The SDSU wrestling team gave a solid account of themselves at the Bison Open in Fargo, N.D. on Nov. 8, bringing home two champions, four runners-up and two third place finishes.

“We did great. We just keep improving,” said head coach Chris Bono. “We keep getting better, and that’s what we’re looking for from the guys.”

J.J. Everard and Nate Rotert both claimed their championships over ranked opponents from Minnesota, with Everard knocking off No. 20 Michael Kroells 6-5 in the 285 pound class, while Rotert got a win over No. 1 Scott Schiller by injury default.

Rotert was up 2-0 when Schiller went down with a knee injury.

No. 18 Cody Pack faced off against No. 1 Dylan Ness of Minnesota for the 157 title, but lost a 6-3 decision.

Brance Simms and Ben Schwery both made runs to their respective title matches, but they too fell to ranked Gophers, with Schwery falling to No. 3 Chris Dardanes 15-5 in the 133 pound class, while Schwery fell to No. 1 Logan Storley in the 174 pound class.

The performance of the SDSU wrestlers against the high level competition was not lost on Bono.

“That’s what we’re here to do. We have to face off against the best to get where we want to be, and what we did today looks good for us as we build towards conference and nationals,” Bono said. 

Freshman, Colin Holler followed up his title at the Daktronics open last week with a one-loss, third-place finish. Fellow freshman David Kocer also finished third, going 5-1 on the day, with his only loss also coming against Storley.

Up next, the Jacks wrestlers will travel to Miami, Okla. on Nov. 16 to square off in a dual against Big 12 power Oklahoma State, ranked eighth in the National Wrestling Coaches Association pre-season poll.

“We’re excited to wrestle and put all our preparation to work,” Bono said. “They are a good team, but we’ll go down there, give 100 percent, and see what we can do.”