MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – Senior 174-pounder David Kocer won his 100th career match and the South Dakota State University wrestling team set a school record with its 13th consecutive dual victory, defeating West Virginia, 24-9, Sunday afternoon at WVU Coliseum.
The 12th-ranked Jackrabbits improved to 13-2 overall and remained unbeaten in Big 12 Conference duals with a 7-0 mark. West Virginia fell to 5-6 overall and 4-4 against Big 12 opponents.
A Wagner native, Kocer started a streak of four consecutive Jackrabbit victories to close out the match. Leading 11-9 on the team scoreboard, Kocer recorded the last of three major decisions on the afternoon by SDSU as he defeated the Mountaineers’ Parker VonEgidy, 10-2.
Martin Mueller followed with a 12-8 decision over Brenden McRill at 184 pounds, and 11th-ranked 197-pounder Nate Rotert earned a hard-fought, 7-6 decision over previously ranked Jake Smith, to seal the dual win. Rotert broke a 5-all tie with a takedown with about 30 seconds remaining.
At heavyweight, Alex Macki also scored a late takedown against Brandon Ngati for a 5-3 win in the final bout of the day.
Top-ranked 133-pounder Seth Gross put the Jackrabbits on the board with a 7-2 decision over Matthew Schmitt. Gross gave up an early takedown to Schmitt before scoring the final seven points of the match.
Henry Pohlmeyer and Luke Zilverberg each won by major decision to give SDSU an 11-6 lead at intermission.
Pohlmeyer downed Christian Monserrat, 11-3, at 141 pounds, while Zilverberg blanked Hunter Jones, 14-0, in the 157-pound matchup.
West Virginia opened the dual with 15th-ranked Zeke Moisey posting an 8-3 decision over Connor Brown at 125 pounds.
NOTES: SDSU has won all three meetings in the series against West Virginia, which began during the 2015-16 season... The Jackrabbits previously won 12 consecutive duals during the 1985-86 and 2015-16 seasons... SDSU improved to 21-3 in duals against Big 12 Conference opponents since joining the league at the start of the 2015-16 campaign... Kocer became the 14th wrestler in program history to reach 100 career victories and joined Cody Pack (114 wins from 2012-16) as the only wrestlers to accomplish the feat in the Division I era (since 2005)... Zilverberg moved into sole possession of 18th place on the SDSU career victories chart with 93... Rotert notched career win No. 92 to tie Josh Sammons (1994-97) for 19th place in career wins at SDSU... Gross and Mueller each won their 20th matches of the season
UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits close out the dual portion of their schedule Friday (Feb. 16) by hosting North Dakota. The annual Battle for the Border Bell is slated to start at 7 p.m. at Frost Arena.
No. 12 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 24, WEST VIRGINIA 9
125: No. 15 Zeke Moisey (WVU) dec. Connor Brown, 8-3
133: No. 1 Seth Gross (SDSU) dec. Matthew Schmitt, 7-2
141: Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU) major dec. Christian Monserrat, 11-3
149: Kyler Rea (WVU) dec. Isaac Andrade, 6-3
157: No. 14 Luke Zilverberg (SDSU) major dec. Hunter Jones, 14-0
165: Nick Kiussis (WVU) dec. Logan Peterson, 5-4
174: No. 12 David Kocer (SDSU) major dec. Parker VonEgidy, 10-2
184: Martin Mueller (SDSU) dec. Brenden McRill, 12-8
197: No. 11 Nate Rotert (SDSU) dec. Jake Smith, 7-6
285: Alex Macki (SDSU) dec. Brandon Ngati, 5-3
