JACKS GRIND THEIR WAY TO SEMIS AT NATIONAL DUALS

Friday, January 10

Cedar Falls, Iowa

10 a.m.

South Dakota State University

Central Michigan

Photo by: Evan Patzwald

1/10/2025 2:15:00 PM | Wrestling

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The South Dakota State Jackrabbits scored two wins at the National Duals on Friday, taking down Central Michigan and Penn.

The Jacks started their day with a dual against Central Michigan in the tournament's first round. Tanner Jordan helped the Jacks get out to an early lead, scoring a 15-0 technical fall shutout over Kaden Chinavare. Caleb Gross and Avery Allen added to the Jacks' lead by scoring decision wins at 141 and 149 pounds, putting the Jacks up 11-3.

Moses Espinoza-Owens faced a tough challenge going up against No. 20 Johnny Lovett. The redshirt freshman took advantage of two penalty points and found himself in sudden victory with Lovett. Espinoza-Owens went on the offensive and scored a quick takedown of Lovett to secure the victory.

Bennett Berge and Thomas Dineen clinched the match for SDSU by scoring decision wins at 184 and 197 pounds, putting the Jacks up 20-9 heading into the final bout at heavyweight. Rasmussen dropped a major decision to Bryan Caves to end the match, 20-13, moving the Jacks on to the quarterfinals

The Jacks went up against Penn in the quarterfinals. Tanner Jordan and Derrick Cardinals dropped their matches to start the dual by decision and major decision, putting the Jacks in the hole early, 0-7. Julian Tagg put SDSU on the board, scoring a huge decision win over No. 11 CJ Composto to cut the lead to 3-7.

Avery Allen and Moses Espinoza-Owens each dropped their match at 149 and 157 pounds by decision and pinfall, increasing the Penn lead to 16-3. The Jacks needed to take the last five matches to win the dual. Marcus Espinoza-Owens stepped up to the plate at 165 pounds, where he flirted with a major decision win over Paul Ognissanti but could not secure the riding time point, accepting an 8-1 decision.

Cade DeVos faced a tough task against No. 5 Nick Incontrera at 174 pounds. Both wrestlers scored escapes pushing the match into sudden victory. DeVos took his chance in sudden victory, delivering a double-leg takedown and scoring a decision win for the Jacks.

Bennett Berge went up against No. 20 Maximus Hale at 184 pounds. Both wrestlers scored points on escapes but Berge's aggression forced the referees to award a stall point to Berge, securing a 2-1 decision. With two matches to go, the Jacks were down 12-16.

Thomas Dineen was the game-changer for the Jacks. He kept Nathan Taylor off the board, scoring three takedowns and securing the riding time point. His 12-0 major decision win tied the score up with Penn and put the pressure on Luke Rasmussen to deliver a victory for Coach Hahn's squad.

Rasmussen scored a takedown in the first and second periods and finished the second with a near-fall to put himself up 10-0 heading to the third. He added five-plus minutes of ride time and another near-fall in the third to secure a technical fall, 15-0, over John Pardo and bring home the comeback win for the Jacks, 21-16.

UP NEXT

SDSU will go against the 3-seed Little Rock in the semi-finals tomorrow at 11 a.m. on Mat 6.

RESULTS*

No. 14 SDSU 20, Central Michigan 13

125 - No. 12 Tanner Jordan (SDSU) TF Kaden Chinavare (CMU), 15-0

133 - No. 26 Sean Spidle (CMU) dec. No. 20 Derrick Cardinal (SDSU), 10-3

141 - Caleb Gross (SDSU) dec. Kellan Aure (CMU), 5-0

149 - Avery Allen (SDSU) dec. No. 31 Mason Schrader (CMU), 8-4

157 - Moses Espinoza-Owens (SDSU) SV-1. No. 20 Johnny Lovett (CMU), 5-2

165 - Tyler Swiderski (CMU) dec. Marcus Espinoza-Owens (SDSU), 7-3

174 - No. 21 Alex Cramer dec. No. 7 Cade DeVos (SDSU), 4-1

184 - No. 6 Bennett Berge (SDSU) dec. Adrien Cramer (CMU), 11-5