IRVING, Texas — South Dakota State’s Clay Carlson was honored Wednesday as the 2021 Big 12 Wrestling Scholar-Athlete of the Year, becoming the first Jackrabbit to receive the award.
A redshirt sophomore from Willmar, Minnesota, Carlson has compiled a 3.931 grade-point average as an animal science/pre-veterinary major. He became the first SDSU wrestler to earn All-America recognition at the NCAA Division I Championships since 2018, placing eighth in the 141-pound weight class at the national meet. He qualified for the NCAA Championships with a fourth-place finish at the Big 12 Wrestling Championship in early March en route to a 20-9 record.