Conference titles and national tournament berths will once again be on the line this weekend at the Big 12 Wrestling Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The two-day meet at the BOK Center kicks off at 10 a.m. Saturday, with that day's evening session slated for 5 p.m. Competition Sunday begins at noon with consolation semifinals and matches for seventh, fifth and third places. Championship bouts are set for 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
Live video streaming of the first three rounds will be through Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Sunday night's championship round will be televised live on ESPN2, with additional coverage on ESPN+.
South Dakota State has placed sixth in the team standings each of the past two seasons. The Jackrabbits automatically qualified six wrestlers for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships out of the Big 12 tournament last season and gained two more national qualifiers as at-large selections.
Each of the 10 weight classes has been allocated at least five automatic qualifying spots based on finish at the Big 12 Wrestling Championship. League-wide 57 automatic berths have been allocated to Big 12 wrestlers, ranking second only to the Big Ten's 85.
SEEDINGS AND PAIRINGS: South Dakota State's Cade DeVos and Tanner Sloan are seeded first in their respective weight classes for this weekend's Big 12 Wrestling Championship. Seedings and pairings were announced by conference officials Monday afternoon.
DeVos is seeded first at 174 pounds after compiling a 20-1 overall record during the regular season. The senior from Altoona, Iowa, has been awarded an opening-round bye and will face the winner between eighth-seeded Brody Conley of West Virginia and Utah Valley's Mahonri Rushton in the second round.
Sloan has compiled a 19-1 overall record in earning the No. 1 seed at 197 pounds. The senior from Alburnett, Iowa, is slated to square off against Xavier Vasquez of Northern Colorado in the opening round.
In all, nine of the 10 Jackrabbit wrestlers entered in the Big 12 Wrestling Championship are seeded in the top eight of their respective weight classes.
Seeded third at 184 pounds is redshirt freshman Bennett Berge. The Mantorville, Minnesota, native has turned in a 15-3 overall record so far this season. He will open the tournament against Nathan Haas of California Baptist.
In the lower weights, both Tanner Jordan and Derrick Cardinal are seeded fourth at 125 and 133 pounds, respectively. Jordan, who has compiled a 21-7 overall record, is slated to face Noth Dakota State's Ryan Henningson in the opening round. Cardinal, 19-7 overall, is matched up against Kase Mauger of Utah Valley.
Two-time All-American Clay Carlson holds a No. 5 seeding in the 141-pound weight class, while sophomore Alek Martin earned the same seeding in the 149-pound division. A senior from Willmar, Minnesota, Carlson sat out the first two months of the season due to injury, but has come back to post a 13-5 overall record during the calendar year. He is slated to receive a first-round bye and will meet the winner between No. 4 Jordan Titus of West Virginia and Darren Green of California Baptist.
Martin, 17-8 overall, is scheduled to face Dayne Morton of California Baptist in opening-round action. A sophomore from St. Paris, Ohio, Martin will make his second appearance at the Big 12 Wrestling Championship.
Returning national qualifiers Cael Swensen and Tanner Cook round out the seeded wrestlers for the Jackrabbits. Swensen, a sophomore from Plymouth, Minnesota, is seeded sixth at 157 pounds, while Cook is seventh in the 165-pound weight class.
After a first-round bye, Swensen will meet either third-seeded Teague Travis of Oklahoma State or California Baptist's Chaz Hallmark in the quarterfinals.
Cook is slated to wrestle former Jackrabbit Jack Thomsen of Northern Iowa in first-round action.
The lone unseeded Jackrabbit wrestler is redshirt freshman heavyweight Luke Rasmussen. The Brookings native has posted a 14-11 overall record this season and is matched up against Wyoming's Kevin Zimmer in the opening round.
In all, the seven Jackrabbits competing in first-round matches at the Big 12 Wrestling Championship are a combined 5-0 against their opponents this season. Rematches are as follows: 125: #4 Tanner Jordan vs. Ryan Henningson (NDSU) – Jordan won 13-0 major decision, on Feb. 25;
133: #4 Derrick Cardinal vs. Kase Mauger (Utah Valley) – Cardinal won by decision, 8-3, on Feb. 3;
149: #5 Alek Martin vs. Dayne Morton (California Baptist) – Martin won 5-1 decision on Jan. 21;
184: #3 Bennett Berge vs. Nathan Haas (California Baptist) – Berge won by fall (0:46) on Jan. 21;
197: #1 Tanner Sloan vs. Xavier Vasquez (Northenr Colorado) – Sloan won by technical fall (16-0, 6:26) on Jan. 19.
LAST TIME OUT: South Dakota State received pins from Tanner Cook and Bennett Berge as part of a seven-match winning streak to send its senior class and Frost Arena off in style with a 34-6 dual victory over North Dakota State before a crowd of 2,241 on Feb. 25.
In retaining the Border Bell traveling trophy, the 11th-ranked Jackrabbits closed out the dual portion of their schedule with a 13-4 overall record, including a 7-2 mark against Big 12 Conference opponents. NDSU dropped to 3-11 overall and 2-6 in the Big 12.
Frost Arena, which has served as Jackrabbit wrestling's home competition venue since the 1972-73 season, is undergoing an extensive renovation and will be renamed First Bank & Trust Arena after the project is completed later this summer.
Tanner Jordan opened the dual with a 13-0 major decision over Ryan Henningson in which the SDSU wrestler racked up more than four minutes in riding time. The 14th-ranked Jordan scored on a takedown and four-point near-fall for a 7-0 first-period lead, adding a reversal in the second period and another takedown in the final stanza.
After NDSU's Fernando Barreto scored a 7-2 upset decision over No. 18 Derrick Cardinal, the Jackrabbit winning streak started with a trickle but quickly built to a flood.
The 141-pound matchup between 22nd-ranked Clay Carlson and NDSU's Gavin Drexler was knotted at 1-all until Carlson made his Frost Arena finale a memorable one by scoring the decisive takedown with about 15 seconds remaining in regulation for a 4-1 victory.
Also going down to the wire was the 149-pound bout between 22nd-ranked Alek Martin and No. 31 Max Petersen for the Bison. Martin led 7-2 entering the third period before Petersen rallied with a penalty point for stalling, an escape and takedown with about 20 seconds remaining to tie the match at 7-all, Petersen was originally awarded a two-point near-fall after his takedown, but SDSU head coach Damion Hahn successfully challenged the call.
On the restart, Martin slipped through Petersen's grasp on an attempt at a mat return to pick up the final point in an 8-7 decision.
Four of the next five matches resulted in bonus-point victories by the Jackrabbits. Cael Swensen found his offensive rhythm in the third period of his 157-pound bout against Landen Johnson, recording two takedowns to post a 10-1 major decision.
Senior 165-pounder started the second half of the dual with a bang. After giving up an early takedown to Brendan Howes, Cook countered with a takedown that he quickly turned into a pin 76 seconds into the match. The victory marked Cook's 46th win by fall as a Jackrabbit.
Cade DeVos improved to 20-1 overall with another workmanlike performance at 174 pounds. The fourth-ranked DeVos built a 5-0 lead through two periods against No. 17 Gaven Sax on a takedown in the first period and reversal early in the second. Sax tallied a reversal of his own in the third period, but DeVos hung on for a 5-2 victory.
Bennett Berge recorded the Jackrabbits' second pin in three matches by needing only a minute and 23 seconds to stick Adam Cherne in the 184-pound matchup.
That set the stage for fourth-ranked 197-pounder Tanner Sloan in his quest to stay unbeaten at Frost Arena for his career. Sloan led 3-0 with a first-period takedown of Spencer Mooberry before adding a second takedown and six back points in the second period for a 12-0 lead. The Alburnett, Iowa, native wrapped up a 15-0 technical fall with a takedown 46 seconds into the third period.
Sloan finished with a 25-0 record on the Frost Arena mat.
Senior and reserve heavyweight Bowen McConville took the mat for SDSU in the final match of the dual, squaring off against Devon Dawson. The two wrestlers traded escapes before Dawson registered a late takedown to post a 4-2 victory.
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 currently stand at No. 11 for the third week in a row.
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 finished 12th in the dual rankings by both FloWrestling and 13th by 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, nine South Dakota State wrestlers appeared in the Feb. 29 NCAA coaches' panel rankings with Cade DeVos and Tanner Sloan leading their respective weight classes in ratings percentage index (RPI) heading into postseason competition.
Both DeVos (174 pounds) and Sloan (197 pounds) were fourth in the coach rankings at their weight classes in addition to sitting atop the RPI. DeVos completed the regular season with a 20-1 record, while Sloan has compiled a 19-1 mark.
Sloan, a senior from Alburnett, Iowa, earned runner-up honors at 197 pounds at last year's national championships.
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 match 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.
Also ranked individually in the top 10 is 184-pounder Bennett Berge. A redshirt freshman from Mantorville, Minnesota, Berge has put together a 15-3 record so far this season and has won 11 of his last 12 matches to come in at No. 5 in the RPI.
At 125 pounds, Tanner Jordan checks in at No. 14 in the coach rank and 16th in the RPI. The senior from St. Paris, Ohio, has posted a 21-7 record so far this season as he looks to make a return trip to the NCAA Championships.
Other Jackrabbits in the top 20 in the coaches' rankings are three sophomores: Derrick Cardinal, Alek Martin and Cael Swensen. Cardinal, from Forest Lake, Minnesota, has notched a 19-7 record at 133 pounds and stands 19th in the coach rank and 16th in RPI.
Martin is 19th in the coach rank at 149 pounds and 13th in RPI with a 17-8 record, while Swensen is 17th in the 157-pound coach rank and 23rd for RPI after turning in a 17-7 record.
Two-time All-American Clay Carlson moved into No. 23 in the coach rank at 141 pounds and cracked the RPI survey at No. 27. Carlson sat out the first half of the season due to injury but has come back to post a 3-5 record over the last two months.
Rounding out the rankings is redshirt freshman heavyweight Luke Rasmussen, who is 31st in the coach rank and 29th in RPI with a 14-11 record.
WRESTLERS OF THE WEEK: South Dakota State 197-pounder Tanner Sloan was honored as Big 12 Conference Wrestler of the Week twice in the final month of the 2023-24 regular season.
A senior from Alburnett, Iowa, Sloan's first award was presented Feb. 13 after he allowed only one point in his two matches on a weekend road trip to the state of Oklahoma. 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 repeated as the award winner with his win by fall over No. 8 Rocky Elam of Missouri on Feb. 18.
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 and fourth times 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.
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 105-21 career record, which is good for 13th place on SDSU's all-time wins chart after passing Tyler Jones (102-17 record from 1999-2003).
Sloan's totals while wrestling exclusively at 197 pounds throughout his Jackrabbit career include a 63-4 mark in duals, featuring a 39-match winning streak that dates back to early in the 2021-22 season to close out that portion of his career.
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 13-5 this season after missing the first two months due to injury, now holds a career record of 114-46. He has moved into a three-way tie for sixth place on the SDSU career victories list after previously breaking a tie with Chad Wickman (109-36 record from 1996-99) last month 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.
Carlson's 114 wins entering postseason competition match the totals of Aaron Veskrna (114-40 record from 1999-2002) and Cody Pack (114-36 record from 2012-16).
Senior Cade DeVos also could make a run to the 100-win mark this season as he enters the week with a 90-30 career mark.
DeVos is 20-1 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.
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 50-24 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 has turned in respective 6-2 and 7-2 marks the past two seasons.
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.
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.
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 completes his sixth season at the helm of the Jackrabbits' program. Hahn has compiled a 58-34 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.).He 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. He was inducted into the University of Minnesota's M Club Hall of Fame in 2018.
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.
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 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships are slated for March 21-23 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The at-large selections to the tournament field will be announced Tuesday, March 12, with the seedings and pairings revealed during the NCAA Selection Show at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 13.