FARGO, N.D. — Tanner Jordan won the 125-pound title and Bowen McConville added a runner-up finish in the heavyweight division to lead the South Dakota State wrestling team at the season-opening Bison Open Saturday at Scheels Center.
Jordan, a returning national qualifier and senior from St. Paris, Ohio, swept through his weight class with a 3-0 record. Wrestling in a round-robin format, Jordan opened the day with a 15-0 technical fall victory over Brandon Morvari of Minnesota. He then scored a 6-3 sudden victory over North Dakota State’s Carlos Negrete in Round 2 before closing out the afternoon with an 11-0 major decision over teammate and third-place finisher Brandon Meredith.
A senior from Renton, Washington, McConville advanced to the championship of the heavyweight division after winning both of his pool matches. He defeated Devon Dawson of North Dakota State, 4-1, then scored a 14-5 major decision over teammate Regan Bollweg. That set up a title match against Minnesota’s Bennett Tabor, who tallied a 4-0 decision over McConville.
Fellow Jackrabbit Kail Wynia took third with a 2-1 record that included a 4-1 sudden victory over Dawson in the third-place bout.
Recording third-place finish in the lower weights were sophomore 133-pounder Derrick Cardinal and senior 141-pounder Caleb Gross. Cardinal turned in a 3-1 record on the day with his wins by major decision, technical fall and fall. His lone loss was to champion Tyler Wells by technical fall in the semifinals.
Gross posted a 2-1 mark on the day, winning by fall in the first period against Thomas Moralez of North Dakota State, while dropping a 4-1 decision to Minnesota’s Vance Vombaur in pool competition. Gross later tallied an 8-0 major decision over freshman teammate Parker Janssen in the third-place matchup.
At 149 pounds, Daniel Kimball added a third-place finish with a 3-1 record on the day. After dropping a 7-5 decision to Minnesota’s Drew Roberts in the semifinals, Kimball notched wins of 8-1 over a pair of NDSU wrestlers in Clay Radenz and Tanner Gerber by respective scores of 8-1 and 11-1. He opened the day with a 7-1 decision over the Bison’s Pedro Velazquez.
UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits open home competition with a pair of multi-team events at Frost Arena. SDSU hosts the four-team Dakota Showcase on Friday (Nov. 17), welcoming in-state programs Dakota Wesleyan, Northern State and Augustana for dual action beginning at 5 p.m. On Nov. 19, the Jackrabbits will host the Daktronics Open, which is slated for a 10 a.m. start.
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