BROOKINGS, S.D. -- The South
Dakota State University wrestling team will open its dual season
Saturday, when it travels to Lincoln, Neb., to take on No. 18 ranked
Nebraska. Action begins at 5 p.m. in Lincoln at the Nebraska Coliseum.
South Dakota State closed out its open season last weekend at the
Northern Iowa Open in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Tyler Sorenson, a redshirt
freshman from Garretson, took second overall at 184 pounds to lead SDSU
in Cedar Falls. Brad Gregory, a senior out of Glenwood, Iowa, finished
2-2 overall at 149, while redshirt freshman Ryan Meyer also went 2-2.
In all, the Jacks had seven wrestlers go 2-2 or better for the
tournament.
For Nebraska, Paul Donahoe captured the 125-pound championship and
Dominick Moyer earned a runner-up finish at 141 to lead the Huskers to
a fourth-place finish at the Las Vegas Invitational in Primm, Nev. UNL
currently has four wrestlers ranked in the top-20 in their respective
weight classes. The Huskers, who are 2-0 in dual competition this
season, will take on Northern Colorado at 7 p.m. following their
matchup with the Jacks. Nebraska earlier in the year defeated Virginia
Tech and Maryland. Saturday’s matchup with the Jacks will mark the
first home dual this winter for the Huskers.
SERIES RECORD: South Dakota
State, 7-11 last season, has faced off against Nebraska on the mat 30
times before this weekend. UNL holds a 17-11-2 record against the Jacks.
The last meeting between the Jackrabbits and Huskers was in 1998. UNL
dropped the Jacks, 38-6, in Lincoln. South Dakota State hasn’t won
against the Huksers since 1979-80. The Jacks defeated Nebraska, 28-14,
in the final dual of the season.
LAST WEEK’S RESULTS: NORTHERN IOWA OPEN
Tyler Sorenson, a redshirt freshman from Garretson, took second overall
at 184 pounds to lead the South Dakota State University wrestling team
Sunday at the Northern Iowa Open in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Sorenson opened the tournament dropping Adam Hill of St. Cloud State by
fall in 3 minutes, 11 seconds. In third-round action, Sorenson upended
No. 1 seed Travis Krinkie of Minnesota State, Mankato, 15-6. Krinkie is
currently ranked No. 3 in Division II at 184 pounds. After defeating
Patrick Brownson of Illinois, 10-3, Sorenson closed out the tournament
falling to John Dergo of Illinois, 8-6, in the championship match.
Overall, Sorenson, who went 4-1 on the day, brought his overall record
to 10-3 during the open season.
Redshirt freshman Dan Bonte, who posted a 2-2 record at the open,
defeated Brooks Kopsa of Iowa, 2-1, in first-round wrestlebacks and
then posted a 5-3 decision over Bryce Macket in second-round action.
Brad Gregory, a senior out of Glenwood, Iowa, finished 2-2 overall at
149, while redshirt freshman Ryan Meyer also went 2-2. Meyer opened
with a 11-1 major decision over Derek Skala of St. Cloud State and then
shutout Mark Lukaszewski of Illinois, 7-0. In all, the Jacks had seven
wrestlers go 2-2 or better for the tournament.
OPEN SEASON RECAP: South Dakota
State put an end to its open season last weekend in Cedar Falls.
Overall, the Jackrabbits recorded 101 victories during the open season
and posted 30 victories by fall. Leading the way for the Jacks is
redshirt freshman Tyler Sorenson who went 10-3 in four tournaments.
Junior Jason Stripling was also productive during the open season,
having collected nine wins in three tournaments.
Overall, South Dakota State wrestlers have gone 113-101 during the open
season.
ALMOST THERE: In its last three
outings, South Dakota State has upended its opponent by fall a total of
23 times. Individually, three different wrestlers defeated their
oppnent by fall in Iowa.
Overall, the Jackrabbits have won 30 matches by fall this winter and
are only four pins away from topping last year’s total for the entire
year. In 2005-06 SDSU only recorded 34 total pins on the season.
SORENSON STEPPING UP: Tyler
Sorenson, a redshirt freshman from Garretson, took second overall at
184 pounds to lead the South Dakota State University wrestling team
this past weekend. It marked the second time this season Sorenson had
garnered second-place honors. Earlier in the year, Sorenson finished
second overall at the Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open. Performing
well during the open season is nothing new for the South Dakota native
as he finished last winter with a 15-6 record in open tournaments.
A NEW YEAR: During the open
season, a total of eight Jackrabbit wrestlers improved upon their open
season records from a year ago.
The biggest increase came from redshirt freshman Ryan Meyer, who
improved in the win column a total of six matches during the open
season. During the 2005-06 open season Meyer only recorded five wins,
compared to his 11 this open season.
Sophomore Justin Retallic has bettered his entire total of wins from
last winter (4) by going 5-8 during the open season. Senior Brad
Gregory has improved by five wins from a year ago. In 2005-06, Gregory
was 3-8 heading into the first dual match, while this winter the Iowa
native, is 8-7 with three pins.
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 took
to the mats in Cedar Falls last weekend it marked 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.
MATCH THIS: SDSU has scored a
total of 802 match points this season, while Jackrabbit opponents have
tallied a total of 825. Redshirt freshman Tyler Sorenson leads the
Jacks by collecting 120 points, while fellow redshirt Chris Moran is
second on the team with 99. In all, South Dakota State has posted
196 takedowns, 37 three-point near falls and 39 reversals as a team
during 2006-07.
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.
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.
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 take on fellow Western Wrestling Conference member North Dakota
State on Dec. 15. Start time is set for 7:30 p.m. in Fargo, N.D.