JACKS HEAD TO CEDAR FALLS FOR NATIONAL DUALS

Friday, January 9

Cedar Falls, Iowa

South Dakota State University

NWCA National Duals

A wrestler, Cael Swensen, puts a wrestler in a white singlet's shoulders to the mat during an amateur wrestling match

Photo by: Evan Patzwald

1/8/2026 9:44:00 AM | Wrestling

Week 8: #8 South Dakota State vs. NWCA National Duals
Date and Time	Friday, Jan. 9 - Saturday, Jan. 10th
Location	Cedar Falls, Iowa
Site	UNI Dome
Television/Stream	FloWrestling
Live Stats	TrackWrestling
South Dakota State	Game Notes \| Home Page

Brookings, S.D. - The Jackrabbits are off to Cedar Falls this weekend to compete in the NWCA National Duals. The Jacks will face off against some of the top mid-major programs in the country, highlighted by host Northern Iowa. SDSU finished second at last year's National Duals after making a run through CMU, Penn, and Little Rock before being stopped by UNI in the tournament finals. The Jacks will look to finish strong this time around in hopes of bringing home a national title.

THE LINEUP: This is the probable lineup for this week's contest:
125 - #22 Brady Roark (11-2) or Daniel Guanajuato (10-5)
133 - #22 Derrick Cardinal (6-2) or Cale Seaton (6-2)
141 - #22 Julian Tagg (6-2) or Logan Swensen (2-6)
149 - #23 Alek Martin (5-5)
157 - #20 Cael Swensen (9-3)
165 - Jacob Herm (9-2)
174 - #17 Moses Espinoza-Owens (13-4)
184 - Brock Fettig (6-6) or Jarrett Wadsen (3-1)
197 - #7 Bennett Berge (2-1) or Quin Morgan (6-4)
285 - #20 Luke Rasmussen (5-2) or Micah Hach (0-1)

NWCA NATIONAL DUALS SCHEDULE
Jan. 9th - 4 p.m. – vs. Harvard
Jan. 9th - 6 p.m. – vs. Northern Illinois
Jan. 10th - 9 a.m. – vs. Campbell
Jan. 10th - 11 a.m. – vs. Central Michigan
Jan. 10th - TBA – Possible Championship Match

LAST TIME OUT: Arizona State

The short-handed Jackrabbits battled their way to six wins in their dual with Arizona State, scoring their first-ever win over Arizona State, at the Sanford Pentagon on Friday Night.

The night started at 133 pounds, where redshirt freshman Cale Seaton filled in for regular starter Derrick Cardinal, who was out battling an illness. Seaton shelved Larkin's leg in the first but was unable to score on it before Larkin scored a takedown of his own. Larkin's takedown ended up being the decisive point of the match on the way to a 4-1 decision.

Julian Tagg took on Pierson Manville in a rematch of their thriller in Vegas at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Tagg scored on takedowns in the second and third periods on his way to a decision over Manville, tying the dual at three.

Alek Martin took on a tough test at 149 pounds, going up against No. 3 Kaleb Larkin. Martin was able to get to Larkin's legs multiple times throughout the bout, but was ultimately stifled on the scoresheet, in a 5-2 decision loss. The Sun Devils once again retook the lead, 6-3.

Cael Swensen lined up across from Gabriel Delgado at 157 pounds. The redshirt junior dominated the bout from start to finish, scoring takedown after takedown on his way to a 10-2 major decision to give the Jacks their first lead of the evening, 7-6.

Nicco Ruiz and Marcus Espinoza-Owens faced off in another rematch from CKLV at 165 pounds. Espinoza-Owens was the aggressor in the bout, but the score remained 1-1 after three hard-fought periods. Ruiz was able to grab the ankle of Espinoza-Owens in sudden victory, scoring a takedown and giving the Sun Devils the lead heading into the break.

After the break, Moses Espinoza-Owens got the party started against Cael Valencia. After giving up an early takedown, Espinoza-Owens found his offense, scoring an avalanche of takedowns on his way to a 17-7 major decision, putting the Jacks in the lead, where they would stay for the rest of the dual.

Brock Fettig faced off against ranked opponent No. 29 Shay Addision at 184 pounds. After forcing a stall point in the first and getting ridden out in the second, Fettig was able to get to his offense in the third, scoring a takedown on his way to a 5-3 decision, which proved to be the turning point in the match.

Pinning machine Quin Morgan took on South Dakota native Damion Schunke at 197 pounds. Morgan scored early to get on top, where he looked even more dangerous, unleashing a series of cradles on his way to a 15-3 major decision.

At 285 pounds, Micah Hach made his SDSU wrestling debut, stepping in for Luke Rasmussen. He took on #19 David Szuba. Hach came out of the gates hot, but was unable to score a takedown during the dual, ultimately falling by technical fall, 20-5.

125 pounds closed the dual in yet another CKLV rematch, as No. 22 Brady Roark took on Damian Moreno. After a scoreless first, Roark was able to score in the second and third periods before cradling Moreno and putting him on his back, pinning him with only seconds left in the match, securing the Jackrabbit victory.

JACKS IN THE RANKINGS
125: Brady Roark 21/22
133:Derrick Cardinal 28/22
141: Julian Tagg 15/22
149: Alek Martin 22/23
157: Cael Swensen 18/20
165: Marcus Espinoza-Owens 31/28
174: Moses Espinoza-Owens 16/17
197: Bennett Berge 6/7
285: Luke Rasmussen 20/20

NWCA COACHES POLL
Rank Team (First) Record Points
1 Penn St.(14) (6-0) 398
2 Ohio St. (2) (11-0) 386
3 Iowa St. (4-1) 367
4 Iowa (7-2) 349
5 Oklahoma St. (8-1) 338
6 Nebraska (7-3) 317
7 Virginia Tech (4-2) 294
8 SDSU (4-0) 285
9 NC State (8-3) 260
10 Illinois (7-2) 257
11 Minnesota (6-2) 251
12 Michigan (4-2) 203
13 North Carolina (7-1) 196
14 Pittsburgh (7-1) 186
15 Oklahoma (6-1) 184
16 Rutgers (6-2) 154
17 Northern Iowa (3-4) 141
18 Wisconsin (8-0) 132
19 Missouri (6-6) 115
20 Cornell ( 1-3) 103
21 West Virginia (5-2) 77
22 Lehigh (3-6) 52
23 Indiana (5-1) 50
24 Stanford (2-4) 34
25 Oregon St. (2-1) 30
Others Receiving Votes: Drexel 12, Penn 12, Central Michigan 4, Purdue 4, Wyoming 4, Utah Valley 3, Columbia 2.

NWCA MID-MAJOR POLL
Rank Team (First) Record Points Conference All-Sports
1 SDSU (6) (4-0) 120 Big 12 Summit
2 Northern Iowa (3-4) 114 Big 12 Missouri Valley
3 Cornell (1-3) 108 Ivy League Ivy League
4 Lehigh (3-6) 100 EIWA Patriot
5 Penn (3-0) 88 Ivy League Ivy League
6 Wyoming (2-3) 83 Big 12 Mountain West
7 Drexel (5-2) 76 EIWA CAA
8 Little Rock (2-6) 69 Pac-12 Ohio Valley
9 Lock Haven (4-3) 58 MAC PSAC (Division II)
10 Utah Valley (3-3) 56 Big 12 WAC
11 (tie) Army (0-3) 52 EIWA Patriot
11 (tie) Navy (2-3) 52 EIWA Patriot
13 Princeton (2-4) 40 Ivy League Ivy League
14 Cal Poly (2-2) 37 Pac-12 Big West
15 C. Michigan (3-1) 36 MAC MAC
16 Columbia (4-3) 29 Ivy League Ivy League
17 Rider (3-4) 27 MAC MAAC
18 Bucknell (3-5) 24 EIWA Patriot
19 SIUE (4-1) 15 MAC Ohio Valley
20 NDSU (1-5) 14 Big 12 Summit

Others Receiving Votes: American 13, Appalachian State 13, Ohio 13, George Mason 8, Northern Illinois 5, The Citadel 4, Kent State 3, Chattanooga 2, Edinboro 1.

WRESTLER TO WATCH: Brock Fettig

Brock Fettig is coming off an important upset win over No. 29 Shay Addison during the Jackrabbits' dual with Arizona State. The redshirt junior was able to force two stall calls in the first period before scoring a decisive takedown in the third on his way to a 5-3 decision win.

Fettig has had an up-and-down start to his season since taking over the 184-pound starting spot, sporting a 6-6 record on the year, but looks to get his feet under him as he heads to the National Duals.

Fettig's top competition at the National Duals is UNI's CJ Walrath, currently ranked No. 28 at 184 pounds. Fettig is 2-0 against Walrath in his career, with an injury default and sudden victory during the 2024-25 season. Fettig's spot at 184 pounds will be vital for the Jacks to be able to make a run at the National Duals.

Key Storylines

BACK FOR MORE: The Jackrabbits return Cael Swensen and Alek Martin to their lineup after both sat out the 2024-25 season with injuries
PROGRAM RECORDS: The Jackrabbits continued to set program records under Damion Hahn in 2024-25, sending a record nine wrestlers to the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia
REPLACING DEVOS: The Jackrabbits will have a few options at 174 pounds this year as they try to replace two-time All-American and five-time NCAA Qualifier Cade DeVos. Fighting for the spot will be Connor Gaynor and Moses Espinoza-Owens.
MOVIN' ON, MOVIN' UP: All-American Bennett Berge will make the jump from 184 pounds, where he was a two-time NCAA Qualifier and a fourth-place finisher in 2024, to 197 pounds this year, replacing the graduated Zach Glazier. The jump to 197 pounds mirrors Coach Hahn's jump from 184 pounds to 197 pounds, where he won two National Championships.
RETURNING PRODUCTION: The Jacks will have an NCAA Qualifier at 7 of their 10 weights this year, while Moses Espinoza-Owens, Brock Fettig and Brady Roark all filled in at their respective weights due to injuries last season.
JACKS IN THE RANKINGS: SDSU has nine of its starters listed in InterMat's and FloWrestling's Rankings. Amongst the highest ranked are Berge at No. 6, Julian Tagg at No. 15, Cael Swensen at No. 18 and Moses Espinoza-Owens at No. 16. The Jacks also made an appearance in the top 10 of the NWCA Division 1 Coaches Poll, coming in at No. 8, the highest ranking in school history. The Jacks also come in ranked first in the NWCA Division 1 Mid-Major Poll after a 4-0 start to the year above UNI, Cornell and Lehigh.
PROVEN WINNER: Last season, Damion Hahn became the winningest coach at the D1 level in South Dakota State history, passing Chris Bono with 65 wins. Hahn's 76 dual wins for the Jackrabbits rank fourth all-time among all Jackrabbit Wrestling coaches behind Jason Liles, Warren Williamson and Mike Engels.
OFF-SEASON WORK: The JWC was incredibly successful on the freestyle and Greco-Roman circuits between March and August. Quin Morgan took home the U20 Greco-Roman Championship at 97kg at the US Open to start the season. Tommy Dineen and Daniel Guanajuato added runner-up finishes at their respective weights at the U23 Freestyle Nationals. Dineen also added a gold medal at the Junior Pan-American Games in Asuncion, Paraguay.
HOME COOKING: The Jacks have been consistent under head coach Damion Hahn at home. After posting a 7-1 record at home in 2023-24, the Jacks followed it up with a 4-2 record at home last year.
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT: Last year's freshman class put up an impressive 92-28 total record through open competitions and duals. Leading the way was freshman Logan Swensen with a 28-6 record overall. Swensen looks to back up returning NCAA Qualifier Derrick Cardinal at 133 pounds this year.
STOP SIGNS IN BROOKINGS: The incoming freshmen at SDSU are coming off an impressive summer. Micah Hach (8th), Keenan Sheridan (8th), Conlan Carlson (8th) and Jarrett Wadsen (2nd) all earned All-American honors at the Fargo Nationals in Freestyle. Wadsen (4th) and Bas Diaz (2nd) earned All-American honors in Greco as well.