ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Six South Dakota State University wrestlers earned top-five placings during weekend competition at the Husky Open.
Freshman Michael Prieto was the highest finisher for the Jackrabbits with a second-place effort in the 141-pound weight class. After opening the tournament with wins by technical fall and major decision in which he outscored his opponents, 25-0, Prieto moved into the finals with an 8-2 decision over Esteban Teigen of Rochester Community College. In the championship match, Prieto dropped a 2-0 decision to Nathan Smith of North Dakota State.
Fellow freshman Josh Portillo was one of three SDSU wrestlers to finish in third place in their respective weight classes. Portillo posted a 3-1 record in the 125-pound division, including a 4-3 decision over Joel Salomon of host St. Cloud State in his first match. After dropping a 9-5 decision to Paul Bianchi of North Dakota State in the semifinals, Portillo won his next two matches, including a 20-3 technical fall in a rematch against Salomon in the third-place match.
Redshirt freshman Kasey Klapprodt at 165 pounds and senior 184-pounder Brady Ayers also turned in third-place finishes. Klapprodt went 4-1 in the 165-pound weight class, winning two matches by major decision before downing Alex Anaya of St. Cloud State, 6-2, in the third-place bout.
Ayers opened with a technical fall victory over Ben McPhail before dropping a 10-7 decision in the semifinals to Owen Webster of Augsburg. Ayers came back with a pair of decisions to take third place, shutting out Cory Flaata of St. Cloud State, 3-0, in his final match of the day.
Also posting top-five showings were 157-pounders Brett Bye and Colten Carlson, who placed fourth and fifth, respectively. Bye recorded three pins and a technical fall for his four wins on the day, with both of his losses coming by decision to Augsburg’s Grant Parker.
Carlson lost his first match of the day, then reeled off three consecutive wins before being upended by Parker in the consolation semifinals. He completed his day with a 9-6 deicison over Bryce Zdanovec of Augsburg in the fifth-place match.
Garrett Jordan also wrestled for fifth place at 165 pounds, but came up short in an 8-4 decision against Nick Knutson of North Dakota State. Jordan started the day with two straight victories before dropping his final three matches.
The Jackrabbits will be off from competition until sending a contingent to the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships Dec. 29-30 in Evanston, Illinois.