WORTHINGTON, Minn. – South Dakota State University wrestlers and Kasey Klapprodt and Martin Mueller won event titles, and four other Jackrabbits recorded third-place finishes Saturday at the Worthington Open.
A freshman from Rapid City, Klapprodt defeated teammate Brett Bye, 3-1, in the 165-pound championship match. Klapprodt opened with an 11-4 decision over Connor Hanson of Rochester Community and Technical College (Minn.) and advanced to the semifinals with a 5-3 decision over Trevor Paulson. He then advanced to the finals with a 10-7 victory over Stephon Gray of Iowa Central Community College.
Bye, meanwhile, won three consecutive decisions to reach the title bout, outscoring his opponents 26-10.
Also a freshman from Rapid City, Mueller claimed the 184-pound title with a 4-0 record. He began his tournament run with first-period pins of Jayce Frank of Morningside and St. Cloud State’s Monty Holm. Mueller advanced to the finals with a 10-9 decision over Cole Hennen of Southwest Minnesota State, and won the title with 13-8 decision against William Balow of Minnesota.
Josh Casperson turned in a fourth-place finish in the 184-pound weight class, going 4-2 on the day. Caleb Ward added a fourth-place effort at 197 pounds.
Leading the Jackrabbits’ third-place finishers were 133-pounder Henry Pohlmeyer and Louie Sanders in the 149-pound division.. A freshman from Johnston, Iowa, Pohlmeyer notched three pins, including in each of his first two matches. After dropping an 8-5 decision to Paul Selman of Minnesota State, Mankato, in the semifinals, Pohlmeyer came through the wrestlebacks with a 31-second pin of Lamont Wilson and secured third place with an 8-0 major decision of Minnesota’s Gresh Jones.
Sanders, a freshman from Truman, Minnesota, worked his way all the way through the consolation bracket to claim third place. After dropping his opening-round match to Nathan Ryan, Sanders posted three consecutive pins, two of which came in the first period. Sanders moved on by injury default over Dylan Herman of Minnesota State, Mankato, then avenged his earlier loss to Ryan with 16-0 technical fall victory to claim third place.
Also earning a third-place finish Saturday was 157-pounder Logan Peterson, who compiled a 5-1 record. A redshirt freshman from Lake Lillian, Minnesota, Peterson reeled off four consecutive wins in the consolation bracket, including two pins. He ended his tournament run with an 8-4 victory over Minnesota’s Dalton Clark.
Completing SDSU’s third-place efforts was freshman 174-pounder Zac Carlson, who defeated Lukas Poloncic of Augustana, 9-7, in the third-place match. Carlson opened with a pair of major decisions in which he outscored his opponents by a combined 25-1 count, before dropping a 7-5 decision to Hank Swalla. Carlson moved on to the third-place match with a pin of Augustana’s Zach Determan.
The Jackrabbit wrestling team returns to dual action Friday, hosting a triangular at Frost Arena. SDSU, 6-5 in duals this season, will wrestle Southern Illinois-Edwardsville at 5 p.m., followed by a matchup against Bakersfield.