South Dakota State wrestling concluded their regular season with a loss to rival North Dakota State University, 20-13, on Sunday, Feb. 22.
NDSU
Both teams traded blows for the majority of the match. The Bison started strong as Ezekiel Witt defeated Brady Roark in the 125-pound dual. Cale Seaton and Julian Tagg scored victories for the Jacks, giving them a 6-4 lead heading into the dual between SDSU’s Colin Dupill and NDSU’s Max Petersen. A 16-7 major decision in that dual, followed by a 6-3 decision in the next dual, gave the Bison the lead again.
Following SDSU victories by Marcus and Moses Espinoza-Owens, NDSU took control of the match in the last three duals, including No. 24 Devin Wasley beating No. 4 Bennett Berge, to give the Bison their first win over SDSU in five years.
“Yeah, that [loss] hurts,” head coach Damion Hahn said. “For us, and we’ve said this from day one, our end goal is not the Bison…would it have been nice to pick up that win? Absolutely… NDSU hats off to them. They wrestled well and they were ready to go and they caught us on our heels… it happens.”
SDSU finishes the regular season with a 12-5 record.
BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP
The Jacks head to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the Big 12 Championships. With third-place finishes in the last two years, SDSU looks to finish strong in this year’s tournament.
In conference the Jacks got wins over Utah Valley, Cal Baptist, Air Force and UNC.
SDSU’s four losses came at the hands of Wyoming, Iowa State, Northern Iowa and North Dakota State.
Two Jackrabbits finished the regular season with 15 dual wins: Moses Espinoza-Owens and Carl Swensen. Espinoza-Owens’ only losses were against Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa. He finishes the season with a team high 24 overall wins, picking up four wins against ranked wrestlers. Espinoza-Owens’ highest-ranked win was against No. 8 Cam Steed from the University of Missouri, a 12-8 decision during the Tiger Style Invite on Nov. 9, 2025. The redshirt sophomore from Utah led the team with 12 decision wins and seven major decision wins.
Swensen picked up five ranked wins on the season, his highest being against No. 15 Charlie Millard from the University of Minnesota, a 7-5 decision in their dual match on Nov. 25, 2025. The junior has a 21-5 overall record with three of those losses coming against ranked wrestlers and has a team-high 57 dual points.
Other Jackrabbit team highs entering the conference championships include Micah Hach with the quickest pin time of 26 seconds. Keenan Sheridan recorded the second-fastest pin time on the team at 56 seconds. Jarrett Wadsen led in tech falls, going undefeated in six matches. Carson Dupill had the second-most tech fall wins with five.
The Big 12 Championships are scheduled for Friday, Mar. 6, and Saturday, Mar. 7. Matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.
