JACKS WRESTLING SET TO START SEASON AT HOME - South Dakota State University Athletics

Saturday, November 7

Brookings, S.D.

4 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Buffalo

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Photo by: Jenna Batka

11/6/2026 11:05:00 AM | Wrestling

Week 2: # 17 South Dakota State vs. Augustana, Warren Williamson Daktronics Invitational
Date and Time	Saturday Nov. 7th, 4 p.m. (Buffalo) and Sunday, Nov. 8th, 10 a.m. (Daktronics)
Location	Brookings, S.D.
Site	First Bank & Trust Arena (Augustana), SJAC (Daktronics)
Stream	FloWrestling (Buffalo), No Stream (Daktronics)
Live Stats	TrackWrestling (Buffalo), TrackWrestling (Daktronics)
South Dakota State	Game Notes \| Home Page

BROOKINGS, S.D. - A new season is once again upon us, and SDSU wrestling opens its 2026-27 season at home, hosting Buffalo for a Saturday dual followed by the Daktronics Invitational on Sunday. The Jacks have four returning national qualifiers in Cael Swensen, Luke Rasmussen, Brady Roark, and Drake Rhodes, which leaves a lot of room in the lineup for fresh faces. The Jacks are coming off a year where they went 12-5 overall, qualifying six wrestlers for the NCAA Tournament. The Jacks will look to start their new era in the Pac-12 right, as they welcome Buffalo to town.

THE LINEUP:
125: #17 Brady Roark (0-0) vs. Cullen Edwards (0-0)
133: #25 Cale Seaton (0-0) or Liam Neitzel (0-0) vs. Gianni Silvestri (0-0)
141: Logan Swensen (0-0) vs. Mason Rohr (0-0)
149: Colin Dupill (0-0) vs. Sam Ewing (0-0)
157: #17 Cael Swensen (0-0) vs. Max Nevlin (0-0)
165: Jacob Herm (0-0) vs. Brady Unger (0-0)
174: #16 Drake Rhodes (0-0) vs. Cole Dunham (0-0)
184: Brock Fettig (0-0) vs. Connor Scuilla (0-0)
197: Thomas Dineen (0-0) vs. Connor Jacobs (0-0)
285: #27 Luke Rasmussen (0-0) vs. Magnus Bibla (0-0)

LAST TIME OUT: NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The four remaining Jackrabbit wrestlers' tournament runs at the NCAA Wrestling Championships ended on Saturday as they bowed out during Session 3.

Moses Espinoza-Owens was the only Jack to win his Consolation Round Two matchup, taking on 20-seed Daschle Lamer. Espinoza-Owens got to Lamer's legs early, securing a takedown in the first, and then struck the decisive blow in the third, scoring another takedown for the decision. But Espinoza-Owens' luck ran out in Consolation Round 3 against 12-seed Carter Schubert. The pair battled to a standstill, tied 1-1 after regulation. After consecutive 30-second rideouts, the match went into the 2nd overtime. With 10 seconds remaining, Schubert was able to roll out of an Espinoza-Owens shot and secure the takedown, ending Espinoza-Owens' run at the tournament.

Brady Roark had a tough test ahead of him in a win-or-go-home match with returning NCAA Champ Vincent Robinson. Robinson got the better of Roark early, scoring a takedown in the first and didn't look back. Roark added a takedown of his own in the third, but it was too late as he was eliminated from the tournament with a decision loss, 11-6.

Cael Swensen faced No. 15 Cam Catrabone in his consolation round two matchup. The redshirt junior got caught in the first, as Catrabone secured a takedown that proved the difference. Swensen battled back, scoring a reversal in the third, but couldn't turn the tide of the match, dropping a decision, 5-3, ending his tournament run.

Bennett Berge faced 14-seed Gabe Sollars in his Session 3 matchup. Berge came out aggressive, but Sollars was able to turn defense into offense, racking up several takedowns on his way to an 18-3 tech fall over Berge, stopping Berge in the consolation bracket for the second straight year.

These results ended SDSU's run at the NCAA Wrestling Championships.

WRESTLER TO WATCH: CAEL SWENSEN
Cael Swensen returns to the Jackrabbits for his final season in the yellow & blue. The three-time NCAA Qualifier will face off with Max Nevlin this weekend in the Jacks dual with Buffalo. Swensen is coming off a bounce-back season where he put up the most wins of his career, securing 25 wins, with 15 of them coming in duals. He looks to finally reach his goal of becoming an All-American this season, one that has eluded him during his three seasons as the starter for the Jacks.

KEY STORYLINES

A NEW ERA: South Dakota State joins the Pac-12 for the 2026-27 season alongside former Big 12 competitors North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, and Air Force, as well as Northern Illinois.
CAEL'S LAST RIDE: Cael Swensen returns for his final year in the yellow & blue. Swensen returned from injury during the 2025-26 season and put up a 25-9 overall record, going 15-2 in duals and qualifying for his third NCAA Tournament.
RETURNING PRODUCTION: The Jacks will have a solid mix of returning production from last year's squad. NCAA Qualifiers Brady Roark, Cael Swensen, Luke Rasmussen and Drake Rhodes all return to this year's squad.
DRAKE RHODES RETURNS: Drake Rhodes is back in the lineup for the Jackrabbits after sitting out the 2025-26 season with an injury. Rhodes went 21-7 during his first year with the Jacks, going 8-1 in duals and qualifying for his first NCAA Tournament at 165 pounds. He bumps up to 174 pounds this year to fill the gap left by Moses Espinoza-Owens.
OUT WITH THE OLD: The Jacks return five starters from last years squad, and will have plenty of new faces in the lineup. The Jacks will have to fill the gaps left by Julian Tagg, Bennett Berge and Moses Espinoza-Owens. At 141 pounds, Logan Swensen and Tyson Peach will compete for the starting role. Drake Rhodes will step up for the Jacks at 174 pounds. At 197 pounds, Thomas Dineen and Quin Morgan will battle it out for the starting spot.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: The Jacks add six freshmen to their 2026-27 squad in Riley Johnson, Tyson Martin, Brock Johnson, Makael Aguayo, Caleb Hodges and Cavin Carlson. Riley Johnson finished sixth at the U20 US Open at 86 kg and will look to be in the mix at 184 pounds. Tyson Martin finished as the runner-up at the Fargo Nationals at heavyweight in 2025.
HERM'S WORLD: Jacob Herm steps up for the Jacks at 165 pounds this season. The redshirt-freshman got some experience last year, putting up a 13-6 record and going 3-3 in duals. Herm scored a win over No. 6 Peyten Kellar of Oklahoma last year in his second ever collegiate match, and later in the year scored a win over NCAA Qualifier Jack Thomsen of UNI at the Soldier Salute. The redshirt-freshman will look to make a big impact for the Jacks during the 2026-27 season.
WADSEN'S BIG SUMMER: Jarrett Wadsen had a big summer on the freestyle circuit. After finishing last year with a 13-3 record overall, capped by a third place finish at the Solider Salute, the freshman took home third at the U20 World Team Trials in Geneva, Ohio and took fourth in freestyle and fifth in greco-roman at the U20 US Open. Wadsen will look to be in the mix for the starting spot at 184 pounds for the Jacks.
THE HEAVYWEIGHT: Luke Rasmussen returns after an up and down year at 285 pounds last year. He qualified for his second NCAA Tournament and scored a signature win over No. 10 Koy Hopke, but finished the year 11-13 overall and 6-6 in duals.