Duals against six teams that finished in the top 25 of the team standings at last season’s national championships highlight South Dakota State’s 2018-19 wrestling schedule, which was announced Wednesday.
“We are excited to be able to offer fans the opportunity to see the team contend against top-notch competition,” first-year head coach Damion Hahn said. “It is a tough schedule that will prepare us for the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments.”
The Jackrabbits, who finished a program-best 12th at the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on the strength of seven national qualifiers and three All-Americans, including defending 133-pound national champion Seth Gross, are slated to open the season Nov. 4 by hosting the Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open. The individual tournament moves to a new venue this year in the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex.
The dual slate begins Nov. 11, when SDSU takes on Arizona State at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls. The Sun Devils are the lone team on the Jackrabbits’ 2018-19 schedule who placed ahead of SDSU at 2018 nationals with a 10th-place finish. ASU also handed the Jackrabbits the second of their two dual losses a year, downing SDSU, 25-13, last November in Tempe, Arizona.
The Jackrabbits carry a school-record 14-dual winning streak into the 2018-19 campaign following a 14-2 mark last season that included an 8-0 record versus Big 12 Conference foes. Since joining the Big 12 Conference for wrestling at the start of the 2015-16 season, the Jackrabbits have compiled a 22-3 league dual record.
The Big 12 portion of the schedule gets underway Nov. 17, when the Jackrabbits host perennial conference champion Oklahoma State. The dual against the Cowboys, who placed 13th at NCAAs last season, will follow SDSU’s Showdown Series football game against the University of South Dakota earlier that day.
SDSU will get a chance to avenge its other dual loss of last season when it travels to Minnesota for dual action Nov. 25. The match also will mark a homecoming for Hahn, who was a four-time All-American and two-time national champion at 197 pounds for the Golden Gophers from 2000-04. Minnesota finished tied with Wyoming for 17th place at the 2018 NCAA Championships.
In all, SDSU has duals scheduled against nine of the other 11 Big 12 wrestling squads. The Jackrabbits also are scheduled to host Northern Iowa (Jan. 11), Utah Valley (Jan. 31) and West Virginia (Feb. 24), while traveling to Oklahoma (Dec. 7), Fresno State (Jan. 20), Iowa State (Feb. 1), Wyoming (Feb. 10) and North Dakota State (Feb. 15).
Completing the 13-dual slate are a Dec. 16 matchup at Oregon State and a Jan. 13 home date with Pittsburgh. Oregon State placed 21st at nationals last season, with Northern Iowa placing 24th.
In addition, SDSU will make a return trip to the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships Dec. 29-30 in Evanston, Illinois.
Postseason competition gets underway with the Big 12 Wrestling Championship March 9-10. The two-day event returns to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the third consecutive year.
The 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships are slated for March 21-23 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Season tickets for Jackrabbit wrestling are currently on sale online at JackrabbitTickets.com, or through the Jackrabbit Ticket Office by calling (605) 688-5422. Cost is $60 each for general admission seats. Contact the Jackrabbit Ticket Office for information regarding reserved seating.
2018-2019 Schedule
11/04/18Warren Williamson/Daktronics OpenBrookings, S.D.11/11/18Arizona StateSioux Falls, S.D.11/17/18Oklahoma StateBrookings, S.D.11/25/18MinnesotaMinneapolis, Minn.12/07/18OklahomaNorman, Okla.12/16/18Oregon StateCorvallis, Ore.12/29-30/2018Ken Kraft Midlands ChampionshipsEvanston, Ill.01/11/19Northern IowaBrookings, S.D.01/13/19PittsburghBrookings, S.D.01/20/19Fresno StateFresno, Calif.01/31/19Utah ValleyBrookings, S.D.02/01/19Iowa StateAmes, Iowa02/10/19WyomingLaramie, Wyo.02/15/19North Dakota StateFargo, N.D.02/24/19West VirginiaBrookings, S.D.3/9-10/2019Big 12 Conference Wrestling ChampionshipTulsa, Okla.3/21-23/2019NCAA Division I Wrestling ChampionshipsPittsburgh, Pa.
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