SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - In the first meeting in nearly a decade, South Dakota State narrowly edged Augustana 17-15 in a Sunday afternoon dual at the Sanford Pentagon. The Vikings and Jackrabbits split the 10 bouts, but two major decisions paved the way for an SDSU (1-3) win.
The Vikings and Jackrabbits last met on Feb. 19, 2004 with Augustana winning the dual 30-7 before South Dakota State left the NCC to join the Division I ranks.
Augustana (4-2) was within striking distance after seven bouts and Sean Derry, Jayd Docken, and Michael Lowman won the final three bouts, but SDSU's consecutive major decisions at 157 and 165 pounds gave the Jackrabbits too big of a cushion for the Vikings to overcome.
TJ North opened the Vikings with a 10-4 decision victory over Isaac Andrade. North took the first blow with Andrade earning a first-period takedown, but North escaped and notched a takedown of his own in the first period. Andrade couldn't capitalize on North's decision to take bottom to open the second period and North scored with a reversal. Two third-period takedowns gave North a 10-4 decision and a 3-0 lead for the Vikings.
The Jackrabbits evened the match in an exciting 133-pound bout. Augustana's Blake Jans kept the score at 0-0 through two periods, but Ben Gillette used a seven-point third period to win 8-2 after earning a final point for riding time.
Jacob Anderson's flurry of roll's finally rewarded the redshirt freshman with an escape and a 1-0 lead entering the third period, but Eric Orozco tied the match then scored on a takedown to win 4-1 and give SDSU a 6-3 lead in the team score.
At 149 pounds, Shawn Hatlestad faced a 2-1 deficit after two periods, but the sophomore notched two takedowns in the final two minutes for a 5-3 decision win.
Tied at 6-6, the tide turned in South Dakota State's favor with two major decisions, providing the Jackrabbits with a 14-6 lead entering the final four bouts. Three stalling penalties against Jeff Nielsen and three takedowns by Brady Ayers gave SDSU a decision win at 174 pounds and a 17-6 lead with three bouts remaining.
Ranked seventh in the country at 184 pounds, Derry started the Vikings comeback with an exciting decision win. Tied 1-1 after both wrestlers earned an escape, Derry recorded a two-point takedown with just six seconds remaining in the bout for a 3-1 decision.
Down 17-9, Docken brought the Vikings within five points as he earned a 3-1 decision in his third match of the year. Holding the No. 5 ranking at 197 pounds, Docken earned a one-point advantage over Trey Hable with a third-period escape and both wrestlers were penalized for stalling, but Docken's riding time gave him a 3-1 edge after keeping Hable on bottom for the entire second period.
In the heavyweight bout, Lowman had the opportunity to steal the match with a pin and the redshirt freshman wore his opponent down, but couldn't quite earn his fifth pin of the year as he walked away with a 6-5 decision win, leaving the Vikings just short at 17-15 in the team score.
Augustana now opens Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference competition when they host University of Mary on Thursday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. in the Elmen Center.
Match Scores
125: TJ North won by 10-4 decision over Isaac Andrade, AC 3, SDSU 0
133: Ben Gillette won by 8-2 decision over Blake Jans, SDSU 3, AC 3
141: Eric Orozco won by 4-1 decision over Jacob Anderson, SDSU 6, AC 3
149: Shawn Hatlestad won 5-3 decision over Alex Kocer, SDSU 6, AC 6
157: Cody Pack won by 14-3 major decision over Bradyn Neises, SDSU 10, AC 6
165: Joseph Brewster won by 17-6 major decision over Garret Heiberger, SDSU 14, AC 6
174: Brady Ayers won by 11-4 decision over Jeff Nielsen, SDSU 17, AC 6
184: Sean Derry won by 3-1 decision over Ben Schwery, SDSU 17, AC 9
197: Jayd Docken won by 3-1 decision over Trey Hable, SDSU 17, AC 12
285: Michael Lowman won by 6-5 decision over J.J. Everhard, SDSU 17, AC 15
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