The South Dakota State Jackrabbits wrestling team is set to host the Jackrabbits Open this Sunday at the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex in Brookings, South Dakota. The event, scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Central Time, will be streamed on YouTube and tracked via TrackWrestling.
This open meet provides an opportunity for the Jackrabbits to rest their regular starters and give valuable competition time to wrestlers who have dealt with injuries during the season. Nineteen athletes from South Dakota State are expected to compete across nine weight classes against participants from various schools nationwide.
The probable lineup includes Carson Dupill and Logan Graf at 125 pounds; Derrick Cardinal, Cale Seaton, and Kenton Cooke at 133; Tyson Peach, Logan Swensen, and Liam Neitzel at 141; Bas Diaz and Zach Ballante at 157; Jacob Herm at 165; Ryan Dolezal at 174; Jared Thiry, Jarrett Wadsen, Shane McConville, Keenan Sheridan, and Burk Blasius at 184; Quin Morgan at 197; and Micah Hach at heavyweight.
In their most recent outing, South Dakota State lost a close dual to No. 19 Northern Iowa (UNI), falling by a score of 13-19 after dropping four of the last five matches. Daniel Guanajuato started strong for the Jacks with a shutout decision over Brandon Paez. Derrick Cardinal returned to action but was defeated by UNI’s Julian Farber. Other highlights included wins from Julian Tagg and Cael Swensen, while key losses came in closely contested bouts in several other weight classes.
The Jackrabbits currently hold the No. 19 spot in the NWCA Division I Coaches Poll with a record of 12-4. In addition to national rankings, SDSU is ranked second in the NWCA Mid-Major Poll behind UNI.
Several individual wrestlers are also ranked nationally in their respective weight classes according to InterMat and FloWrestling rankings. Notable mentions include Bennett Berge (No. 4/5/4), Cael Swensen (No. 21/18/13), Brady Roark (No. 19/20/19), Julian Tagg (No. 19/19/10), Moses Espinoza-Owens (No. 16/18/15), Alek Martin (No. 22/26/25), Marcus Espinoza-Owens (No. 32/27/29), Luke Rasmussen (No. 29/33/25), and Derrick Cardinal (No. 25/23/30).
Freshman Jacob Herm is highlighted as a wrestler to watch this weekend after compiling a solid first-year record of 12-5, with only one loss outside of top-20 opponents in his weight class.
The team has made adjustments due to injuries last season but returns key contributors such as Cael Swensen and Alek Martin after they missed significant time previously. The Jackrabbits set program records last year under head coach Damion Hahn by sending nine wrestlers to the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia.
Hahn recently became South Dakota State’s winningest coach at the Division I level with more than 65 dual victories for the program.
Looking ahead, South Dakota State will face North Dakota State next weekend in Brookings for the Battle for the Border Bell.