BROOKINGS, SD -- Members of the South
Dakota State University wrestling
team will continue open action Saturday, when they travel to Ashland,
Ohio for the Bill Harris Auto Center Open. Fifteen or more wrestlers
from SDSU are expected to wrestle at Kates Gymnasium on the campus of
Ashland University. Action begins at 10 a.m. (ET) in Ashland.
South Dakota State continued its open season last weekend by competing
at the Harold Nichols Open in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Fourteen wrestlers
competed for the Jackrabbits and compiled a 21-27 record.
About 17 teams are expected to compete in Ohio, including nationally
ranked Michigan State and Cleveland State. More than 200 wrestlers will
take to the mats in Kates Gymnasium as the open tournament is limited
to only 250 entries. Weigh-ins will begin at 8 a.m. (ET), with a
mandatory skin check beginning at 7:45 a.m. (ET). Matches will be six
minutes in length and no riding time will be issued. All entries will
be unattached.
JACKRABBIT REWIND: South Dakota
State has faced off against Ashland University three times in its
wrestling history. The Jackrabbits have compiled a 2-1-0 record against
the Division II school. Ashland was ranked No. 15 in the Oct. 31
Division II poll. The last meeting between South Dakota State and
Ashland was 2001-02. The Jacks fell to the Eagles, 34-6.
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS:
HAROLD NICHOLS OPEN
Jason Stripling, a junior from Minneota, Minn., went 6-1 in competition
at heavyweight to lead the South Dakota State University wrestling team
at the Harold Nichols Open Saturday in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
Stripling secured third place after recording five pins on the day.
Sophomore Alan Marvin had a good showing at the open, recording a 2-2
record, while fellow sophomore Justin Retallic went 2-2 at 165 pounds.
In all, the Jackrabbits had three wrestlers go 3-2 and 2-2 in
competition. SDSU combined for a 21-27 record at the open.
STRIPLING AT IT AGAIN: Jason
Stripling, a heavyweight from Minneota, Minn., went 6-1 in competition
this past weekend to finish third overall in the heavyweight division
at the Harold Nichols Open. After dropping his first match of the
morning in the closing seconds, the junior rattled off five straight
victories by pin. In his final match of the day, he defeated Tony Lewis
of Nebraska-Omaha, 3-2, to capture third-place honors. By posting five
pins in one day, Sripling became the first Jackrabbit wrestler to
record five pins in an open tournament in head coach Jason Liles' 14
years at SDSU.
RETALLIC A FIRST: Justin
Retallic, a sophomore from Atlantic, Iowa, went 2-2 in competition this
past weekend. After picking up a bye in first-round action, Retallic
used a takedown and an escape to defeat Andrew Nash of Newman
University. He followed that up by recording his first collegiate pin
over Jon Terronez of Buena Vista. For the season, he has posted a
3-4 record. His three wins are only one less win than he had during all
of 2005-06.
PIN THIS UP: South Dakota State
this past weekend posted 10 pins overall. In all, six different
wrestlers recorded wins by fall in Iowa. Leading the way for the
Jackrabbits was junior Jason Stripling who pinned five different
opponents on the way to a third-place finish. Ryan Meyer, a redshirt
freshman from Parkston, defeated Nate Alvarez of Newman University by
fall in 1 minute, 17 seconds. Other Jackrabbit wrestlers to record pins
were: Marcus Waters, Alan Marvin, Justin Retallic and Seth Fischer.
RECORDS DEAD EVEN: A total of
eight Jackrabbit wrestlers have recorded winning records during the
open season. Junior Jason Stripling leads the Jacks with a 9-2 record,
while redshirt freshman Nick Kulseth has gone 6-3. Sophomore transfer
Jeff Cooley and redshirt freshman Ryan Meyer have wrestled to a 5-3
record, while senior Travis Gottschalk has gained four victories during
the open season. Overall, South Dakota State wrestlers have gone 57-57
during the open season.
GOTTSCHALK AND SORENSON SHINE AT DAK:
Travis Gottscalk, a senior from Kimball, Minn., went 3-1 at the
Daktronics Open on Nov. 4 to finish second overall at 174 pounds. He
received a bye during first round action and then upended David DeBoer
of Northwestern (Iowa), 8-0, to move on. After defeating Skip Troops of
Minnesota Moorhead, 4-3, Gottschalk recorded a 3-2 decision over Domick
Oliver of Minnesota West. His lone loss of the tournament came in the
championship match. Gottschalk fell to Aaron Denson of Nebraska-Omaha,
11-4.
At 184 pounds, Tyler Sorenson also recorded second place honors after
going undefeated in his first three matches. Sorenson dropped a 5-2
decision to Tom Nesseth of Augustana in the finals.
COOLEY SIZZLING: Jeff Cooley, a
transfer from Southwest Minnesota State, rallied off three straight
victories at 133 pounds before falling to eventual champion Burke
Barnes of Dana (Neb.) in the championship match at the Daktronics Open
Nov. 4. The sophomore had three decisions and one pin during the
tournament.
GUESS WHO'S BACK: Heavyweight
Jason Stripling led the Jackrabbit program last winter in wins with 26.
At the Daktronics Open on Nov. 4 he picked up right where he left off,
winning three matches. For the open, the junior went 3-1 in
compeitition and garnered third place honors. He opened the tournament
defeating Todd Casselman by fall in 25 seconds and then defeated Jacob
Combs of Iowa Central, 3-1, to place third.
DAKTRONICS OVERALL: The South
Dakota State wrestling team combined for a 37-26 record Nov. 4. In all,
SDSU had five wrestlers lose only one match for the tournament. Three
of the five wreslted in the championship match of their respective
weight classes. Statistically, SDSU had nine combined falls for the
tournament, led by Alan Marvin's three at 125 pounds.
ONE TOUGH SCHEDULE: Five home
dual matches and matches against Nebraska, Pacific and Portland State
(Ore.) highlight the 2006-07 schedule. Included in the schedule are
matchups against Western Wrestling Conference members Utah Valley
State, Northern Colorado, Wyoming, Air Force, Northern Iowa and North
Dakota State. SDSU will be tested early in the year at the Harold
Nichols Open, Ashland Open, Northern Iowa Open and North Carolina State
and Virginia Duals.
"Once again, we have a very difficult schedule. In addidition to the
tough schedule, I like the fact that we are competing in the Western
Wrestling Conference and have a chance to advance to the NCAA Division
I National Championships come March," said Liles.
NCAA TOURNAMENT BOUND: 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 this season. This is two years ahead
of the original timeline set forth by the NCAA.
This year's championships will be held in Auburn Hills, Mich., on March
15-17. SDSU's regional qualifier will be March 3 in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
THE ROSTER: The 2005-06 SDSU
wrestling roster features 25 wrestlers from six different states. Of
the 25 wrestlers, 11 are South Dakota natives and five are from
Minnesota. Iowa is represented by four wrestler's, while Kansas has
two. Illinois, Michigan and Wyoming each have one representative on the
roster. By class, five are seniors, four are juniors, three are
sophomores, seven are redshirts and six are incoming freshmen.
A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits
will continue their open season when they travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa
for the Northern Iowa Open Dec. 3. Start time is set for 9 a.m. It will
mark the first of two times SDSU will travel to Cedar Falls to wrestle
this season.