MANHEIM, Pa. — Eight South Dakota State wrestlers earned Scholar All-American honors and the Jackrabbits finished 10th in the nation for team grade-point average among Division I squads in year-end academic awards presented by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
SDSU’s eight individual honors tied for most in the nation with Harvard, Minnesota and Ohio State. The honorees were:
- Derrick Cardinal, R-Fr., Forest Lake, Minnesota;
- Clay Carlson, Sr., Willmar, Minnesota;
- Tanner Cook, Jr., Ilion, New York;
- Cade DeVos, Jr., Altoona, Iowa;
- Cade King, Sr., Waseca, Minnesota;
- A.J. Nevills, Sr., Clovis, California;
- Tanner Sloan, Sr., Alburnett, Iowa, and
- Cael Swensen, R-Fr., Plymouth, Minnesota.
Carlson and DeVos were each honored for the third time in their collegiate careers, while Cook, King and Nevills received recognition for the second time. Seven of SDSU’s honorees were NCAA qualifiers this past season, with Carlson and Sloan wrestling their way to All-America accolades.
To qualify for NWCA Scholar All-America honors, wrestlers must have met one of the following criteria:
- 3.0 cumulative GPA and earned All-America honors in the same academic year
- 3.2 cumulative GPA and an NCAA tournament qualifier in the same academic year
- 3.5 cumulative GPA and been a participant at the conference qualifying tournament
On the team side, SDSU compiled a 3.4635 team grade-point average to rank 10th among NCAA Division I programs. The Jackrabbits received the team recognition for the third season in a row and were one of three Big 12 conference programs to rank in the top 10.
The team GPA is calculated among the eligible student-athletes who competed at their conference qualifying tournament, along with two other wrestlers who competed during the 2022-23 season.
2023 NCAA Division I Men’s Scholar All-American Awards
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