TULSA, Okla. – Three South Dakota State wrestlers earned automatic berths to nationals later this month during competition Sunday on the final day of the Big 12 Conference Wrestling Championship at BOK Center.

The first Jackrabbit to punch his ticket to St. Louis was senior 125-pounder Danny Vega, who placed fourth. An NCAA alternate a year ago, Vega recorded a 12-3 major decision over Iowa State’s Kysen Terukina to open the day. In the third-place match, Vega dropped a 9-6 decision to West Virginia’s Killian Cardinale in a rematch from their quarterfinal matchup on Saturday in which Vega came away with a pin.

Earning his first trip to nationals out of the 133-pound weight class was Jackrabbit sophomore Zach Price with a fifth-place finish. The Johnston, Iowa, native lost an 8-4 decision to Zach Redding of Iowa State in his first match on Sunday, but came back to clinch his NCAA berth with an 8-1 decision over Fresno State’s Haiden Drury.

Making it 3-for-3 in the lower weights for the Jackrabbits was 141-pounder Clay Carlson, who added a fourth-place finish to also earn his first nationals berth. A sophomore from Willmar, Minnesota, Carlson edged Chase Zollman, 2-1, in his first match Sunday, but dropped a 6-4 decision to D.J. Lloren of Fresno State in the third-place match.

Also placing fourth was 157-pounder Cade DeVos, who will await word on a possible at-large selection to nationals as only the top three spots were allocated automatic bids in his weight class. A redshirt freshman from Altoona, Iowa, DeVos turned in an 11-5 decision over Alex Hornfeck of West Virginia to begin the day, then dropped a hard-fought, 3-1 overtime decision to second-seeded Justin Thomas of Oklahoma.

Top-seeded Tanner Sloan also will have his nationals fate left in the hands of the NCAA Committee after he was pinned by Marcus Coleman of Iowa State to open the day. Sloan later withdrew from the tournament due to injury, finishing sixth.

Also wrestling in placing matches on Sunday were sophomore 174-pounder Cade King and redshirt freshman 184-pounder Jacob Schoon. A Brookings native, Schoon came away with seventh place after pinning West Virginia’s Anthony Carman.

King dropped a 6-4 overtime decision to Austin Brenner of North Dakota State to place eighth.

UP NEXT

At-large selections to the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will be announced Tuesday afternoon.

Saturday

TULSA, Okla. – Four South Dakota State wrestlers reached the semifinals at the Big 12 Wrestling Championship Saturday, but all fell short in their bids to reach the finals during competition in the evening session at BOK Center.

In all, five Jackrabbit wrestlers remain in contention for top-five placings and potential berths in the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships later this month.

Sophomore Clay Carlson came the closest in his bid to reach the finals, dropping a 3-2 decision to second-seeded Dom Demas in their semifinal match. Carlson, seeded third at 141 pounds, opened with an 8-4 decision over Kaden Gfeller of Oklahoma State and then hung on for a 5-3 decision over sixth-seeded Chris Sandoval of Northern Colorado in the quarterfinals during the opening session of the day.

At 133 pounds, third-seeded Zach Price bounced back from an opening-round upset at the hands of Oklahoma’s Tony Madrigal, 4-3, to stay alive with two wins in Saturday night’s wrestlebacks. First, Price won an 8-5 decision over Jared Van Vleet of Air Force to avenge a loss earlier this season, then the sophomore from Johnston, Iowa, earned a 5-3 overtime decision over Utah Valley’s Ty Smith.

Also falling victim to an upset was top-seeded 197-pounder Tanner Sloan. After notching a 17-0 second-period technical fall over Air Force’s Kayne Hutchison in his first match, Sloan couldn’t get on track against fourth-seeded A.J. Ferrari of Oklahoma State in the semifinals. Ferrari came up with a pair of reversals en route to a 7-1 victory over Sloan, who suffered his first loss of the season after 14 wins in a row.

Senior 125-pounder Danny Vega also saw a long winning streak end in the semifinals, but not before his streak reached 13 matches with a pin of West Virginia’s Killian Cardinale in the quarterfinals. Vega, seeded fifth, dropped an 8-6 decision to top-seeded Brody Teske of Northern Iowa in the semifinals.

Rounding out the Jackrabbits’ semifinalists was redshirt freshman Cade DeVos at 157 pounds. Like Sloan and Vega, the fourth-seeded DeVos received a first-round bye and later won his quarterfinal match with a 9-4 decision over fifth-seeded Jacob Wright of Wyoming. He dropped an 8-2 decision to top-seeded David Carr of Iowa State in the semifinals.

Sophomore 174-pounder Cade King was the only other Jackrabbit to win a contested match on Saturday, posting a 20-3 technical fall over Fresno State’s Zack Gonzalez in the wrestlebacks. He began the day with a 3-1 loss to second-seeded Hayden Hastings and was eliminated by Dustin Plott of Oklahoma State, 8-1, later in the wrestlebacks.

125: #5 Danny Vega, Sr.,

Tucson, Arizona - Fourth Place (2-2 record)

* received first-round bye

* def. #4 Killian Cardinale, West Virginia, by fall 5:25

* lost to #1 Brody Teske, Northern Iowa, by dec., 8-6

* def. #7 Kysen Terukina, Iowa State, by major dec., 12-3

* lost to #4 Killian Cardinale, West Virginia, by dec., 9-6

133: #3 Zach Price, So.,

Johnston, Iowa - Fifth Place (3-2 record)

* lost to Tony Madrigal, Oklahoma, by dec., 4-3

* def. #4 Jared Van Vleet, Air Force, by dec., 8-5

* def. #8 Ty Smith, Utah Valley, by dec., 5-3 [SV-1]

* lost to #7 Zach Redding, Iowa State, by dec., 8-4

* def. Haiden Drury, Fresno State, by dec., 8-1

141: #3 Clay Carlson, So.,

Willmar, Minn. - Fifth Place (3-2 record)

* def. Kaden Gfeller, Oklahoma State, by dec., 8-4

* def. #6 Chris Sandoval, Northern Colorado, by dec., 5-3

* lost to #2 Dom Demas, Oklahoma, by dec., 3-2

* def. #8 Chase Zollman, Wyoming, by dec., 2-1

* lost to #4 D.J. Lloren, Fresno State, by dec., 6-4

149: Hunter Marko, Sr.,

Amery, Wis. (0-2 record)

* lost to #1 Boo Lewallen, Oklahoma State, by major dec., 13-5

* lost to #7 Cameron Hunsaker, Utah Valley, by dec., 3-2

157: #4 Cade DeVos, Fr.,

Altoona, Iowa - Fourth Place (2-2 record)

* received first-round bye

* def. #5 Jacob Wright, Wyoming, by dec., 9-4

* lost to #1 David Carr, Iowa State, by dec., 8-2

* def. Alex Hornfeck, West Virginia, by dec., 11-5

* lost to #2 Justin Thomas, Oklahoma, by dec., 3-1 [SV-1]

165: #8 Colten Carlson, Sr.,

Willmar, Minn. (0-2 record)

* received first-round bye

* lost to #1 Travis Wittlake, Oklahoma State, by major dec., 12-4

* lost to Koy Wilkinson, Utah Valley, by dec., 7-3

174: #7 Cade King, So.,

Waseca, Minn. - Eighth Place (1-3 record)

* received first-round bye

* lost to #2 Hayden Hastings, Wyoming, by dec., 3-1

* def. Zack Gonzalez, Fresno State, by tech. fall, 20-3 [7:00]

* lost to #3 Dustin Plott, Oklahoma State, by dec., 8-1

* lost to Austin Brenner, North Dakota State, by dec., 6-4 [SV-1]

184: Jacob Schoon, R-Fr.,

Brookings, S.D. - Seventh Place (0-2 record)

* lost to #2 Tate Samuelson, Wyoming, by major dec., 10-2

* advanced by medical forfeit over #8 Hunter Cruz, Fresno State

* lost to #5 Sam Colbray, Iowa, State, by major dec., 14-5

* def. #6 Anthony Carman, West Virginia, by fall 3:31

197: #1 Tanner Sloan, So.,

Alburnett, Iowa - Sixth Place (1-2 record)

* received first-round bye

* def. #8 Kayne Hutchison, Air Force, by tech. fall, 17-0 [3:30]

* lost to #4 A.J. Ferrari, Oklahoma State, by dec., 7-1

* lost to #6 Marcus Coleman, Iowa State, by fall 3:25

Note: Sloan later withdrew from tournament due to injury

285: #8 Blake Wolters, Sr.,

Pipestone, Minn. (0-2 record)

* received first-round bye

* lost to #1 Gannon Gremmel, Iowa State, by dec., 6-2

* lost to Michael Wolfgram, West Virginia, by dec., 8-3