|
|
|
|
|
|
|
South Dakota State update
February 13, 2006
BROOKINGS, SD -- The South Dakota State University wrestling team will close out its season this week with matches against Northern State, Northern Iowa and American University.
The Jacks, who had their match against North Dakota State postponed last Friday, will take on Northern State Wednesday night at Frost Arena. The first match will begin at 7 p.m. No makeup date has been announced for the NDSU match.
SDSU will then travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa to face nationally ranked UNI. Start time for the match is set for 6 p.m. at the West Gym on Northern Iowa’s campus. South Dakota State will close its season with a home match against American University Sunday afternoon. The match, which marks Senior Day for the Jacks, will begin at 2 p.m. at Frost Arena.
The Jackrabbits, 6-9 on the season, went 0-2 against Northern Colorado and Utah Valley State in their most recent action. SDSU fell to the Bears, 24-15, on Feb. 2 to open the month of February. The Jacks then traveled to Orem, Utah, and was upended by UVSC 25-16 on Feb. 4.
Northern State defeated Jamestown College (N.D.) last Saturday night. The match ended tied at 19, but the Wolves won the dual on criteria by recording the most near-falls in the match. The Wolves, who fell to Dickinson State (N.D.), 25-9, earlier in the day, bring a 4-7 record into Frost Arena. NSU is 0-3 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
Northern Iowa is coming off a 16-16 tie to Northern Illinois on Feb. 5. The Panthers, who head into their matchup Monday against Missouri with a 5-7-2 record, are ranked 25th in the nation according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association poll released last week.
American University has produced a 10-6 record on the year heading into a Friday match against East Stroudsburg (Pa.). The Eagles won eight of their 10 matches Sunday to upend Rutgers (N.J.), 29-12, in Washington, D.C. AU wrestler Josh Glenn is the number one ranked 184-pounder in the nation according to the NWCA poll released last week.
SERIES RECORDS: This week’s matchup with Northern will mark the 27th meeting for the Wolves against South Dakota State. UNI will be facing the Jacks for the 32nd time, while American University’s Sunday matchup will mark the second meeting for the Jackrabbits and Eagles.
South Dakota State defeated Northern State, 23-15, last winter in Brookings to remain undefeated against the Wolves and bring the all-time record to 26-0-0.
Northern Iowa cruised to a 34-3 victory over SDSU last season to bring its all-time mark against the Jacks to 28-3-1. Sophomore Dusty Kavitz was the lone victorious Jackrabbits on the day. SDSU moved to 1-0 all-time against AU last winter, with a 27-19 victory over the Eagles in Washington, D.C.
LAST ACTION:
Northern Colorado 24, SDSU 15
Northern Colorado built a 20-0 lead through five matches and held on for a 24-15 victory over South Dakota State in college wrestling Thursday night at Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion.
Jason Stripling, a sophomore from Minneota, Minn., put the Jacks on the board with a pin at 1 minute, 44 seconds at heavyweight, upping his record to a team-best 24-10. After an Alan Marvin victory at 133 pounds, sophomore Derek Pirner used a takedown with two seconds left in the match for a 4-2 decision over Richard Lohr in the 141-pound weight class.
Senior Chad Herrboldt closed out the match defeating Kyle LeValley, 1-0, to improve to 8-2 this season.
Utah Valley State 25, SDSU 16
The South Dakota State University wrestling team won three of its last six matches against Utah Valley State Saturday night, but fell to the Wolverines, 25-16, at the Utah Valley State Activities Center in Orem, Utah.
The dual started at 197 pounds and Cody Nehl, a senior from Watauga, gave the Jacks a 6-0 advantage by pinning Jaime Thornblad in 2 minutes, 6 seconds. The pin marked Nehl’s fifth win by fall in his last 10 matches.
Derek Pirner recorded a 10-2 major decision over Daniel Polkowske at 141-pounds and junior Brad Gregory upended Devin Siddoway, 6-5, at 165. Gregory, a Glenwood, Iowa, native, recorded a three-point near-fall with 1 minute, 19 seconds left in the third to cut the match deficit to 21-13.
Junior Travis Gottschalk closed out the scoring for the Jacks with a 5-0 decision over D.J. Meis, making it 21-16 going into the 184-pound match, which UVSC won by major decision.
With the win Utah Valley State moved to 6-8, while SDSU fell to 6-9.
SENIORS SAY FAREWELL: Chad Herrboldt and Cody Nehl will end their college careers this week against American University. Combined, the two South Dakota natives have produced 79 wins for the Jackrabbits over a four-year period. Both wrestlers have bounced back from injury this season to go a combined 20-7 in competition.
Gregory Picking Up Steam: Junior Brad Gregory went 1-1 in Colorado and Utah after going 3-0 during the three-match homestand against Wyoming, Dakota Wesleyan and Air Force. In his Nothern Colorado match, Gregory used a three-point near-fall with 1 minute, 19 seconds left in the third period to record a 6-5 decision over Devin Siddoway.
Pirner on Win Streak: Derek Pirner, a sophomore from Elk Point, went 2-0 during SDSU’s recent two-match roadswing, recording wins over Northern Colorado’s Richard Lohr and Utah Valley State’s Daniel Polkowske. Since moving from the 133-pound weight class to the 141-pound class, Pirner has gone 8-1 in competition, recording one fall, two major decisions and five decisions. The Nebraska transfer will look to extend his six-match win streak Wednesday against Northern State.
Nehl Starting Over: Senior Cody Nehl saw his eight-match winning streak come to end in Greeley, Colo. Nehl was upended by Reece Hopkin in the 197-pound weight class. Nehl, a senior from Watauga, got back on the winning track two days later by pinning Jaime Thornblad of Utah Valley State in 2 minutes, 6 seconds. The pin marked Nehl’s fifth win by fall in his last 10 matches.
Splitting Double Dual: A total of five Jackrabit wrestlers went 1-1 in matches against Northern Colorado and Utah Valley State. Sophomore Derek Pirner and freshman Alan Marvin were the only SDSU wrestlers to go undefeated during fthe road trip. Against UNC Pirner and Marvin both upended their opponents by decision, while Pirner recorded a major decision against UVSC to go 2-0.
PIN TO WIN: Since the beginning of the 2006 portion of the schedule, the Jackrabbits have pinned a total of 14 opponents. Senior Cody Nehl leads the way for the Jacks, having collected five pins during 2006.
TAKEDOWN TO WIN: South Dakota State wrestlers won a total of 18 matches over three duals Jan. 27-28. In 11 of the 18 victories, SDSU scored the first takedown of the match. In five of the seven matches won by the Jackrabbits against the Air Force Academy, SDSU recorded the first takedown. Only two times in the three-match homestand did the Jacks have the first takedown in their respective weight class and not go on to win the match.
Jacks Raising Level of Performance: Several Jackrabbits have enjoyed success since the beginning of the 2006 portion of SDSU’s schedule. Leading the way for the Jackrabbits is sophomore Derek Pirner, who is 9-3 during the 2006 portion of the schedule. Senior Cody Nehl and freshman Jason Stripling have added a nice combination in the upper weight classes, going a combined 21-6 during 2006. Mitchell native Andy Everson has gone 8-3, while returning senior Chad Herrboldt has bounced back from an injury to record a 5-2 record in 2006.
A Nice Combination: Jason Stripling and Cody Nehl have made their presence felt in the upper weight classes this season. In the last eight matches the two have combined for a 17-3 record and posted seven pins. Nehl has recorded a 12-4 record on the year, while Stripling leads the Jacks with a 24-11 record.
Streak Starts Trend: In the last four years of the Jason Liles era, the Jackrabbits are a combined 9-5 in their next two matches of competition following a two-match win streak. SDSU went 3-3 last winter following two straight wins, after being shut out following a pair of victories during the 2003-04 season. From 2001 to 2003 the Jacks went 6-0 after completing a two-match win streak.
HOME SWEET HOME: SDSU’s remaining home schedule includes a dual against Division I opponent American University. The Jackrabbits defeated the Eagles 27-19 last winter in Washington, D.C. Cody Nehl recorded a pin at 197-pounds for the Jacks. South Dakota State is 3-2 at home this winter, after posting a 5-2 record at home in 2005.
RECLASSIFICATION GRANTED: The NCAA Membership Subcommittee during the summer of 2004 approved SDSU’s request to fully reclassify its wrestling program to Division I status. Jackrabbit wrestlers will now be eligible to qualify for the NCAA Division I Championships beginning in 2007. This is two years ahead of the original timeline set forth by the NCAA.
SDSU is currently in the second year of a four-year process of reclassifying from NCAA Division II to Division I in all sports.
A Look Ahead: The Jackrabbits are scheduled to close out the 2006 season this week.