BROOKINGS, S.D. -- The South
Dakota State University wrestling team will conclude its open
action Sunday, when it travels to Cedar Falls, Iowa, for the Northern
Iowa Open. Fifteen or more wrestlers from SDSU are expected to wrestle
at the UNI- Dome on the campus of Northern Iowa. Action begins at 9
a.m. in Cedar Falls.
South Dakota State in its last outing went 35-20 at the Bill Harris
Auto Center Open in Ashland, Ohio. Leading the way for the Jackrabbits
were sophomore Ryan Meyer and senior Levi Krehmeyer. Both wrestlers
captured third-place honors in their respective weight divisions.
Wrestlers from the following teams competed last year in Cedar Falls:
Buena Vista, Dubuque, Eastern Illinois, Ellsworth, Iowa Central, Iowa,
Iowa State, Luther, Michigan, Minnesota State (Mankato), Nebraska,
Nebraska-Omaha, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, Purdue, Southwest
Minnesota State, St. Cloud State, Upper Iowa and Wisconsin.
JACKRABBIT REWIND: South Dakota
State traveled to Cedar Falls, Iowa, in 2004 for the UNI Open.
Nate Althoff, a senior on this year's squad, placed in the top four in
his respective weight class to lead SDSU at the UNI-Dome. Althoff, who
finished fourth at 165 pounds, dropped a 6-5 decision to UNI's Nick
Baima in the third-place match. Baima was recently named Western
Wrestling Conference Wrestler of the Week.
Overall, the Jackrabbit wrestling team won nine matches on the day,
including two by junior Chad Herrboldt.
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS: BILL HARRIS AUTO CENTER OPEN
Both Ryan Meyer and Levi Krehmeyer captured third-place honors Nov. 18
to lead the South Dakota State University wrestling team at the Bill
Harris Auto Center Open in Ashland, Ohio.
Meyer, a redshirt freshman from Parkston, defeated Dan Jonhenry of
Heidelberg (Ohio) in the third-place match to improve to 4-1 on the day
at 165. Krehmeyer, who competed for the first time this season, went
3-1 at 184 pounds.
Redshirt freshman Chris Moran, who posted a 5-1 record at the open,
closed out the tournament upending Matt Morgan of Notre Dame (Ohio) to
take home fifth-place honors at 174.
Sean Flynn, a freshman out of Lansing, Kan., captured sixth-place at
149 by going 3-2 overall. Senior Andy Everson went 3-1 in the
tournament, while fellow senior Brad Gregory went 4-1 overall at 149
pounds. Everson posted two pins on the day.
Heavyweight Thomas Strubel had a productive day, going 2-2 in
competition with two pins. Sophomore Jeff Cooley, a Westbrook, Minn.,
native, finished with a 3-2 record.
STRONG OUTING IN OHIO: Overall
in Ohio, the Jackrabbits had five wrestlers place in the tournament.
SDSU, which recorded 10 pins on the day, combined for a 35-20 record at
the open. Leading the way for the Jacks in total falls were Andy
Everson, Nick Herrboldt and Thomas Strubel. The three standouts each
collected two pins and combined for a 7-5 record. Senior Levi
Krehmeyer, who picked up third-place honors, went 3-1 overall marking
the first time in his career the Wyoming native had placed in an open
tournament.
WE'LL BE BACK: When SDSU takes
to the mats this weekend in Cedar Falls it will mark the first of two
trips to the Northern Iowa campus for the Jacks this winter. SDSU will
also take on the Panthers in a home dual on Feb. 17 before traveling to
the UNI-DOME for the West Regional Qualifier on March 3.
OPEN SEASON RECAP: South Dakota
State will put an end to its open season this weekend in Cedar Falls.
Overall, the Jackrabbits have recorded 92 victories heading into this
weekend and have posted 27 victories by fall. Leading the way for the
Jacks is junior Jason Stripling, who has collected nine wins this
winter. Redshirt freshman Tyler Sorenson has had a productive open
season as well, going 6-2 in three tournaments.
MATCH THIS: SDSU has scored a
total of 647 match points this open season, while Jackrabbit opponents
have tallied a total of 608 match points this winter. Redshirt freshman
Chris Moran leads the Jacks by collecting 77 points heading into this
weekend. In all, South Dakota State has posted 157 takedowns, 28
three-point near falls and 27 reversals as a team heading into this
weekend.
PIN THIS UP: In its last two
outings, South Dakota State has upended its opponent by fall a total of
20 times. Individually, six different wrestlers defeated their oppnent
by fall in Iowa and Ohio.
Overall, the Jackrabbits have won 27 matches by fall this winter and
are only eight pins away from topping last year's total for the entire
year. In 2005-06 SDSU only recorded 34 total pins on the season.
THIS WEEKEND: Results will be
made available on UNI's website following the last match of the day.
Fans will also be able to view the open tournament for a fee by going
to http://unipanthers.cstv.com
and going to the wrestling site. Once there, fans can open the schedule
page and click on the UNI Open for directions on how to view the
day-long event.
Directions to the UNI-Dome
from the South
Take Interstate 380 North to Highway 20. Take Highway 20 west to Hudson
Road South and turn right. The UNI-Dome will be on your left after
several miles. Directions to the UNI-Dome
from the East
Take Highway 20 West to Hudson Road South and turn right. The UNI-Dome
will be on your left after several miles.
STRIPLING AT IT AGAIN: Jason
Stripling, a heavyweight from Minneota, Minn., went 6-1 in competition
Nov. 11 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 on
Nov. 11. 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.
RECORDS DEAD EVEN: A total of
11 Jackrabbit wrestlers have recorded winning records during the open
season. Junior Jason Stripling leads the Jacks with a 9-2 record, while
redshirt freshman Tyler Sorenson has gone 6-2. Redshirt freshman Ryan
Meyer has wrestled to a 9-4 record, while seniors Brad Gregory and
Travis Gottschalk have both garnered six victories during the open
season. Overall, South Dakota State wrestlers have gone 92-72 during
the open season.
GOTTSCHALK AND SORENSON SHINE AT DAK:
Travis Gottschalk, 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.
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.
A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits
will open their dual season when they travel to Lincoln, Nebraska to
take on the University of Nebraska Dec. 9. Start time is set for 5 p.m.
The Huskers were ranked 18th overall in this weeks USA Today/NWCA
Division I poll.