The South Dakota State wrestling team opens the home portion of its schedule by hosting a pair of events this weekend at Frost Arena.
The Jackrabbits kick off dual action Friday night by hosting Augustana. Start time is set for 7 p.m. SDSU posted a 13-4 dual record during the 2021-22 campaign, including opening the season with a 34-10 home victory over Augustana.
Sunday, the Jackrabbits return to tournament competition as Frost Arena will be the site of the multi-team Daktronics Open. About 150 wrestlers from regional schools, including Iowa State, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota State and Northern Iowa are slated to wrestle in the day-long event, which begins at 9 a.m.
Watch Augustana at South Dakota State on FloWrestling
THE LINEUP: Following are the probable starters for the Jackrabbits in their season-opening dual against Augustana.
- 125: Tanner Jordan, Jr., St. Paris, Ohio (2-2 record) or Bailey Roybal, R-Fr., Waverly, Iowa (2-2 record)
- 133: Caleb Thoennes, Fr., St. Cloud, Minn. (0-0 record)
- 141: #5 Clay Carlson, Sr., Willmar, Minn. (0-0 record) or Caleb Gross, Jr., Pound, Wis. (2-2 record)
- 149: Caleb Gross or Clay Carlson
- 157: Cael Swensen, R-Fr., Plymouth, Minn. (0-0 record) or Ryan Dolezal, Fr., Marshfield, Wis. (1-2 record)
- 165: #23 Tanner Cook, Jr., Ilion, N.Y. (0-0 record)
- 174: #12 Cade DeVos, Jr., Altoona, Iowa (0-0 record)
- 184: Roman Rogotzke, R-Fr., Stillwater, Minn. (3-2 record) or #26 Cade King, Sr., Waseca, Minn. (0-0 record)
- 197: #11 Tanner Sloan, Sr., Alburnett, Iowa (0-0 record) or Nick Casperson, Sr., Beresford, S.D. (0-1 record)
- HWT: #14 A.J. Nevills, Sr., Clovis, Calif. (0-0 record)
Note: Number is the highest individual ranking between FloWrestling and Intermat
A full contingent of Jackrabbit wrestlers is expected to compete in Sunday’s Daktronics Open.
THE SERIES: Friday’s dual against Augustana will mark the 57th all-time meeting between South Dakota State and the Vikings dating back to the 1965-66 season. The Jackrabbits lead the all-time series, 40-16, and have won the last six matchups.
The Vikings’ last victory in the series was a 30-7 triumph in Brookings during the 2003-04 season, in what was SDSU’s final campaign as an NCAA Division II program.
In last season’s dual, Nov. 19, 2021, at Frost Arena, South Dakota State wrestlers recorded four pins, propelling the Jackrabbits to a 34-10 victory.
Three of SDSU’s pins came in a four-match stretch, starting with a second-period pin by returning All-American Clay Carlson in his 141-pound matchup against Kage Lenger.
Zach Price, ranked 24th at 149 pounds, followed with a second-period pin of Keaten Schorr, while 20th-ranked Tanner Cook marked his return to the lineup by needing only 22 seconds to put Miles Fitzgerald’s shoulders to the mat in the 165-pound bout.
Newcomer A.J. Nevills, ranked 24th at heavyweight, closed the dual with a win by fall over Steven Hajas.
Nick Casperson also recorded a bonus-point win for the Jackrabbits, notching a 12-3 major decision over Daniel Bishop in the 197-pound matchup.
In all, SDSU claimed seven of the 10 matches, with Tanner Jordan and Kenny O’Neil winning by decision at 125 and 157 pounds, respectively.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 34, AUGUSTANA 10 • Nov. 19, 2021
125: Tanner Jordan (SDSU) dec. Jaxson Rohman (AU), 6-4
133: Jack Huffman (AU) dec. Trayton Anderson (SDSU), 10-4
141: #11 Clay Carlson (SDSU) def. Kage Lenger (AU), by fall 3:44
149: #24 Zach Price (SDSU) def. Keaten Schorr (AU), by fall 5:40
157: Kenny O’Neil (SDSU) dec. Tyler Wagener (AU), 7-0
165: #20 Tanner Cook (SDSU) def. Miles Fitzgerald (AU), by fall 0:22
174: Cade Mueller (AU) dec. Marshall Hauck (SDSU), 5-0
184: Kolby Kost (AU) major dec. Tate Battani (SDSU), 15-7
197: Nick Casperson (SDSU) major dec. Daniel Bishop (AU), 12-3
285: #24 A.J. Nevills (SDSU) def. Steven Hajas (AU), by fall 6:17
Extra Matches
149: Daniel Kimball (SDSU) def. Noah North (AU), by fall 6:55
165: Dylan Schuck (AU) def. Dalton Lakmann (SDSU), by fall 3:50
2021 DAKTRONICS OPEN REVIEW: Nick Casperson advanced to the finals of the 197-pound weight class to lead a contingent of South Dakota State wrestlers at the 2021 Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open at Frost Arena.
Watch the Daktronics Open on Jackrabbits All-Access
A junior from Beresford, Casperson posted a 2-1 record on the day. He opened with a 12-7 decision over Northern Iowa’s Noah Glaser, followed by an 11-8 victory against Bennett Tabor of Minnesota.
In the championship bout, Nebraska’s Silas Allred came away with a first-period pin of Casperson.
Three other Jackrabbits ended the day with fourth-place finishes, starting with Tanner Jordan at 125 pounds. Jordan began the day by dropping an 8-4 decision to Corey Cabanban of Iowa State, then reeled off three consecutive victories, including a 5-2 decision over 17th-ranked Liam Cronin of Nebraska.
Jordan dropped his third-place match by fall to seventh-ranked Brody Teske of Northern Iowa.
Zach Price, ranked 24th at 149 pounds, placed fourth in his weight class with a 3-2 record on the day. He fell, 12-4, in the third-place matchup against Paniro Johnson, who was competing unattached.
Heavyweight Bowen McConville went 2-2 en route to his fourth-place finish, picking up wins by decision over Ethan Andersen of Iowa State and Cole Gripka of North Dakota State before being pinned by Northern Iowa’s Tyrell Gordon.
Jackrabbit freshmen Derrick Cardinal (133 pounds), Alek Martin (149 pounds) and Sam Kruger (184 pounds) all won their fifth-place matches.
LAST WEEK: Bowen McConville reached the finals of the heavyweight division and 12 other South Dakota State wrestlers earned top-six placings Saturday at the season-opening Bison Open.
A senior from Renton, Washington, McConville went 2-1 on the day, starting with a 22-4 technical fall over Owen McGillivray from the University of Saskatchewan.
Both of McConville’s last two matches went to overtime. He recorded a 3-1 sudden victory over Keaton Kluever of Minnesota in the semifinals, but dropped a 3-2 decision to North Dakota State’s Juan Mora in the first overtime tiebreaker.
Three other Jackrabbit wrestlers placed in the top six of the heavyweight class, including freshman Luke Rasmussen, who posted a third-place finish. After being pinned by Kluever in his collegiate debut, the Brookings native reeled off three consecutive victories. He pinned McGillivray in his first match of the wrestlebacks and edged teammate Spencer Trenary, 3-1, in the consolation semifinals.
That set up a rematch with Kluever, and this time Rasmussen came out victorious by fall, putting Kluever’s shoulders to the mat in 6 minutes and 37 seconds.
Trenary placed fifth at heavyweight, with Jackrabbit freshman Kail Wynia taking sixth.
Also recording a third-place finish for SDSU was 165-pounder Jack Thomsen. A junior, Thomsen also turned in a 3-1 record on the day. He began the day with a first-period pin of Maxwell Meekins of Saskatchewan. After dropping a 9-4 decision to Minnesota’s Andrew Sparks, Thomsen notched a 16-4 major decision over North Dakota State’s Alex Kowalchyk and a 10-4 decision against Minnesota’s Cael Carlson in the third-place match.
Placing fourth for the Jackrabbits were Tanner Jordan (125 pounds) and Caleb Gross (141), who each posted 2-2 records, as well as 184-pounder Roman Rogotzke with a 3-2 record.
Other fifth-place finishers were Bailey Roybal (125 pounds), Ryan Dolezal (157), Kalen Meyer (174) and Caleb Orris (184). Another freshman, Brock Fettig, took sixth in the 174-pound division.
RABBITS RANKED: The South Dakota State wrestling team began the season ranked in the top 25 after being included in a pair of national polls.
The Jackrabbits checked in at No. 22 in the preseason poll conducted by Intermat and were ranked 25th in the initial National Wrestling Coaches Association survey. SDSU was one of five Big 12 Conference programs ranked in the NWCA top 25, joining No. 4 Missouri, No. 10 Oklahoma State, No. 14 Iowa State and No. 20 Northern Iowa.
In this week’s rankings, the Jackrabbits remain 23rd in the Intermat dual poll and are ranked 24th by FloWrestling, but have dropped out of the NWCA top 25 into the slot of the top team receiving votes in the weekly poll.
SDSU also has seven wrestlers ranked individually, with Clay Carlson leading the way with a No. 5 ranking from both Intermat and FloWrestling in the 141-pound weight class. Fellow returning NCAA qualifiers Tanner Sloan (197) and Cade DeVos (174 pounds) are ranked 11th and 13th, respectively, by Intermat with heavyweight A.J. Nevills ranked 14th by both Intermat and FloWrestling. Other ranked wrestlers include Tanner Cook (23rd at 165 pounds), Cade King (26th at 184 pounds) and Gabriel Tagg (30th at 133 pounds).
A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits return from the Thanksgiving holiday to host nationally ranked Minnesota in dual action on Sunday, Nov. 27. Start time is set for 1 p.m. at Frost Arena.
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