South Dakota State Jackrabbits

TULSA, Okla. — Top-seeded Nino Bonaccorsi of Pittsburgh controlled the final two periods to defeat South Dakota State’s Tanner Sloan, 5-3, in the national title bout at 197 pounds Saturday night at BOK Center.

Sloan, a senior from Alburnett, Iowa, who has a year of eligibility remaining, was the aggressor early. After nearly putting Bonaccorsi on his back midway through the first period, Sloan opened the scoring with a takedown with 25 seconds remaining in the opening period.

After Sloan escaped to open the second period for a 3-0 lead, Bonaccorsi began to find his footing. He tallied his first takedown of the match moments after Sloan’s escape and rode out the remainder of the period to build up more than a minute of riding time.

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TULSA, Okla. — South Dakota State’s Clay Carlson capped a return to the All-America podium by placing fifth in the 141-pound weight class Saturday at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the BOK Center.

A senior from Willmar, Minnesota, with a year of eligibility remaining, Carlson finished the three-day tournament with a 6-2 record after splitting a pair of matches Saturday morning. Both of Carlson’s tournament losses came at the hands of Penn State’s Beau Bartlett, who defeated Carlson, 3-2, in the Round of 16 on Thursday and then notched a 12-2 major decision in their consolation semifinal on Saturday.

Carlson met Nebraska’s Brock Hardy in the fifth-place match and took a 2-0 lead on a takedown on the edge of the mat with 71 seconds remaining in the first period. Shortly after the restart, Hardy suffered an upper-body injury on a mat return and could not continue, which resulted in Carlson being awarded fifth place by injury default.

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TULSA, Okla. — Clay Carlson earned All-America honors for the second time in his career and Tanner Sloan will wrestle for a national title as South Dakota State wrestlers wrapped up a successful Friday at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at BOK Center.

After six Jackrabbit wrestlers combined for an 8-2 record during the first session of the day, Sloan and Carlson teamed for three more victories in Friday’s night session.

A senior from Willmar, Minnesota, wrestled his way to All-America honors in dramatic fashion by winning four times on Friday. After posting a pair of wins in the morning and afternoon, Carlson faced longtime 141-pound rival Allan Hart of Missouri with a spot on the podium at stake.

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