BROOKINGS, S.D. — The South
Dakota State University wrestling team hits the road this week
looking to add to its four-match win streak. SDSU will have two duals
in one day. The Jacks will start Friday against Division III Pacific.
Start time is set for 2 p.m. (PT) at the Pacific Athletic Center. They
then will travel to Portland to face off against Pac 10 member Portland
State. That match will begin at 7 p.m. (PT) at the Peter W. Stott
Center.
The Jackrabbits, 5-4 on the season, upended Utah Valley State, 34-6,
last Saturday night to capture their first Western Wrestling Conference
win. SDSU won eight of the 10 weight classes against the Wolverines.
Pacific heads into Friday’s matchup having dropped six of its last
seven duals. The Boxers, who fell to Portlad State, 22-16, earlier this
year, bring a 3-7 record into their match Friday afternoon.
Portland State, 1-7 in duals, competed at the Oregon Classic this past
weekend. The Vikings were led by Dale Seley and Jake Schneider. Both
wrestlers finished sixth overall in their respective weight classes.
PSU last competed in a dual three weeks ago.
THIS SERIES: This Friday’s
matchup with Pacific will mark the second meeting between the
Jackrabbits and Boxers.
South Dakota State fell to Pacific, 22-20, at the Oregon Classics in
2004.
SDSU’s night match against Portland State will be the third meeting
between the Jackrabbts and Vikings. South Dakota State leads the
all-time series 2-0.
The Jacks used three pins last winter to defeat PSU, 28-18, at Frost
Arena.
NOTICE CHANGE: Please note that
Friday’s matchup against Pacific will be on Jan. 26 not Jan. 27 as
originally scheduled. Start time is still set for 2 p.m. (PT).
LAST WEEK’S RESULTS: SDSU 34, Utah Valley State 6
The South Dakota State University wrestling team won eight of the 10
weight classes last Saturday night to secure a 34-6 conference victory
over Utah Valley State in front of 526 people at Frost Arena.
The Jacks jumped out to a 12-0 advantage after UVSC forfeited 125
pounds and 133 pounds. Junior Derek Pirner defeated Justin Morrill,
2-0, to increase the Jackrabbit lead. The Elk Point native used an
escape in the third period and riding time to secure the victory.
Sean Flynn, a Lansing, Kan., native,gave the Jacks an 18-3 advantage on
the board, upending Clayton Wolf in the 157-pound match, 9-7. With the
win, the true freshman has now gone 3-0 in his last three matches.
After Ryan Meyer defeated Dustin Olsen, 3-2, Watertown native Nate
Althoff posted an escape and reversal to secure downing Marc
Fenwick,4-2, at 174.
Tyler Sorenson collected his fourth win in four matches by upending
Brock Jardine by major decision at 184, 11-2.
Junior Jason Stripling closed out the scoring for the Jacks winning by
fall in 1 minute, 23 seconds at heavyweight. Stripling, a Minneota,
Minn., native, collected his ninth victory by fall this winter and
allowed Kami Bartels to obtain a thousand dollars, courtesy of “Pin to
Win” sponsor First Bank and Trust, by pinning his opponent.
Overall, SDSU posted one pin and one major decision in its conference
match against UVSC.
With the win, South Dakota State brought its dual record to 5-4 and 1-0
in the WWC, while Utah Valley State dropped to 3-8 and 0-3 in
conference matches.
THE STREAKS: As a team, South
Dakota State is on a four-match win streak, outscoring its opponents,
144-28. Individually, Ryan Meyer and Tyler Sorenson are both undefeated
in their last four matches, while heavyweight Jason Stripling is 3-0
with one win by fall. Other Jackrabbits undefeated during the current
win streak are: Sean Flynn, Nate Althoff and Travis Gottschalk.
FLYNN STILL PERFECT: Sean
Flynn, a freshman from Lansing, Kan., has gone undefeated so far during
the dual season. Flynn, who carries a 10-8 record heading into this
weekend, is 4-0 in duals and is the lone Jackrabbit to remain
undefeated overall in dual competition.
MATCH FACTS: SDSU has scored a
total of 237 dual team points this season, plus a total of 1,206 match
points. Redshirt freshman Tyler Sorenson leads the Jacks by collecting
36 dual team points, while junior Jason Stripling is second on the team
with 27. In all, South Dakota State has posted 269 takedowns, 59
three-point near falls, 44 pins and 48 reversals as a team during
2006-07.
PIN-TO-WIN: Junior Jason
Stripling became the second SDSU wrestler in three years to pin his
opponent during the pin-to-win contest this past weekend. The Minneota,
Minn., native, downed Mike Smith in 1 minute, 23 seconds. Because of
Stripling’s win by fall, Brookings resident Kami Bartels won $1,000.
WWC FIRST: By beating Utah
Valley State, 34-6, last Saturday night, SDSU colleceted its first
Division I conference victory of any kind. South Dakota State also
upended the Wolverines for the first time in the programs history and
brought its overall record to 5-4 on the year and 1-0 in the Western
Wrestling Conference.
SORENSON SHOWING UP: Redshirt
freshman Tyler Sorenson closed out his impressive weekend at the
Virginia Duals by technical-falling Justin Gillard of Newport News,
16-1, to lead SDSU to the American College Division title. Overall,
Sorenson, a Garretson native, recorded three technical falls and
outscored his opponents an astounding, 49-4.
For the year, Sorenson leads the team in victories with a 17-5 overall
record. He has gone 7-2 in dual action and has six technical falls on
the year.
THE GARRETSON CONNECTION: Dan
Bonte and Tyler Sorenson, who both hail from Garretson, S.D., have
opened the dual season in impressive fashion. Bonte, a 141-pounder, has
compiled a dual record of 4-2, while Sorenson has gone 7-2. Overall,
Bonte has a 6-4 record and Sorenson leads the team with a 17-5 mark.
FOUR WEEKS BABY: SDSU redshirt
freshman Tyler Sorenson became the first Jackrabbit wrestler since
moving to Division I in 2004 to be ranked nationally in his respective
weight class. WrestlingReport.com has ranked Sorenson 30th overall in
Division I at 184 pounds for four weeks straight. The Garretson native
currently has posted an 17-5 record, including a 7-2 record in dual
competition.
MOVING ON UP: After wrestling
his whole career at 174 pounds, senior Travis Gottschalk has filled in
at 197 pounds this season to fill a void left in the lineup.
Gottschalk, a Kimball, Minn., native has not disapointed by going 4-3
with one pin in his first seven matches at his new weight class.
IMPRESSIVE STATS: At the
Virginia Duals, the Jackrabbits had 11 wrestlers go undefeated in
Virginia and only lost a total of six matches as a team, including one
by forfeit. Eleven wrestlers overall have posted winning records during
the dual season, while seven have an overall record of 10 wins or
better.
THREE’S THE KEY: Overall, South
Dakota State had three wrestlers go 3-0 in Virginia; two redshirt
freshmen and one senior. Wrestlers that went undefeated in three
matches against Anderson, Roger Williams and Newport News were: Dan
Bonte, Travis Gottschalk and Tyler Sorenson.
STRIPLING BACK AT IT: After not
wrestling for nearly two months, heavyweight Jason Stripling made his
return to the Jackrabbit lineup in North Carolina, seeing his first
extensive action since the Harold Nichols Open on Nov. 11. In his first
match back Stripling, who picked up a forfeit win against Nebraska on
Dec. 9, upended Jeremiah Fennell by fall in 2 minutes, 31 seconds.
AFTER BREAK: SDSU is a combined
3-7 in competition following Christmas break. The Jackrabbits competed
in the Lone Star Duals in Arlington, Texas, last winter and recorded an
overall record of 1-3 at the competition. SDSU’s lone win came against
Clarion (Pa.). South Dakota State defeated Clarion, 28-15.
In 2004-05, SDSU dropped two straight matches to Oregon and Pacific
(Calif.), but then rallied to defeat Portland State, 29-20, to close
out the Oregon Duals.
EVERSON LATE-MATCH HEROICS:
Jackrabbit senior Andy Everson, 4-1 on the young season, opened the
dual season by posting a 5-3 decision over Rob Plambeck of Nebraska on
Dec. 9, but it wasn’t easy. Plambeck tied the match at 2-2 heading into
the final period. Everson used a takedown with 1 minute, 24 seconds
remaining and riding time to secure the victory.
BIG-TIME MATCHES: When South
Dakota State faced NDSU Dec. 15 it marked the second straight dual SDSU
faced a team with one or more wrestlers ranked in the USA
Today/InterMat/NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches poll. NDSU junior Eric
Sanders is currently ranked No. 16 at 125 pounds. Sanders marked Marcus
Waters’ second-straight opponent ranked in the top-20. Nebraska’s Paul
Donahoe moved up to No. 11 in this week’s rankings.
OPEN SEASON RECAP: South Dakota
State put an end to its open season in Cedar Falls on Dec. 3. Overall,
the Jackrabbits recorded 101 victories during the open season and
posted 30 victories by fall. Leading the way for the Jacks was 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 went a combined 113-101 during
the open season.
ALMOST THERE: In its last three
outings during the open season, South Dakota State upended its opponent
by fall a total of 23 times. Individually, three different wrestlers
defeated their oppnent by fall at Northern Iowa on Dec. 3.
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.
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
at the Ashland Open, 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 on Nov. 11 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.
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.
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: South Dakota
State will be back in Frost Arena for two straight matches next
weekend. The Jacks will face Eastern Illinois on Feb. 2 and then follow
with a match against WWC member Northern Colorado on Feb. 3. Start time
for the match against the Panthers is set for 7 p.m., while the UNC
match is stated for a 3 p.m. start time.