A small group of South Dakota State wrestlers will return to the mat Saturday by competing in the UNI Open in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Action is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. at the UNI-Dome. SDSU is one of nine regional Division I teams to be represented at the day-long event. Other programs with wrestlers entered in the individual tournament include Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, and Wisconsin.
THE LINEUP: The six Jackrabbits slated to compete at the UNI Open are:
- Bennett Berge, Fr., 184 pounds;
- Brock Fettig, Fr., 174 pounds;
- Alek Martin, R-Fr., 149 pounds;
- Bowen McConville, Sr., 285 pounds;
- Luke Rasmussen, Fr., 285 pounds;
- Roman Rogotzke, R-Fr., 184 pounds.
2021 UNI OPEN RECAP: Cody Donnelly and Bowen McConville each recorded runner-up finishes in the upper weights to lead the South Dakota State wrestling team during competition at the 2021 UNI Open.
Donnelly, a freshman from Philip, went 2-1 on the day at 197 pounds. After receiving a first-round bye, Donnelly pinned Northern Iowa’s Noah Glaser in a minute in the quarterfinals, then earned an 11-4 decision over Minnesota’s Garrett Joles in the semifinals. In the championship match, Donnelly fell to Michial Foy of Minnesota by an 11-1 major decision.
A junior from Renton, Washington, McConville reached the finals of the heavyweight division after posting a 7-6 decision over Ethan Andersen of Iowa State and winning by injury default over Missouri’s Seth Nitzel in the first two rounds. McConville met UNI’s Tyrell Gordon in the title bout but lost by fall late in the third period.
Two Jackrabbits placed in the top five of the 184-pound division as freshman Roman Rogotzke finished third and Cade King took fifth. Other Jackrabbit wrestlers to place at the UNI Open included Daniel Kimball, fourth at 149 pounds, and Cael Swensen, sixth at 157 pounds.
RABBITS RANKED: After a third-place team finish at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Dec. 2-3, South Dakota State moved up to No. 19 in the National Wrestling Coaches Association’s top 25 this week.
Individually, a season-high eight Jackrabbits are ranked by either Intermat or FloWrestling this week. Junior 125-pounder Tanner Jordan and redshirt freshman 157-pounder Cael Swensen joined the rankings for the first time this season.
125: Tanner Jordan – 28th Intermat // honorable mention by FloWrestling
141: Clay Carlson – 14th Intermat // 15th FloWrestling
157: Cael Swensen – 25th Intermat // 24th FloWrestling
165: Tanner Cook – 18th Intermat // 11th FloWrestling
174: Cade DeVos – 18th Intermat // 16th FloWrestling
184: Cade King – 11th Intermat // 16th FloWrestling
197: Tanner Sloan – 13th Intermat // 17th FloWrestling
285: A.J. Nevills – 14th Intermat // 12th FloWrestling
A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits return to dual action Dec. 18, hosting nationally ranked and 2022 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational champion Nebraska. Start time is set for 2 p.m. at Frost Arena.
Check out Jackrabbit Wrestling at gojacks.com and on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram. Buy Jackrabbit Tickets