CLEVELAND – Seth Gross became South Dakota State’s first national champion in any sport in the Division I era, winning the 133-pound title on Saturday night at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Quicken Loans Arena.
A junior from Apple Valley, Minn., the top-seeded Gross came out victorious over second-seeded Stevan Micic of Michigan, 13-8, in his second consecutive national title appearance.
Gross jumped out to a 6-0 lead as he registered a takedown midway through the first period and later turned Micic for a four-point near-fall.
Micic came up with a takedown off a neutral start to the second period, but Gross was able to escape to hold a five-point cushion heading into the final period.
Micic turned up the pressure in the final two minutes, recording a couple more takedowns, but it was too little, too late as Gross secured the 13-8 decision.
Gross ended the season with a 29-1 overall record and upped his career mark to 89-17 in three years at SDSU. He became the first Jackrabbit wrestler to win a national title at any level since Paul Konechne won the last of his two consecutive NCAA Division II championships at 141 pounds in 2001.
The win by Gross upped the Jackrabbits’ team point total to 42, good for 12th place in the team standings.
SDSU led all Big 12 Conference schools in the team race as David Kocer (seventh at 174 pounds) and Luke Zilverberg (eighth at 157 pounds) also earned All-America honors during the three-day tournament.
Penn State edged Ohio State, 141.5-133.5, to win its seventh NCAA team title in eight years. Iowa placed third with 97 points, with Michigan and North Carolina State tying for fourth place with 80 points.
Following are Gross’ comments from his post-match press conference:
Q. History. And you’re in Brookings, South Dakota. What does it mean to have found a home and now to increase your success from a year ago?
GROSS: “Brookings changed my life and for the better. And just been good things ever since I’ve been here. And to be able to bring this national title back home to Brookings is huge. For the team, for the program, for the school, for everything, I’m just happy to do that. Give the glory to God. And, like I said, Brookings changed my life and got me to where I am.”
Q. South Dakota State, how does it feel?
GROSS: “It feels amazing. Best feeling ever right here. And something I’ve been working for my whole life. Again getting it done finally after getting second last year, there’s a chip on my shoulder this year, need to get it done.
“Had a crazy semifinals match, (indiscernible) pull that out, but gotta take a win where you can get it and felt good to go out there, get the early lead there. And here’s to the win. So that’s awesome. Feels amazing.”
Q. Seth, you were in the finals last year. What did you take from that match to make sure that you weren’t going to have that feeling that you had last year?
GROSS: “I prepared the same way, just mental things, not worrying about the match. I hung out with my family all day, acted like it was a normal day. Came over, warmed up, went out there. Didn’t stress out, sit around, thinking about what’s going to happen in the match, going through scenarios.
“Just thought I’m going to go out there and win the match, and just went through a regular day and came here and went to business and got it done.”
Q. Talk about the journey from, I mean, coming out of high school in Minnesota to now. And obviously a lot of steps and roads on the way, talk a little bit about it and how you got there to become a national champ.
GROSS: “It’s been a long road. If you told me four or five years ago that I was going to be a national champ for South Dakota I never would have believed you one bit. So it’s crazy.
“I started off at Iowa after high school and things happened and made some mistakes. But Coach Bono was willing to give me a chance, and can’t thank him or the school enough. As soon as I got there I knew I would do everything in my power to make the best of the second chance, and give the glory to God and that’s what I’m doing.
“I’m not done yet. I’ve got one more year left. So gotta keep living it up and hopefully go for that Hodge Trophy next year and just build off this. There’s no slowing down. I want to be an Olympic champ one day, so just a stepping stone and I’ll keep getting better.”
Kocer 7th, Zilverberg 8th at NCAAs
David Kocer earned seventh place and Luke Zilverberg added an eighth-place finish Saturday as South Dakota State University wrestlers competed in the first session of the medal rounds at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Quicken Loans Arena.
A senior from Wagner, Kocer downed Oklahoma State’s Jacobe Smith, 7-2, in the 174-pound seventh-place matchup. After a scoreless first period, Kocer recorded a takedown with 30 seconds remaining in the second period to take a 2-1 lead.
The 11th-seeded Kocer then put together a strong third period in his final collegiate match, scoring on a reversal, takedown and riding-time advantage for his 108th career victory, tying him with Mike Pankratz (108 victories from 1990-94) for ninth place in program history.
Zilverberg, a senior from Belle Plaine, Minn., met fourth-seeded Josh Shields from Arizona State for the second time in the tournament - and fourth time this season – in the 157-pound seventh-place match.
After Zilverberg carried a quick start to a 9-6 victory in their Round of 16 matchup on Thursday, it was Shields who the aggressor early on Saturday. Shields tallied the first points of the match with a first-period takedown, then upped his lead to 5-1 through two periods with an escape and takedown.
In the third period, Zilverberg closed to within 5-3 on a reversal, but Shields escaped and tacked on two more takedowns en route to an 11-5 victory.
Zilverberg ended his season with a team-high 30 wins against 11 losses and ended his collegiate career with a 99-46 overall record. His 99 wins tied him with teammate Nate Rotert for 15th place in program history.
Following are SDSU’s complete results from the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships:
125: Connor Brown
Fr., Oak Grove, Mo.
(1-2 record)
* lost to No. 14 Luke Welch (Purdue), by dec., 10-5
* dec. Alonzo Allen (Chattanooga), 16-11
* lost to No. 13 Zeke Moisey (West Virginia), by dec., 10-4
Brown eliminated – ends season with 23-16 overall record
133: No. 1 Seth Gross
Jr., Apple Valley, Minn.
(5-0 record)
* major dec. Matthew Schmitt (West Virginia), 15-2
* major dec. No. 16 Mitch McKee (Minnesota), 13-5
* dec. No. 8 Montorie Bridges (Wyoming), 7-3
* def. Tariq Wilson (North Carolina State), by fall 7:18
* dec. No. 2 Stevan Micic (Michigan), 13-8
NATIONAL CHAMPION – 29-1 overall record
141: Henry Pohlmeyer
So., Johnston, Iowa
(1-2 record)
* lost to No. 11 Michael Carr (Illinois), by dec., 8-1
* def. Evan Cheek (Cleveland State), by fall 5:49
* lost to No. 5 Kevin Jack (North Carolina State), by major dec., 8-0
Pohlmeyer eliminated – ends season with 23-11 overall record
157: No. 13 Luke Zilverberg
Sr., Belle Plaine, Minn.
(3-3 record)
* dec. Justin Staudenmayer (Brown), 6-1
* dec. No. 4 Josh Shields (Arizona State), 9-6
* lost to No. 5 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan), by dec., 8-5
* dec. Kennedy Monday (North Carolina), 6-5
* lost to No. 8 Tyler Berger (Nebraska), by dec., 6-0
* lost to No. 4 Josh Shields (Arizona State), by dec., 11-5
EIGHTH PLACE – 30-11 overall record
174: No. 11 David Kocer
Sr., Wagner, S.D.
(5-2 record)
* dec. Kimball Bastian (Utah Valley), 3-1
* lost to No. 6 Bo Jordan (Ohio State), by major dec., 11-3
* dec. Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin), 5-3
* major dec. Josef Johnson (Harvard), 8-0
* dec. No. 8 Jadaen Bernstein (Navy), 5-4 [TB-1]
* lost to No. 4 Jordan Kutler (Lehigh), by major dec., 8-0
* dec. No. 13 Jacobe Smith (Oklahoma State), 7-2
SEVENTH PLACE – 28-8 overall record
184: Martin Mueller
So., Rapid City, S.D.
(0-2 record)
* lost to No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State), by major dec., 16-4
* lost to Kayne MacCallum (Eastern Michigan), by dec., 4-3
Mueller eliminated – ends season with 23-8 overall record
197: No. 8 Nate Rotert
Sr., Spearfish, S.D.
(3-1 record)
* dec. Hunter Ritter (Wisconsin), 6-2
* lost to Kyle Conel (Kent State), by dec., 8-2
* dec. Rocco Caywood (Army), 9-3
* dec. Jake Smith (West Virginia), 4-3
* lost to No. 6 Willie Miklus (Missouri), by dec., 9-5
Rotert eliminated – ends season with 28-5 overall record
TEAM STANDINGS (Top 15 plus Big 12 Conference schools)
1. Penn State (4) 141.5; 2. Ohio State (1) 133.5; 3. Iowa (1) 97; T4. Michigan 80; T4. North Carolina State (1) 80; 6. Missouri 61.5; 7. Cornell (1) 48; 8. Virginia Tech 47.5; 9. Nebraska 47; 10. Arizona State (1) 43; 11. Rutgers 42.5; 12. South Dakota State (1) 42; T13. Illinois 37.5; T13. Oklahoma State 37.5; 15. Lehigh 36.5; T17. Wyoming 27.5; T24. Northern Iowa 20.0; 30. West Virginia 11.5; T38. Northern Colorado 6.5; T43. Utah Valley 4.0; T45. Iowa State 3.0; T45. North Dakota State 3.0; 61. Oklahoma 1.0; T62. Fresno State 0.5. (Number of national champions in parentheses)
David Dermer/AP photos: Above, South Dakota State’s Seth Gross hugs his father after defeating Michigan’s Stevan Micic during the 133-pound championship match of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, Saturday in Cleveland. Below, Gross celebrates after defeating Michigan’s Stevan Micic during the 133 pound championship match of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
