HAMPTON, Va. — South Dakota State wrestlers scored early and often, putting together a pair of dominating performances Friday afternoon at the Virginia Duals held at the Hampton Coliseum.
In improving to 6-2 in duals this season, the 11th-ranked Jackrabbits opened the day with a 50-0 whitewashing of Kent State, followed by a 30-13 victory over No. 16 Navy. SDSU combined for 14 bonus-point victories in the two duals.
No. 11 South Dakota State 50, Kent State 0
The Jackrabbits tallied five wins by technical fall and three more via pin to post their most points and largest margin of victory ever against a Division I opponent.
Tanner Jordan and Derrick Cardinal set the early tone for SDSU with back-to-back technical falls to open the dual. Jordan, ranked 17th at 125 pounds, blanked Adan Benavidez, 17-0, while the 15th-ranked Cardinal posted a 24-8 victory over Pablo Castro.
After Clay Carlson recorded the lone by decision for the Jackrabbits in the 141-pound matchup, Alek Martin claimed a 16-4 major decision over Matt Ryan at 149 pounds and Cael Swensen closed the first half of the dual with a 17-2 technical fall against Keegan Knapp.
Tanner Cook, ranked 26th at 165 pounds, started the second half of the dual with the first of three pins by SDSU wrestlers, needing only 44 seconds to stick Aaron Ferguson’s shoulders to the mat.
Fourth-ranked Cade DeVos (174 pounds) and No. 13 Bennett Berge (184) each won by technical fall, while 197-pound backup Thomas Dineen and heavyweight Luke Rasmussen both won by fall.
No. 11 South Dakota State 30, No. 16 Navy 13
In the second dual of the day, SDSU again built a big early advantage and cruised past Navy.
Jordan and Cardinal continued their 1-2 punch in the lower weights with Jordan winning by fall in the second period against Hayden Benter and Cardinal turning in a 14-1 major decision against Garrett Totten.
The Jackrabbits suffered their first loss of the day when 12th-ranked Josh Koderhandt tallied a 3-1 decision over 22nd-ranked Clay Carlson in a 141-pound matchup that did not feature a takedown. The two wrestlers traded escapes in the second and third periods before Carlson was penalized twice for stalling in the final 20 seconds to give Koderhandt the upper hand.
The Midshipmen and SDSU would split the other four matches between ranked wrestlers. Navy’s Andrew Cerniglia, ranked 21st, claimed a 10-2 major decision over Cook at 165 pounds and No. Grady Greiss pinned the Jackrabbits’ Rasmussen in the heavyweight matchup to wrap up the dual.
SDSU’s wins in ranked matchups were turned in DeVos at 174 pounds and erge in the 184-pound division. DeVos shut out 26th-ranked Daniel Wask, 5-0, while Berge came up with a takedown with 20 seconds remaining to outlast 33rd-ranked David Key, 9-6.
Adding bonus-point victories for the Jackrabbits were Martin (major decision at 149 pounds), Swensen (technical fall at 157 pounds) and fifth-ranked Tanner Sloan (technical fall at 197 pounds).
UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits open the Big 12 Conference portion of their dual season by hosting Northern Colorado on Jan. 19. Start time is set for 7 p.m. at Frost Arena.
NOTES
- SDSU improved to 3-1 all-time against Kent State and 2-1 versus Navy
- The Jackrabbits shut out an opponent for the first time since defeating California Baptist, 44-0, on Jan. 7, 2022
- SDSU’s winning streak at the Virginia Duals reached 11 over the team’s last four appearances
- Sloan improved to 96-21 in his career, including a 54-4 mark in duals
- The victory over Kent State marked SDSU head coach Damion Hahn‘s 50th dual victory in six seasons with the Jackrabbits (51-32 overall)
- Cardinal leads the Jackrabbits with 16 victories (16-3 overall) and is a team-best 7-0 in duals
- Jordan improved to 15-4 on the season
#11 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 50, KENT STATE 0
125: #17Tanner Jordan (SDSU) tech. fall Adan Benavidez (KSU), 17-0
133: #15 Derrick Cardinal (SDSU) tech. fall Pablo Castro (KSU), 24-8
141: #22 Clay Carlson (SDSU) dec. Billy Meiszner (KSU), 5-2
149: #20 Alek Martin (SDSU) major dec. Matt Ryan (KSU), 16-4
157: #17 Cael Swensen (SDSU) tech. fall Keegan Knapp (KSU), 17-2
165: #26 Tanner Cook (SDSU) def. Aaron Ferguson (KSU), by fall 0:44
174: #4 Cade DeVos (SDSU) tech. fall A.J. Burkhart (KSU), 19-4
184: #13 Bennett Berge (SDSU) tech. fall Kyle Snider (KSU), 17-2
197: Thomas Dineen (SDSU) def. Blake Schaffer (KSU), by fall 6:12
285: #32 Luke Rasmussen (SDSU) def. Josh Boggan (KSU), by fall 2:27
#11 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 30, #16 NAVY 13
125: #17 Tanner Jordan (SDSU) def. Hayden Benter (NAVY), by fall 4:06
133: #15 Derrick Cardinal (SDSU) major dec. Garrett Totten (NAVY), 14-1
141: #12 Josh Koderhandt (NAVY) dec. #22 Clay Carlson (SDSU), 3-1
149: #20 Alek Martin (SDSU) major dec. Nicholas Vafiadis (NAVY), 8-0
157: #17 Cael Swensen (SDSU) tech. fall Charlie Evans (NAVY), 20-4
165: #21 Andrew Cerniglia (NAVY) major dec. #26 Tanner Cook (SDSU), 10-2
174: #4 Cade DeVos (SDSU) dec. #26 Danny Wask (NAVY), 5-0
184: #13 Bennett Berge (SDSU) dec. #33 David Key (SDSU), 9-6
197: #5 Tanner Sloan (SDSU) tech. fall Cael Crebs (NAVY), 18-0
285: #16 Grady Griess (NAVY) def. #32 Luke Rasmussen, by fall 6:08
Note: Highest ranking used between InterMat and FloWrestling