BROOKINGS, S.D. -- The South
Dakota State University wrestling team returns home this weekend
looking to put a halt to a three-match skid. SDSU will face two Western
Wrestling Conference opponents in two days. The Jacks will start
Saturday against Northern Iowa. Start time is set for 3 p.m. at Frost
Arena. South Dakota State will then close out its regular season
against North Dakota State Sunday afternoon. That match will begin at 2
p.m. in Frost.
SDSU, 8-7 on the season, dropped both of its matches last weekend,
falling at Wyoming and at Air Force. SDSU opened the weekend losing to
the Pokes, 31-12. Against Air Force, the Jacks won five of the 10
weight classes, including two by fall, but dropped a 25-21 match to the
Falcons. The Jackrabbits are 1-4 in Western Wrestling Conference
competition.
Northern Iowa heads into Saturday's matchup having lost its last match
to No. 3 Missouri, 30-13. The Panthers, who wrestle at North Dakota
State Friday, bring a 5-9-1 record and 2-0 conference mark into their
final portion of the dual season. Every loss on UNI's schedule has come
to an opponent ranked in the top-20 of theUSA Today/InterMat/NWCA
Division I Wrestling Coaches poll. Overall, UNI has wrestled nine
nationally ranked teams: No. 10 Iowa, No. 9 Wisconsin, No. 2 Iowa
State, No. 13 Tennessee-Chattanooga, No. 16 Oregon State, No. 4
Oklahoma State (twice), No. 8 Hofstra and No. 3 Missouri.
North Dakota State comes into Sunday's matchup having lost its last
match to No. 16 Oregon State, 29-11. The Bison, who wrestle Northern
Iowa Friday, bring an 8-4 record and 3-1 conference mark into their
final portion of the dual season. NDSU has wrestled two nationally
ranked teams: No. 16 Oregon State and No. 11 Penn State. The Bison are
led by 125-pounder Eric Hoffman who has compiled a 17-5 record,
including a 9-3 record in duals. At 157 pounds, Adam Aho has gone 16-9
overall and 8-4 in dual action, while Gabe Mooney, 16-9, has posted two
wins during WWC action.
BACK IN TIME: South Dakota
State and North Dakota State will square off for the second time this
season Sunday.
Earlier this year, South Dakota State gave up forfeits in three weight
classes to North Dakota State, but managed to win four bouts in a 30-14
defeat at the hands of the Bison in Fargo. Redshirt freshman Dan Bonte
put the Jackrabbits on the board with a 4-0 decision over Gabe Mooney
in the 149-pound weight class.
After Ryan Meyer and Nate Althoff won by decision for SDSU, redshirt
freshman Tyler Sorenson posted the lone fall of the night, pinning Matt
Wetterling in the 184-pound match at the 4 minute, 30 second mark.
The Jacks since that match have gone 8-5 in dual competition.
SERIES RECORDS: Saturday's
matchup with Northen Iowa will mark the 34th meeting between the
Jackrabbits and Panthers. UNI holds a 29-3-1 advantage in the all-time
series.
South Dakota State fell to Northern Iowa, 36-9, last winter at the West
Gymnasium in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Cody Nehl, a senior from Watauga, put
the Jacks on the board at 197 pounds by defeating Andrew Anderson, 7-3.
Elk Point native Derek Pirner closed out the Jackrabbit scoring by
upending No. 19 C.J. Ettelson by fall 48 seconds into the match.
The Jackrabbits have faced off against North Dakota State on the mat 50
times before this weekend. NDSU holds a 32-18-0 record against the
Jacks.
SDSU hasn't won against the Bison since 1996-97, when the Jacks
defeated North Dakota State, 24-10, en route to a North Central
Conference championship.
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS:
WYOMING 31, SDSU 12
Redshirt freshman Nick Herrboldt downed Dane Fuhrman by fall at 157
pounds, but it was not enough as South Dakota State fell to Wyoming
last Friday night, 31-12, in front of 261 people.
Herrboldt put the Jacks on the board defeating Fuhrman in 2 minutes, 45
seconds. With the win, the Scotland native posted his ninth win of the
season and second during dual competition.
Ryan Meyer, a redshirt freshman from Parkston, tied the match at 165
pounds by upending Kyle Morrow, 5-2. Meyer scored two straight escapes
and then used a 7:00 riding time advantage to secure the victory. By
defeating Morrow, Meyer collected his 20th victory of the season and
has now won seven straight matches. He is 3-0 in the Western Wrestling
Conference and 9-2 in dual action.
Senior heavyweight Jason Stripling closed out the Jackrabbit scoring by
defeating Jason Still, 1-0. Stripling scored an escape point with 3:51
showing on the clock in the second period to win the match. Stripling,
18-4 overall, moved to 2-1 in the conference.
NORTHERN COLORADO 23, SDSU 15
The South Dakota State University wrestling team won five of the 10
weight classes, including two by fall, but dropped a 25-21 match to Air
Force in Western Wrestling Conference action last Saturday afternoon.
Nate Althoff, a senior from Watertown, gave the Jacks a 6-0 advantage
in the match upending James Ciccone by fall in 3 minutes, 19 seconds.
Fellow senior Travis Gottschalk increased the Jackrabbit lead by
defeating Jordan Tribble, 5-3, in overtime at 197 pounds.
With Air Force ahead 25-9 in the match, Mitchell native Andy Everson
scored a 9-6 decision over Zach Lord at 157 pounds. Redshirt freshman
Ryan Meyer closed the deficit to 25-18 by downing Anthony Dorward by
fall in 2 minutes, 59 seconds, while Chris Moran closed out the match
upending Stephen Crozier, 12-5.
With the loss, South Dakota State dropped to 8-7 overall and 1-3 in the
WWC, while Air Force improved to 4-10 overall and 1-1 in the conference.
WEST REGIONAL INFORMATION:
South Dakota State will travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa, for the West
Regional Qualifier on March 3. This year's NCAA Division I
Championships will be held in Auburn Hills, Mich., on March 15-17.
ìI like the fact that we have a chance to advance to the NCAA
Division I National Championships come next month,î said SDSU
head coach Jason Liles.
Northern Iowa will serve as the host for the 2007 NCAA West Regional in
the McLeod Center. Fans wishing to attend the NCAA West Regional,
should contact the UNI Ticket Office at 319-273-DOME.
Both general admission and reserved tickets are available. General
admission tickets will cost $5 for adults and $2 for youth. Reserved
seating will consist of the first 10 rows on each side of the mat at
the McLeod Center. Reserved seating cost $6 for adults and $3 for youth.
MEYER HAS STRONG SHOWING:
Redshit freshman Ryan Meyer went 2-0 in competition this past weekend,
collecting wins over conference opponents Wyoming and Air Force at 165
pounds. Meyer opened the weekend upending Wyoming's Kyle Morrow, 5-2,
and then followed by downing the Falcons Anthony Dorward by fall in 2
minutes, 59 seconds. For the season, Meyer is 21-8 and has now won
eight straight matches. He is 4-0 in the Western Wrestling Conference
and 10-2 in dual action.
SENIORS LAST STAND: When SDSU
takes to the mats Sunday against North Dakota State, it will mark the
final home match for five seniors and one junior.
Nate Althoff, Andy Everson, Brad Gregory, Travis Gottschalk, Levi
Krehmeyer and Marcus Waters will all wrestle their final matches in
front of the home crowd Sunday.
Althoff, a Watertown native, has gone 8-3 in duals heading into this
weekend. He has collected 51 wins since SDSU made the move to Division
I in 2004.
Everson has posted a winning record every year he has been at South
Dakota State. The Mitchell native has gone 8-2 overall and 5-1 in dual
action heading into this weekend.
Gregory will leave South Dakota State having wrestled in 79 matches.
The senior has posted an 11-9 record this winter and is on track to
record his first winning season since 2004-05 when he went 10-9 overall.
Gottschalk has moved up two weight classes this dual season and posted
an 8-4 record while doing so. Earlier this season, Gottschalk saw his
streak of wrestling in 107 consecutive matches come to an end against
North Carolina State on Jan. 6.
Krehmeyer has been a constant in the Jackrabbit lineup the past two
years after transfering here from North Idaho Community College. Slowed
by injury this winter, Krehmeyer saw his first action of the dual
season last weekend against Wyoming.
Waters has been a constant team wrestler while attending South Dakota
State. In 2004, he filled in after some key injuries in the lower
weights and immediatly paid dividends by recording a fall in his first
match back. In four years, Waters has wrestled in 67 matches heading
into this weekend.
WESTERN WRESTLING CONFERENCE:
SDSU has had three wrestlers go undefeated in conference action.
Leading the way for the Jacks are Ryan Meyer and Nate Althoff. The
senior Althoff has gone 3-0 against Utah Valley State, Northern
Colorado and Air Force, while Meyer leads the team in WWC matches with
a perfect 4-0 record.
The Jackrabbits will conclude its first year of conference action this
weekend against NDSU and UNI.
ALTHOFF NICE FINISH: After
being injured earlier in the year, Watertown native Nate Althoff has
bounced back to record an 8-3 record in dual competition, including a
6-1 record in his last seven outings. With only two duals left in his
career, Althoff has collected a total of 71 victories as a Jackrabbit
heading into the two home duals.
WINNING MARKS: During the dual
season, the Jackrabbits have had five wrestlers record seven or more
wins heading into this weekend. Overall, 17 different Jackrabbits have
wrestled during the dual season. 13 of the 17 wrestlers have posted
winning records this winter.
MATCH FACTS: SDSU has scored a
total of 396 dual team points this season, plus a total of 1,498 match
points. Redshirt freshman Tyler Sorenson leads the Jacks by collecting
46 dual team points, while junior Jason Stripling is second on the team
with 44. In all, South Dakota State has posted 332 takedowns, 78
three-point near falls, 59 pins and 61 reversals as a team during
2006-07.
BONTE UNDEFEATED ON WEEKEND:
Redshit freshman Dan Bonte went undefeated in competition to begin the
month of February upending Tommy Reamer of Eastern Illinois', 4-3, and
UNC's Richard Lohr, 7-4, to move to 7-2 in dual competition. Bonte, who
is 1-1 in conference action, is 9-4 overall and has posted two
decisions and one fall in his last three matches.
TECHNICAL FALLS GALORE: As a
team, South Dakota State during its seven-match win streak recorded
seven technical falls. Led by Tyler Sorenson's eight this season, SDSU
has upended a total of 10 different opponents by technical fall.
Individually, Sorenson has upended five opponents by tech fall in his
last six matches.