For the second consecutive week, the South Dakota State University wrestling team will host a top-10 team in dual action. Friday afternoon, the Jackrabbits will face their first Big 12 Conference opponent of the season by welcoming fourth-ranked Oklahoma State to Frost Arena.
Action begins at 5 p.m. Video streaming of the dual will be available through FloWrestling.org.
The Jackrabbits enter the matchup with a 1-3 record in duals so far this season. All three Jackrabbit losses have been to teams currently ranked in the top 20: No. 6 Virginia Tech, No. 18 Minnesota and 19th-ranked Virginia.
Oklahoma State, meanwhile, is 0-1 in duals following an 18-16 loss at perennial national power Iowa on Nov. 14.
As many as 11 nationally ranked wrestlers could compete in Saturday’s dual, which will mark the second all-time meeting between SDSU and Oklahoma State on the mat. The Cowboys feature a ranked wrestler in eight of 10 weight classes, including the top-ranked wrestlers at 141 (Dean Heil) and 165 pounds (Alex Dieringer), while the Jackrabbits feature three ranked wrestlers in 133-pounder Brance Simms, 157-pounder Cody Pack and 197-pounder Nate Rotert.
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Oklahoma State won the first-ever meeting between the two squads last season, 25-9, in a dual contested in Miami, Okla. Simms, Pack and Rotert all won by decision for the Jackrabbits.
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, who were among six teams to receive votes in the poll but not crack the top 25, will have several opportunities to impress the voting panel throughout the season as they are scheduled to wrestle three more teams currently ranked in the top 25 — Iowa, Oklahoma and West Virginia.
Individually, three Jackrabbits are ranked in three different national polls. Brance Simms at 133 pounds became the latest Jackrabbit to crack the rankings, appearing at No. 16 in WIN Magazine’s rankings after his victory over then-No. 17 Kevin Norstrem of Virginia Tech last Saturday.
Following are current rankings as compiled by Intermat, WIN Magazine and FloWrestling:
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 23-31 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 62-47 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 32 student-athletes from nine different states plus one Canadian province. Of the 32 wrestlers, 10 are from South Dakota, seven are from Minnesota and five are from Iowa. California is represented by three wrestlers, while two hail from Illinois. Kansas, Nebraska, New Jersey and Washington each have one wrestler. In addition, one wrestler hails from the Canadian province of British Columbia.
By class, three are seniors, four are juniors, seven are sophomores, four are redshirt freshmen and 14 are true freshmen.
A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits resume dual action Dec. 4 with a match at second-ranked Iowa. Start time is 7 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.
SDSU will then wrestle three duals as part of the South Dakota Showcase on Sunday, Dec. 6 in Sioux Falls. The Jackrabbits are scheduled to wrestle Dakota Wesleyan at noon, Northern State at 1:30 and Augustana at 3 p.m. All three duals will take place at the Sanford Pentagon.
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