AMES, Iowa – Three South Dakota State University wrestlers won titles and two more Jackrabbits reached the finals Sunday at the Harold Nichols Cyclone Open.
Winning for the Jackrabbits were Cody Pack at 157 pounds, 184-pounder Brady Ayers and Nate Rotert at 197 pounds.
Pack, a three-time national qualifier from Quincy, California, won his first two matches of the day by pin en route to going 5-0. The eighth-ranked wrestler at 157 pounds, Pack pinned Jake Mize of Simpson (Iowa) in 3 minutes and 54 seconds, before pinning Cade Noble of Pratt Community College (Kan.) in 46 seconds in his second-round match. Pack moved to the semifinals with a 7-5 decision over Boise State’s Chris Castillo and advanced to the title bout with a 9-3 decision over Renald Rodriguez-Spenc of Iowa State. In the championship match, Pack scored a 5-2 decision over Gabe Fogarty of St. Cloud State (Minn.).
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Ayers, a junior from Waterville, Minnesota, continued his strong start to the season by winning a 3-1 sudden-victory overtime decision over Zach Stodden of Nebraska-Kearney. Ayers opened the tournament with two convincing victories, recording a 16-2 major decision over Mike Lambert of Nebraska-Kearney and a 16-0 technical fall over Asiah Dyer of Midland (Neb.). He later scored respective 8-5 and 8-3 decisions over Keavon Buckley of Boise State and Minnesota’s Dalton Lunde to advance to the championship.
Rotert, ranked 15th at 197 pounds, pulled out a 6-5, sudden-victory overtime decision against Evan Hansen of Grand View (Iowa) in the championship bout. The Spearfish native scored a 15-6 major decision over Nebraska-Kearney’s Corey Van Dorn in the opening round and followed that with a pin in 48 seconds against Dagan Willingham of Pratt. Rotert continued his dominance with a 10-1 major decision against Derrick Hawkins of Grand View in the quarterfinals and advanced to the championship with a 4-1 decision over Steven Holloway.
Brothers Alex and David Kocer both advanced to the finals of their respective 149- and 174-pound weight classes. After receiving a first-round bye, Alex Kocer advanced to the finals by winning three of his next four matches by technical fall, outscoring his opponents by a 57-4 count. In his title bout, Alex Kocer dropped a 17-4 major decision to Michael Kemerer, who was wrestling unattached.
David Kocer opened his run to the finals with a pin of Simpson’s Spencer Ward, following that win with a 4-1 decision of St. Cloud State’s Vince Drietz and a 10-0 major decision against Austin Dewey of Boise State. He added an 8-3 decision over Jordan Gundrum of Ellsworth Community College (Iowa) to advance to the 174-pound championships, where he dropped a 3-2 decision to 16th-ranked Lelund Weatherspoon of Iowa State.
Two other Jackrabbit wrestlers earned spots in the top five of their respective weight classes. At 165 pounds, Luke Zilverberg placed third as all five of his victories on the day came by major decision, and 133-pounder Ben Gillette finished fifth. Gillette ended the day with a 4-2 record.
Harold Nichols Cyclone Open Results
SDSU returns to dual competition Saturday, hosting seventh-ranked Virginia Tech. Start time is 4:30 p.m. at Frost Arena.
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