BROOKINGS – Nate Rotert repeated as the 197-pound champion at the Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open to lead the South Dakota State University wrestling team in its season-opening event Sunday at Frost Arena.
A senior from Spearfish, Rotert posted a 3-0 record on the day, which ended with a 6-5 victory over Nebraska’s Eric Schultz in the second tiebreaker of overtime. The ninth-ranked Rotert cruised to the championship with a pair of technical falls in his first two matches.
Two other Jackrabbit wrestlers in the upper weights also reached the title bout in their respective classes, but were defeated. At 174 pounds, David Kocer was upended by Mikey Labriola, who was wrestling unattached. A two-time national qualifier and a senior from Wagner, Kocer won his first three matches by a combined 33-3, earning two victories by major decision and one by decision.
Fellow senior Brady Ayers reached the 184-pound championship match, where he fell in a 17-1 technical fall to Taylor Venz of Nebraska.
Henry Pohlmeyer (141 pounds) and Luke Zilverberg (157) each turned in third-place finishes for the Jackrabbits. Pohlmeyer split his first two matches before storming back to win all four of his bouts in the consolation bracket. He shut out his last two opponents, defeating Eric Clarke of Iowa Central, 8-0, before downing Colin Ayers of Augustana, 7-0, in the third-place match.
Zilverberg dropped a 3-1 overtime decision to eventual champion Tyler Berger of Nebraska in the semifinals before scoring respective 6-3 and 5-1 decisions over Minnesota wrestlers Alex Crowe and Miles Patton to claim third.
Following is a list of other placewinners for the Jackrabbits at the 25th Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open:
125: Connor Brown, fifth; Joshua Portillo, sixth
165: Zach Carlson, fourth; Logan Peterson, fifth; Brett Bye, sixth
285: Kevin Vough, sixth
All-Star Classic
PRINCETON, N.J. - In a matchup between the top-two ranked wrestlers at 133 pounds in preseason polls, South Dakota State’s Seth Gross scored a 7-1 decision over Michigan’s Stevan Micic Sunday afternoon at the 52nd annual NWCA All-Star Classic.
A junior from Apple Valley, Minn., the top-ranked Gross scored an early first-period takedown before giving up an escape to Micic later in the period. Gross then rode out the entire second period, picking up a point for stalling in the process. After recording an escape seconds into the third period, Gross again took down Micic for two points and picked up a final point in the exhibition match for a riding-time advantage that neared five minutes.
Gross became only the second Jackrabbit wrestler to compete in the prestigious preseason event, joining 157-pounder Cody Pack, who competed in the 2015 All-Star Classic in Atlanta.
