Fresh off its highest-ever finish at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, the South Dakota State University wrestling team resumes dual action Friday night by hosting Oregon State.
Action is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Frost Arena. The dual can be viewed through the FloWrestling.org subscription service. The first 500 fans attending Friday’s dual will receive a 2018 SDSU wrestling calendar.
The Jackrabbits, ranked 15th in the USA Today/National Wrestling Coaches’ Association poll for the second week in a row, enter their first competition of the new calendar year with a 4-2 record in duals. SDSU has won four duals in a row, the last of which was a 23-16 home victory over then-No. 18 Central Michigan on Dec. 8.
Oregon State is 2-1 in duals so far this season. The Beavers were blanked, 48-0, at ninth-ranked Michigan in their last dual action, on Dec. 10.
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Both squads competed at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships last weekend in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. SDSU finished fifth in the team standings with 99 points, while Oregon State placed 12th with 47 points. Junior 125-pounder Ronnie Bresser was the top individual finisher for the Beavers, notching a runner-up finish.
Live Stats on TrackWrestling.com | Match Notes: South Dakota State | Oregon State
THE SERIES: Friday’s match will mark the third time South Dakota State and Oregon State have wrestled each other in dual competition. The Beavers won both previous duals, starting with a 45-3 decision at the 2011 NWCA Cliff Keen National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Oregon State later claimed a 35-6 victory at Frost Arena on Jan. 25, 2015.
RABBITS RANKED: South Dakota State is well represented both individually and as a team in rankings conducted by a number of wrestling-related media outlets.
The Jackrabbits opened the 2017-18 season with a No. 16 ranking in the first USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll, and have since moved up one spot to 15th — their highest-ever ranking at the D-I level — a spot they have held the last two weeks.
Defending national champion Penn State is the top-ranked team in the poll, followed by Ohio State. Reigning Big 12 Conference champion Oklahoma State is third.
Besides Oklahoma State and the Jackrabbits, the Big 12 is represented in the poll by newcomer Northern Iowa (11th), Oklahoma (18th) and North Dakota State (25th).
Other current top-25 opponents on the Jackrabbits’ dual schedule this season include Arizona State (10th), Minnesota (14th) and Central Michigan (21st).
The Jackrabbits also are ranked 11th by FloWrestling and 13th by TrackWrestling. SDSU stands 11th in tournament rankings conducted by both Intermat and WIN Magazine, as well as 15th in the dual rankings from both outlets.
Individually, all four of the Jackrabbits’ returning national qualifiers appear in at least one Division I poll, highlighted by Seth Gross’ No. 1 ranking by all four rating services, although TrackWrestling is the only rating service to release updated rankings since the start of the new calendar year.
A junior from Apple Valley, Minnesota, Gross is undefeated so far this season with a 12-0 record.
Three-time NCAA qualifier Nate Rotert at 197 pounds is ranked sixth by both Intermat and FloWrestling, as well as eighth by WIN Magazine and 13th by TrackWrestling, Senior 174-pounder David Kocer is ranked as high as ninth by FloWrestling, followed by an 11th-place showing by Intermat and respective 12th- and 15th-place showings in the Track Wrestling and WIN Magazine rankings. A Wagner native, Kocer is a two-time NCAA qualifier.
Completing the Jackrabbit rankings is Luke Zilverberg, who has dropped down to the 157-pound weight class for his senior season. An NCAA qualifer at 165 pounds during the 2016-17 season, the Belle Plaine, Minnesota, native checks in at No. 9 in the WIN Magazine rankings, followed by a pair of No. 11 showings in the latest FloWrestling and Intermat rankings. He also stands 11th in the most recent TrackWrestling survey.
DUAL STREAK: Seth Gross brings a streak of 25 consecutive victories in dual competition into the new year. After winning his final five dual bouts at 141 pounds during the 2015-16 season, Gross posted a perfect 17-0 record in duals last season while wrestling at 133 pounds. He stayed unbeaten at 133 pounds this season and extended his winning streak to 25 with a 16-2 major decision over Central Michigan’s Dresden Simon in his most recent action Dec. 8.
Of his 25 consecutive dual wins, 11 have been by fall, six by major decision, and four each by decision and technical fall to total 122 team dual points.
Gross’ last dual loss was a 6-4 setback to Wyoming’s Bryce Meredith on Jan. 29, 2016. Overall, he holds a 31-6 record in duals during his Jackrabbit career.
A LOOK AHEAD: SDSU begins Big 12 Conference dual action with a trip to the Mountain West next weekend. The Jackrabbits are scheduled to wrestle Jan. 12 at Utah Valley, followed by a Jan. 14 matinee at Air Force.
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