BROOKINGS – Connor Brown opened the dual in a big way, Seth Gross was dominant again and Nate Rotert sealed the deal late as No. 15 South Dakota State upended 11th-ranked Northern Iowa 22-16 in a Big 12 Conference wrestling dual Sunday afternoon at Frost Arena.
“It’s been a rough four days for us with Thursday night (a 20-18 defeat of No. 23 Wyoming) being so emotional. It was a great team win; I’m so happy for these guys,” said SDSU coach Chris Bono, whose team won its ninth consecutive dual to improve to 9-2 (4-0 Big 12). “They deserve it; they’ve worked hard. Even our losses, again, I’m really proud of the way they competed and hustled.
“We’re fired up; we’re ready to get down to Oklahoma next Sunday. Our mind totally shifts and gets ready for them now.
“I can’t say enough for how the match started. … It was huge.”
Brown, a true freshman ranked 29th, had a 3-minute, 23-second roller coaster ride, which resulted in a win by fall over No. 17 Jacob Schwarm at 125 pounds.
Schwarm used a takedown, a four-point nearfall – nearly pinning Brown – and a reversal to build an 8-2 lead; however, Brown countered with a reversal and a nearfall of his own to knot things up at 8-all.
Brown chose the bottom starting position in the second and, following his third reversal of the bout, stuck Schwarm to ignite the Blue and Yellow.
“I was just thinking about coming back in the match; keep fighting; find a way to get back in the match,” said Brown. “Just keep wrestling through all the positions and something good will happen. Our conditioning is probably the best in the country, I believe; we’re doing everything we can to get in better shape. I just felt like that kid would wear out and I could sneak a couple things in there and claw my way back into the match.”
The top-ranked Gross, coming off a 4-2 loss to No. 1 141-pound Bryce Meredith of the Cowboys, dominated Jack Wagner at 133 pounds, pinning him in 1:32.
Bono, in the spirit of Championship Sunday in the NFL, added, “It’s like running the opening kickoff back in football, setting the tone for what’s going to happen. And then your 133-pounder goes out there and intercepts a pass and runs it back and it’s 14-0. For all you football fans out there, that’s about what the start was for us.”
A pair of Panthers ranked seventh in the latest NCAA Division I coaches’ panel countered with wins as Josh Alber beat Henry Pohlmeyer 9-2 at 141 and Max Thomsen picked up a 15-1 major decision over Colten Carlson at 149.
SDSU’s Luke Zilverberg, ranked 11th, also just missed a technical fall with a 15-1 defeat of Logan Ryan in the 157-pound matchup. Logan Peterson followed with a 4-2 win versus Isaiah Patton at 165 to make the dual score 19-7.
At 174, UNI’s Taylor Lujan, ranked seventh, used a first-period takedown and a third-period escape to top No. 9 David Kocer 3-1. No. 9 Drew Foster’s 8-4 decision, which included a takedown and two-point nearfall in the third period, against No. 23 Martin Mueller pulled UNI within 19-13 in the dual score.
The ninth-ranked Rotert took the mat next and recorded a 5-1 victory over No. 13 Jacob Holschlag to seal the deal.
Holschlag was warned for stalling early and Rotert tallied a takedown in the first period. Rotert was awarded a pair of stalling points in the second and, in between, escaped to make it 5-0.
“I mean, it’s not as eventful as a 125-pound Connor Brown match, but I went in there with a game plan, wrestled the guy tough, made him wrestle me,” the senior from Spearfish said. “I know he stays in good position, he’s a tough guy – they have tough guys. My gameplan with the coaches was just to be tougher, make him wrestle me and force some stalling calls to make him wrestle more.
“I’m just happy to come out with a win and have a fun environment with our crowd and our team.”
UNI’s Carter Isley took down Alex Macki in the third period for a 3-1 win in the final bout of the day.
The Panthers fell to 5-3 (2-1).
South Dakota State heads to Norman, Okla., to face the Sooners on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Jackrabbits return home to take on Iowa State on Sunday, Feb. 4, at 1 p.m.
Notes (from SDSU Sports Information): UNI leads the all-time dual series 38-4-1 as SDSU snapped a 21-dual losing streak to the Panthers dating to 1973-74. … SDSU improved to 18-3 in duals against Big 12 opponents since joining the league at the start of the 2015-16 season. … Gross notched his ninth fall of the season, while Brown won by pin for the second time this season. … Both Zilverberg and Rotert recorded their 89th career victories to remain in a tie for 19th place on the SDSU all-time charts. … The Jackrabbits improved to 3-2 in duals against ranked opponents during the 2017-18 campaign. … Attendance was 1,277.
No. 15 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 22, No. 11 NORTHERN IOWA 16
125 pounds – No. 29 Connor Brown, SDSU, wbf over No. 17 Jacob Schwarm, 3:23 [6-0]
133 – No. 1 Seth Gross, SDSU, wbf over Jack Wagner, 1:32 [12-0]
141 – No. 7 Josh Alber, UNI, dec. Henry Pohlmeyer, 9-2 [12-3]
149 – No. 7 Max Thomsen, UNI, maj. dec. Colten Carlson, 15-1 [12-7]
157 – No. T11 Luke Zilverberg, SDSU, maj. dec. Logan Ryan, 15-1 [16-7]
165 – Logan Peterson, SDSU, dec. Isaiah Patton, 4-2 [19-7]
174 – No. 7 Taylor Lujan, UNI, dec. No. 9 David Kocer, 3-1 [19-10]
184 – No. 9 Drew Foster, UNI, dec. No. 23 Martin Mueller, 8-4 [19-13]
197 – No. 9 Nate Rotert, SDSU, dec. No. 13 Jacob Holschlag, 5-1 [22-13]
285 – Carter Isley, UNI, dec. Alex Macki, 3-1 [22-16]
Note: Individual rankings are from the NCAA Division I coaches’ panel.
