Photo: Seth Gross at the 2017 NCAA Championships.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – No. 15 South Dakota State shut down Big 12 foe Air Force with a dominant 32-6 win on Sunday afternoon at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.
SDSU (7-2 overall, 2-0 Big 12) won eight of the 10 matches and earned bonus points in four of them.
“We did a good job,” SDSU head coach Chris Bono said. “We’re coming off a long weekend and won a couple of duals. I’m happy that they can come on the road and win a few matches, but we got a long way to go. We’re ready to get back home and get ready for a tough week ahead of us.”
2017 NCAA finalist and top-ranked Seth Gross of SDSU spent less than a minute on the mat at 133 pounds, putting Isaac Jimenez to his back for a fall in 52 seconds.
Right behind him with another fall for the Jackrabbits was Henry Pohlmeyer, who led Air Force Academy’s Garrett O’Shea for most of the bout before sticking him at the 6:11 mark at 141 pounds.
The Falcons were first on the board at 149 pounds, when Dane Robbins completely controlled the match against Colten Carlson for an 8-2 win. Robbins tallied three takedowns en route to the win.
In the only ranked matchup of the afternoon, No. 10 Luke Zilverberg of SDSU tallied more bonus points for the Jackrabbits, earning a 10-1 major decision over U23 Greco World Team member and 20th-ranked Alex Mossing at 157.
No. 9 David Kocer kept the bonus points rolling, shutting out Air Force’s Michael Billingsley with a 12-0 major decision, which included three takedowns and a two-point nearfall.
Picking up decisions for South Dakota State were Connor Brown at 125, Martin Mueller at 184 pounds, No. 11 Nate Rotert at 197 pounds and Alex Macki at heavyweight.
Air Force recorded one other win, coming from Alex Lopouchanski at 165, who edged out Logan Peterson, despite a furious comeback from the Jackrabbit in the third period.
The Jackrabbits will be back in action on Jan. 18 when they host No. 23 Wyoming in Brookings, S.D., while the Falcons will invite Cal Poly to the Air Force Academy on Jan. 21.
NO. 15 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 32, AIR FORCE ACADEMY 6
at Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.
125: Connor Brown (SDSU) dec. Tony DeCesare (AFA), 13-9
133: No. 1 Seth Gross (SDSU) fall Isaac Jimenez (AFA), 0:52
141: Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU) fall Garrett O’Shea (AFA), 6:11
149: Dane Robbins (AFA) dec. Colten Carlson (SDSU), 8-2
157: No. 10 Luke Zilverberg (SDSU) MD No. 20 Alex Mossing (AFA), 10-1
165: Alex Lopouchanski (AFA) dec. Logan Peterson (SDSU), 7-6
174: No. 9 David Kocer (SDSU) MD Michael Billigsley (AFA), 12-0
184: Martin Mueller (SDSU) dec. Zen Ikehara (AFA), 3-2
197: No. 11 Nate Rotert (SDSU) dec. Anthony McLaughlin (AFA) 2-1
285: Alex Macki (SDSU) dec. Matt Wagner (AFA), 8-5