The South Dakota State University wrestling team returns to its home mat Sunday afternoon, hosting North Dakota State in the first of two duals against the rival Bison this season.
Action is slated for a 4:30 p.m. start at Frost Arena, following the Jackrabbit men’s basketball team’s contest against UC Santa Barbara. The match will be televised regionally on Midco Sports Network, with additional video streaming available via subscription at FloWrestling.org.
Sunday’s dual will be a non-conference matchup during which the Border Bell — a traveling trophy between the traditional rivals — will be up for grabs.
The Jackrabbits enter the weekend with a 4-5 overall dual record. SDSU wrestled four times last weekend, dropping a 28-15 decision at second-ranked Iowa on Dec. 4 before scoring three decisive victories two days later over in-state teams at the South Dakota Showcase in Sioux Falls. All five Jackrabbit dual losses have been to teams currently ranked in the top 25.
North Dakota State, meanwhile, has wrestled only two duals so far this season, posting an 0-2 mark. Both of NDSU’s first two dual opponents — Virginia and Virginia Tech — also notched wins over the Jackrabbits in November.
SDSU and NDSU are scheduled to wrestle a Big 12 Conference dual on Feb. 21 in Fargo.
THE SERIES: Sunday’s matchup will mark the 61st meeting in wrestling between SDSU and North Dakota State. The Bison lead the all-time series, 42-17-1, and have won each of the last seven meetings. NDSU posted wins of 23-14 (Dec. 14, 2014, in Fargo) and 19-13 (Feb. 22, 2015, at Frost Arena) over the Jackrabbits last season.
The Jackrabbits’ last victory in the season was a 23-22 win in Fargo during the 2009-10 season.
RANKINGS UPDATE: Four South Dakota State University wrestlers are ranked in the top 20 of their respective weight classes this week by a variety of publications and ranking services.
Luke Zilverberg became the latest Jackrabbit to crack the rankings, appearing at No. 20 in the 165-pound ratings conducted by Amateur Wrestling News.
Following are SDSU’s other individual rankings:
- Cody Pack (157) — 6th by WIN Magazine and Amateur Wrestling News, 6th by Intermat and 7th by FloWrestling;
- Nate Rotert (197) — 10th by FloWrestling, 12th by Amateur Wrestling News, 13th by WIN Magazine and 14th by Intermat;
- Brance Simms (133) — 16th by WIN Magazine
As a team, the Jackrabbits are currently ranked 27th in the Tournament Power Index rankings compiled by WIN Magazine. SDSU was ranked 31st in the preseason TPI.
NATIONAL MENTION: The South Dakota State University wrestling team reached a milestone in its Division I pursuits as the Jackrabbits received mention in the USA Today/ NWCA Division I Coaches Poll for the first time on Nov. 17.
The Jackrabbits were among six teams to receive votes in the poll but not crack the top 25.
PACK NEARS 100-WIN MARK: Three-time NCAA qualifier Cody Pack is on pace to become the first Jackrabbit wrestler to reach the 100-win mark for his career in the Division I era.
A senior from Quincy, California, Pack has compiled a 96-32 overall record, including an 11-1 mark so far during the 2015-16 campaign. Pack was granted an eligibility extension by the NCAA last spring after his first two seasons were cut short due to injury.
Pack’s 96 wins are tied with Tyler Bryant (96-32 record from 200-03) for 13th place on the SDSU career charts. His 37 wins last season tied for eighth-most in a single-season in program history.
The last Jackrabbit wrestler to reach the 100-win milestone was Tyler Jones, a four-time NCAA Division II All-American who compiled a 102-17 career record from 1999-2003.
Following are Pack’s year-by-year records:
- 2011-12: 5-1 (missed most of season due to injury)
- 2012-13: 15-16 (NCAA qualifier)
- 2013-14: 28-8 (NCAA qualifier)
- 2014-15: 37-6 (NCAA qualifier)
- 2015-16: 11-1
Career Totals: 96-32 (includes 45-12 dual record)
BIG 12 TICKETS: Tickets for the 2016 Big 12 Wrestling Championship are now on sale. This season’s championship, which will take place March 5-6 at Sprint Center in Kansas City, marks the first neutral-site conference championship for the sport.
Tickets can be purchased at Big12Sports.com/buytickets, SprintCenter.com; charged by phone at 888-929-7849 and Price Chopper Box Office at Sprint Center.
Tickets start at $40, with premium seating priced at $60 and VIP seats available for $100. The two-day event will feature four sessions of action, two on Saturday and two on Sunday. Each ticket purchased gains access to all four sessions. Special group rates are available for groups of 10 or more. For information on group tickets, call 816-949-7175, or email [email protected].
One hundred student-athletes will compete across 10 weight classes for a chance to be a Big 12 Champion and for automatic berths into the NCAA National Championship tournament. Big 12 programs have a rich history of wrestling success garnering 49 NCAA team titles and crowning 277 individual national champions.
South Dakota State will be competing at the Big 12 Wrestling Championship for the first time. SDSU was accepted as an affiliate member in July.
COACH BONO: Chris Bono has engineered a successful rebuilding process during his tenure as head coach of the South Dakota State University wrestling program.
Now in his fourth season, Bono has helped mentor Jackrabbit wrestlers to qualify for the NCAA Championships seven times and has posted a 26-33 dual record.
During the 2014-15 season, the Jackrabbits posted their first winning dual record in nine seasons and three SDSU wrestlers — Cody Pack, Nate Rotert and J.J. Everard — qualified for the NCAA Championships. Pack reached the national tournament for the third consecutive year at 157 pounds and was one win away from achieving All-America status.
SDSU also had three national qualifiers during the 2013-14 season as Pack, Joe Brewster and Alex Kocer all qualified out of the NCAA West Regional/Western Wrestling Conference Championships.
While leading the Jackrabbits, Bono was also tabbed as coach for the U.S. Men’s Freestyle team at the 2013 Pan American Championships. In the world event, Coach Bono led Team USA to a 13-point victory.
Overall, Bono has a 65-50 dual record in six-plus seasons as a collegiate head coach. He previously served three seasons at Chattanooga (Tenn.), where he led the Mocs to three Southern Conference titles and coached two All-Americans and 19 NCAA qualifiers from 2006-09.
Bono also served nine seasons as an assistant coach at Iowa State after a standout career for the Cyclones. He lettered from 1994-97, finishing his career with 130 victories. A four-time NCAA qualifier, Bono won a national championship at 150 pounds as a junior, adding a runner-up finish as a senior and fifth-place showing as a sophomore.
THE ROSTER: The 2015-16 SDSU wrestling roster features 33 student-athletes from nine different states plus one Canadian province. Of the 33 wrestlers, 10 are from South Dakota, seven are from Minnesota and five are from Iowa. California and Illinois are represented by three wrestlers, while two hail from Kansas. Nebraska, New Jersey and Washington each have one wrestler. In addition, one wrestler hails from the Canadian province of British Columbia.
By class, four are seniors, four are juniors, seven are sophomores, four are redshirt freshmen and 14 are true freshmen.
A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits will be off from competition for two weeks, returning to action Dec. 29-30 at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships in Evanston, Illinois.
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