Completed Event: Wrestling at NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on March 20, 2025 , , 23rd Place - 19.0 Points (1 All-American)
/
FINAL
Wrestling
(23rd Place - 19.0 Points (1 All-American))
at NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
South Dakota State University Athletics
Wrestling
Hahn, Damion
Damion Hahn
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- Damion.Hahn@sdstate.edu
Damion Hahn is overseeing a successful rebuilding of South Dakota State University wrestling as he enters his eighth season at the helm of the Jackrabbits' program. Hahn begins the 2025-26 season with a 72-38 career dual record and has now coached 11 All-Americans and 39 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.
In the 2023-24 season, Hahn led SDSU to one of their most successful seasons during his tenure. During January, the Jackrabbits went undefeated on their way to a 13-4 record overall and a 7-2 conference record in the Big 12. The Jackrabbits were able to match that success when it came to tournaments as well, placing 10th with one champion at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, third with two champions at the Big 12 Tournament and 13th at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
SDSU sent eight more wrestlers to the NCAA Championships in 2023-24, matching their total from the prior season. The Jackrabbits had their most successful year at the NCAA's with a program record four All-Americans, Bennett Berge, Tanner Jordan, Tanner Sloan, and Cade DeVos.
During the 2024-25 season, Hahn led the Jackrabbits to their most dual wins in a season during his tenure, scoring 14 wins with only 4 losses, going 6-2 in Big 12 duals. The Jackrabbits finished second at the NWCA National Duals and finished third at the Big 12 Championships for the second season in a row.
SDSU sent a program record nine NCAA Qualifiers to the tournament, coming with one All-American in 174-pounder Cade DeVos, who finished sixth after coming into the tournament as the 13-seed.
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 four 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. The 2023-24 squad ranked fourth among Division I Programs with a 3.5416 team GPA and seven athletes were honored as NWCA Scholar All-America recipients. The 2024-25 squad finished 28th in team GPA among Division I Programs with a 3.397 team GPA, the fifth year in a row finishing in the top 30 in GPA. The 2024-25 squad also consisted of nine NWCA Scholar All-Americans.
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.
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.
In the 2023-24 season, Hahn led SDSU to one of their most successful seasons during his tenure. During January, the Jackrabbits went undefeated on their way to a 13-4 record overall and a 7-2 conference record in the Big 12. The Jackrabbits were able to match that success when it came to tournaments as well, placing 10th with one champion at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, third with two champions at the Big 12 Tournament and 13th at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
SDSU sent eight more wrestlers to the NCAA Championships in 2023-24, matching their total from the prior season. The Jackrabbits had their most successful year at the NCAA's with a program record four All-Americans, Bennett Berge, Tanner Jordan, Tanner Sloan, and Cade DeVos.
During the 2024-25 season, Hahn led the Jackrabbits to their most dual wins in a season during his tenure, scoring 14 wins with only 4 losses, going 6-2 in Big 12 duals. The Jackrabbits finished second at the NWCA National Duals and finished third at the Big 12 Championships for the second season in a row.
SDSU sent a program record nine NCAA Qualifiers to the tournament, coming with one All-American in 174-pounder Cade DeVos, who finished sixth after coming into the tournament as the 13-seed.
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 four 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. The 2023-24 squad ranked fourth among Division I Programs with a 3.5416 team GPA and seven athletes were honored as NWCA Scholar All-America recipients. The 2024-25 squad finished 28th in team GPA among Division I Programs with a 3.397 team GPA, the fifth year in a row finishing in the top 30 in GPA. The 2024-25 squad also consisted of nine NWCA Scholar All-Americans.
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.
| Season | Overall Dual | Big 12 Dual | Big 12 Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 3-10 | 2-7 | 10th |
| 2019-20 | 12-6 | 6-3 | 4th |
| 2020-21 | 5-6 | 2-5 | 8th |
| 2021-22 | 13-4 | 5-2 | 6th |
| 2022-23 | 12-4 | 6-2 | 6th |
| 2023-24 | 13-4 | 7-2 | 3rd |
| 2024-25 | 14-4 | 6-2 | 3rd |
| Totals | 72-38 | 34-23 |
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