Bennett Berge • R-Fr., Mantorville, Minn. (13-3 overall, 9-2 in duals)
197:     #4 Tanner Sloan • Sr., Alburnett, Iowa (17-1 overall, 12-0 in duals)
285:     Luke Rasmussen • R-Fr., Brookings, S.D. (14-10 overall, 6-7 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 Feb. 13, 2024

THE SERIES: Mizzou leads the all-time series, 4-3, dating back to a 27-3 Jackrabbit victory during the 1961-62 season. The Jackrabbits ended a three-match winning streak in the series by Missouri with a 21-12 upset victory Jan. 22, 2022, on the ninth-ranked Tigers' home mat.

In posting their first-ever dual win over a top-10 opponent at the Division I level, the Jackrabbits won the final five matches of the dual — all by decision. Tanner Cook started the string of victories with a 5-2 decision over Mitchell Bohlken in the 165-pound matchup. Cade DeVos followed with a 7-4 decision over Sean Harman, while Cade King (184), Tanner Sloan (197) and A.J. Nevills (285) all defeated higher-ranked opponents.

#23 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 23, #9 MISSOURI 12 (Jan. 22, 2022, at Columbia, Mo.)
125: #12 Noah Surtin (MIZZOU) dec. Tanner Jordan (SDSU), 6-0
133: Gabriel Tagg (SDSU) def. Connor Brown (MIZZOU), by fall 0:27
141: #9 Allan Hart (MIZZOU) dec. #6 Clay Carlson (SDSU), 4-2
149: #17 Josh Edmond (MIZZOU) dec. Daniel Kimball (SDSU), 8-3
157: #21 Jarrett Jacques (MIZZOU) dec. Kenny O'Neil (SDSU), 7-3
165: #27 Tanner Cook (SDSU) dec. Mitchell Bohlken (MIZZOU), 5-2
174: #8 Cade DeVos (SDSU) dec. Sean Harman (MIZZOU), 7-4
184: Cade King (SDSU) dec. #16 Jeremiah Kent (MIZZOU), 6-4 [SV-1]
197: #22 Tanner Sloan (SDSU) dec. #5 Rocky Elam (MIZZOU), 5-2
285: #22 A.J. Nevills (SDSU) dec. #15 Zach Elam (MIZZOU), 2-0
Extra Matches
133: Trey Crawford (MIZZOU) dec. Caleb Gross, 4-2
197: Jack Flynn (MIZZOU) def. Nick Casperson (SDSU) by fall 3:51

LAST WEEK: South Dakota State closed out its regular season road schedule by splitting duals against two ranked opponents in the Sooner State.

South Dakota State 20, Oklahoma 13
Twelfth-ranked South Dakota State won the final three matches to get past No. 23 Oklahoma, 20-13, in a back-and-forth Big 12 Conference wrestling dual Feb. 9 at McCasland Field House in Norman, Oklahoma.

The victory was the ninth in a row for the Jackrabbits, who improved to 12-2 overall and remained unbeaten against conference opponents at 6-0. Oklahoma dropped to 5-6 overall and 2-5 in the Big 12.

Trailing 13-11 through seven matches, the Jackrabbits gained the lead for good with an 8-5 decision by fourth-ranked Cade DeVos over Tate Picklo in the 174-pound matchup. The match was scoreless through one period before DeVos opened a 4-0 lead with an escape and takedown early in the second stanza. Picklo would come back to tie the match on a couple occasions before DeVos came up with the decisive takedown midway through the third period.

Ninth-ranked Bennett Berge followed with a 7-2 decision over Giuseppe Hoose to give the Jackrabbits a 17-13 lead with one bout to go.

The final matchup of the night pitted a pair of top-five 197-pounders as fifth-ranked Tanner Sloan of SDSU met second-ranked Stephen Buchanan. Sloan was awarded a takedown in the closing seconds of the first period and increased his advantage to 4-0 with an escape early in the second period. Buchanan got on the board with an escape about 40 seconds into the third stanza, but Sloan secured a 4-1 victory and the sealed the dual win by fending off a Buchanan takedown attempt on the edge in the final seconds of the match.

Sloan's victory was his 11th in a row as he improved to 16-1 on the season.

Oklahoma picked up a bonus point in the first match of the night as the Sooners' 12th-ranked heavyweight, Josh Heindselman, scored a 14-6 major decision over SDSU redshirt freshman Luke Rasmussen.

Tanner Jordan, ranked 13th at 125 pounds, became the first SDSU wrestler to reach the 20-win mark this season with a 4-0 decision over No. 33 Conrad Hendriksen. Jordan picked up a takedown in the second period and added an escape in the third and final stanza to improve to 20-5 overall.

Clay Carlson turned in the Jackrabbits' lone bonus-point victory of the night as he made quick work of Carter Schmidt in their 141-pound bout. Carlson took Schmidt down early in the match and put together a series of turns for near-falls to end the match at the first-period horn by technical fall, 15-0, giving SDSU its first lead of the night at 8-7.

The Sooners picked up a pair of upset victories in the first half of the dual with Jace Koelzer handing 16th-ranked Derrick Cardinal a 2-0 decision in the 133-pound matchup and No. 30 Willie McDougald downing 18th-ranked Alek Martin, 4-1, at 149 pounds. McDougald scored the line takedown of the match with about 10 seconds remaining in regulation to put OU back out front, 10-8.

The lead would change a couple more times as the teams alternated victories at 157 and 165 pounds. Cael Swensen notched a takedown late in overtime for a 4-1 sudden victory over Jared Hill in a battle between ranked wrestlers at 157 pounds, while the Sooners' Gerrit Nijenhuis tallied a 7-4 decision over Connor Gaynor in a matchup between backup wrestlers.

Oklahoma State 31, South Dakota State 6
Second-ranked Oklahoma State won the first six matches and went on to defeat No. 12 South Dakota State, 31-6, in a Big 12 Conference wrestling dual Feb. 10 at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

With the loss, the Jackrabbits saw their nine-dual winning streak come to an end in falling to 12-3 overall and 6-1 in the Big 12. OSU stayed unbeaten at 13-0, including a 7-0 league mark.

All five matches in the first half of the dual featured ranked wrestlers from both squads, with the higher-ranked Cowboy wrestler coming out on top each time. Starting at 125 pounds, No. 11 Troy Spratley of Oklahoma State answered a loss to the Jackrabbits' No. 13 Tanner Jordan earlier this season at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational with a 7-3 decision.

Third-ranked Daton Fix then gave OSU a 7-0 lead after registering a 15-4 major decision over No. 16 Derrick Cardinal in the 133-pound matchup.

At 141 pounds, the matchup between eighth-ranked Tagen Jamison of OSU and two-time All-American Clay Carlson would be decided in overtime. Jamison scored an early takedown and led 4-1 entering the third period. Carlson scored on an escape to open the final stanza and worked his way to a takedown for a 5-4 lead with less than a minute remaining. However, Jamison managed an escape in the closing seconds to tie the match at 5-all and came up with the winning takedown early in the overtime session for an 8-5 sudden victory.

That would be the first of three overtime matches in the dual, all of which were won by the Cowboys. SDSU's Cael Swensen went to overtime for the second night in a row, but this time the Jackrabbit 157-pounder came out on the losing end of a 4-1 decision to No. 11 Teague Travis.

The 184-pound matchup featuring two top-10 wrestlers in No. 2 Dustin Plott of Oklahoma State and eighth-ranked Bennett Berge of SDSU also needed extra time to determine the victor. Berge led 3-2 through two periods and upped his lead to 6-2 midway through the third period with his second takedown of the match. Plott, however, escaped and rallied for a late takedown to force overtime, then came up with another takedown early in the extra session for a 9-6 victory.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma State upped its lead to 25-0 after pins by 16th-ranked Jordan Williams over No. 18 Alek Martin at 149 pounds and third-ranked Izzak Olejnik versus Tanner Cook in the 165-pound matchup.

Cade DeVos ended the drought for the Jackrabbits with a workman-like 9-3 decision over No. 20 Brayden Thompson. The fourth-ranked DeVos broke into the scoring column 10 seconds into the match with a takedown and was in control throughout while improving to 18-1 on the season.

Fifth-ranked Tanner Sloan recorded the other Jackrabbit victory with a 4-0 decision against No. 15 Luke Surber. After a scoreless first period, Sloan put the first points on the board via a reversal seconds into the second period and added points for stalling and riding time.

In the final match of the night, Oklahoma State heavyweight Konner Doucet built an 8-0 lead before Jackrabbit redshirt freshman Luke Rasmussen rallied late in the second period to get within a point after a takedown and four-point near-fall. Doucet recovered, however, to ride out the entire third period for a 9-7 decision.

WRESTLERS OF THE WEEK: South Dakota State 197-pounder Tanner Sloan was honored Tuesday as Big 12 Conference Wrestler of the Week, following a weekend in which he defeated two ranked opponents.

A senior from Alburnett, Iowa, Sloan allowed only one point in his two matches while running his overall record to 17-1 and remaining unbeaten in duals this season at 12-0. He downed No. 2/3 Stephen Buchanan of Oklahoma, 4-1, on Feb. 9, and recorded a 4-0 victory over No. 15 Luke Surber of Oklahoma State the next night. The victory over Buchanan sealed the Jackrabbits' 20-13 dual victory.

Sloan is the second Jackrabbit to earn Big 12 Wrestler of the Week this season, joining 125-pound Tanner Jordan who was honored Nov. 28. It also marks the third time in his career Sloan has received the award.

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.

Jordan also was honored Nov. 28 on NCAA Wrestling social media channels as Wrestler of the Week for his win over McKee.

In addition, South Dakota State was recognized last month as the NCAA Wrestling Team of the Week following its Jan. 4 dual victory over Michigan.

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. The Jackrabbits enter this weekend with a No. 11 ranking.

The Jackrabbits began the 2023-24 season with their highest preseason ranking ever in the NWCA poll with a 12th-place 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 13th in this week's dual rankings by both FloWrestling and InterMat, while standing 13th and 14th, respectively in team tournament surveys. The Jackrabbits also hold down the second spot in the NWCA Mid-Major Top 20.

Individually, all 10 South Dakota State starting wrestlers remain in the top 33 of their respective weight classes in either the NCAA Coaches Panel rankings or the first Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) of the season. Standings were announced Wednesday.

Leading the way for the Jackrabbits is 174-pounder Cade DeVos, who stands fourth in the coaches' rankings, but second in RPI. A senior from Altoona, Iowa, DeVos enters the week with an 18-1 overall record.

Also ranked fourth at his weight class is senior 197-pounder Tanner Sloan. The NCAA runner-up in the weight class last season, the product of Alburnett, Iowa, is third in RPI after compiling a 17-1 record so far this season.

Redshirt freshman Bennett Berge holds the fifth-best RPI at 184 pounds and is ranked 12th by the coaches. The native of Mantorville, Minnesota, is 13-3 on the season.

In the lower weights, senior 125-pounder Tanner Jordan holds rankings of 14th by the coaches and 12th in RPI after posting a 20-6 record thus far during the 2023-24 campaign. At 133 pounds, sophomore Derrick Cardinal stands 16th in the coaches' survey and 13th in RPI with an 18-6 record.

Others ranked in the top 20 of their weight classes from SDSU include 149-pounder Alek Martin and Cael Swensen at 157 pounds. Martin, a sophomore from St. Paris, Ohio, stands 19th in the coaches' rankings and 14th in RPI with a 15-8 record, while Swensen holds a No. 16 ranking from the coaches and is 21st in RPI after posting a 16-6 mark.

Brookings native and redshirt freshman heavyweight Luke Rasmussen remains in the rankings at No. 30, while holding down the 27th spot for RPI. Rasmussen is 14-10 in his first season in the lineup.

Two other Jackrabbits appear in one of the two listings. Clay Carlson, 9-5 on the season, appears at No. 24 in the coaches' rankings at 141 pounds, but has yet to meet all the RPI ranking criteria. Senior 165-pounder Tanner Cook is unranked, but checked in at the 33rd and final spot surveyed for RPI despite a 6-9 record.

The coaches' rankings are determined by a vote of 14 coaches in each weight class with two head coaches from each of the seven conferences. 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.

The RPI is a calculation that consists of three factors: winning percentage, opponent winning percentage (strength of schedule) and opponent's opponent winning percentage (opponent's strength of schedule). Only matches against Division I opponents at the designated weight class count towards the RPI and a wrestler needs to have wrestled 15 matches to be ranked.

Currently no wrestlers sit atop both the coaches rank and RPI in their respective weight class. With many wrestlers still looking to reach the 15-match threshold to earn an RPI, the top of those rankings looks a little different than the coaches' rank.

The third and final coach rankings of the regular season will be announced Feb. 29, along with the designated conference allocations for filling the 330-wrestler field for the 2024 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, which will take place March 21-23 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

100 WINS: For only the second time in program history, the South Dakota State wrestling program has two 100-win wrestlers in the lineup at the same time.

Tanner Sloan became the latest Jackrabbit wrestler to reach the milestone, recording career win No. 100 with a pin of Wyoming's Tyce Raddon in a Feb. 1 dual in Laramie, Wyoming. The 16th wrestler in program history to reach the century mark, Sloan added another dual victory two days later and now holds a 103-21 career record, which is good for 13th place on SDSU's all-time wins chart after passing Mike Engels (101-14-1 record from 1971-74).

Sloan's totals while wrestling exclusively at 197 pounds throughout his Jackrabbit career include a 61-4 mark in duals, featuring a current 37-match winning streak that dates back to early in the 2021-22 season.

Previously, Clay Carlson 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 9-5 this season after missing the first two months due to injury, now holds a career record of 110-46. He has moved sole possession of eighth place on the SDSU career victories list after breaking a tie with Chad Wickman (109-36 record from 1996-99) last weekend. Wickman was part of the other previous 100-win tandem for the Jackrabbits, teaming with Ryan Resel, who compiled a 121-17 record en route to a pair of NCAA Division II national titles in the heavyweight division.

Senior Cade DeVos also could make a run to the 100-win mark this season as he enters the week with an 88-30 career mark. DeVos is 18-1 on the season, with his lone loss coming to former national champion Shane Griffith of Michigan (formerly of Stanford) in a Jan. 4 dual. DeVos opened the season with nine consecutive victories that included winning the 174-pound title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in early December.

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.

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.

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.

10-WIN SEASONS: With its 33-3 victory at Wyoming on Feb. 1, South Dakota State posted its third consecutive 10-win season under head coach Damion Hahn.

The Jackrabbits have reached double figures in dual victories nine times in the Division I era (since 2004-05), including eight of the last 10 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.

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 49-23 record (.681 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 57-33 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 close out the dual season with a home match Feb. 25 against North Dakota State. Start time for the Border Bell dual is 2 p.m. at Frost Arena and will be preceded by Senior Day recognition for eight SDSU wrestlers.

-GoJacks.com-