COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.--— 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 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.
Individually, Meyer collected his 21st victory of the season and has
now won eight straight matches. He is 4-0 in the Western Wrestling
Conference and 10-2 in dual action. Gottschalk moved to 8-4 at 197
pounds, while Althoff recorded his eighth win of the dual season and
posted his third consecutive victory in the WWC. Everson moved to 5-1
in dual competition and 8-2 on the year.
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.
South Dakota State will take on Northern Iowa and North Dakota State to
close out the regular season next weekend. Start time for the match
against the Panthers is set for 3 p.m. on Feb. 17.The match against the
Bison is set for 2 p.m. on Feb. 18. Both matches are at Frost Arena.
Air Force 25, South Dakota State 21
184: Nate Althoff, SDSU, def. James Ciccone, by fall, 3:19
197: Travis Gottschalk, SDSU, dec. Jordan Tribble, 5-3 (OT)
Hwt: Tony Stegeman, AFA, maj. dec. Jason Stripling, 13-0
125: Zach Valdez, AFA, def. Marcus Waters, by fall, 5:37
133: Stephen Makuka, AFA, win by forfeit
141: Jacob Kriegbaum, AFA, dec. Derek Pirner, 8-4
149: Bridger Lord, AFA, def. Sean Flynn, by fall, 1:33
157: Andy Everson, SDSU, dec. Zach Lord, 9-6
165: Ryan Meyer, SDSU, def. Anthony Dorward, 2:59
174: Chris Moran, SDSU, dec. Stephen Crozier, 12-5