Sarah Passick

Six South Dakota State University wrestlers placed at the North Central Conference Division II Championships held in Sioux Falls Sunday, Feb. 24.

The Jacks included two individual champions Jeremy Roe and Tyler Jones. SDSU’s Aaron Veskrna and Todd Paszek made it to the championship round but finished in second place. Other finishers were Jon Madsen at third place and Tyler Bryant at fourth place.

SDSU placed fourth in the seven-team field with 58.5 points. North Dakota State repeated as NCC champion with 73.5 points.

The NCAA Division II National Championships will be held March 8 to 9 in Kenosha, Wis. The University of Wisconsin-Parkside is the host institution.

The wrestlers have one more week of practice to work on their tactics and skills before leaving for the NCAA Division II National Championships.

“We will be working to improve our performance,” Head Coach Jason Liles said. “We want to have the best showing of the year.”

SDSU has finished higher at nationals than at the NCC Championships five out of the past eight years, he said.

Freshman Roe claimed the 141-pound title. He downed Northern Colorado’s Ronnie Stafford 7-5 in the championship match.

Jones remained undefeated on the season as he claimed the 184-pound championship. Jones claimed his 2-0 win over Nebraska-Omaha’s Zach Stalder in the championship match. Jones will be making his third appearance at nationals after sitting out last season.

Second-ranked Aaron Veskrna at 157 pounds, lost in a conference title match for the second time. North Dakota State’s Paul Carlson dropping an 8-3 decision to claim the championship title. This was Veskrna’s second loss of the season. He carries a 29-2 record into his third consecutive national meet.

Paszek earned his second trip to nationals with his second straight runner-up finish. Nebraska-Omaha’s Chad Wallace won the Championship title in a 3-2 decision against Paszek.

Madsen won a 6-2 decision over Northern Colorado’s Tom Clemen in the wrestlebacks, then won 3-1 in overtime over St. Cloud State’s Dustin Darveaux in the third-place match.

North Dakota State’s Michael Fiedler earned a 3-2 victory over Bryant for a third-place finish.