UNI PANTHERS

Wrestling: Iowa natives lead South Dakota State to upset victory over Northern Iowa

Cody Goodwin
Des Moines Register

CEDAR FALLS, Ia. — A frustrated Doug Schwab stood mat side here inside the West Gym and offered a blunt assessment of his team’s 25-13 loss to South Dakota State on Friday night.

“I can’t go out and fight for them,” said Schwab, the Northern Iowa wrestling coach. “We have to have guys prepared to go to battle. If you’re not willing to do that for 420 seconds — I don’t care if we’re favored on paper. That means absolutely nothing. It doesn’t. You have to go earn it every time.

“They whipped our tail, man.”

The Jackrabbits, unranked and now 5-3 overall and 2-0 against Big 12 competition after Friday night’s result, came in and won six of 10 matches and defeated the 11th-ranked Panthers, sending them to 1-3 and 0-1 on the year. Northern Iowa's next opportunity will be on Sunday afternoon, when Missouri (6-4) comes to town.

Doug Schwab, head coach of the University of Northern Iowa wrestling team, talks to the press during UNI's media day on Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in the West Gym on the UNI campus in Cedar Falls.

And a trio of Iowa natives played starring roles in South Dakota State’s upset.

At 133 pounds, Johnston native Zach Price defeated Kyle Biscoglia, 11-4. Biscoglia got the nod because Schwab said usual starter Jack Skudlarczyk is “dinged up.” Price rolled up three takedowns and two reversals on an undersized Biscoglia.

At 149 pounds, Henry Pohlmeyer, another Johnston native, soundly beat Max Thomsen, 9-1, in a battle of ranked wrestlers. Pohlmeyer, ranked 17th nationally by Trackwrestling, held a 4-1 lead over the seventh-ranked Thomsen entering the third period. There, he scored a takedown, two nearfall and added a riding-time point for the major.

Finally, at 197, Alburnett native Tanner Sloan, who made the Junior men’s freestyle world team last summer, scored a first-period pin over Noah Glaser, locking up a cradle in one minute, 42 seconds to mathematically clinch the dual for the Jackrabbits. 

“Iowa has been a hotbed for us,” South Dakota State coach Damion Hahn said. “And I have to give credit to (assistant coach and former Northern Iowa wrestler) Cody Caldwell. He is relentless with those kids. He’s got great connections, and we’re able to bring some of the best kids from Iowa to South Dakota State. It’s been amazing.

“But I get it. Some of these matchups — I would’ve loved to have seen Sloan wrestle (Northern Iowa All-American) Jacob Holschlag. We want that, right? I know he’s hurt, so it is what it is. But our guys have to go and wrestle anyways. I thought our guys hustled tonight. They showed a lot of grit out there.”

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Another Iowa native, New Hampton graduate Michael Blockhus, first put Northern Iowa on the board with a thrilling 7-5 win over Clay Carlson at 141 pounds. Blockhus trailed 4-2 entering the third, then scored two takedowns to win.

That was the Panthers’ only victory in the first six bouts, a run that was punctuated by Tanner Cook’s third-period pin over Austin Yant at 165 pounds right out of the intermission to give the Jackrabbits a 19-3 lead.

Bryce Steiert and Taylor Lujan recorded back-to-back victories to pull Northern Iowa within striking distance with two matches to go. Steiert recorded four takedowns in a 12-1 major decision over Cade King at 174 while Lujan recorded four more in a 10-3 decision over 19th-ranked Zach Carlson, marking his 100th career college victory.

“That’s awesome,” said Lujan, who’s ranked fifth nationally by Track. “A lot of guys don’t get 100 wins, so it’s cool to do that. I had no idea. It’s cool, but it is what it is.

“They fought hard. They were ready for a scrap. I don’t know if we were necessarily.”

University of Northern Iowa wrestling's Taylor Lujan poses for a photo during UNI's media day on Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in the West Gym on the UNI campus in Cedar Falls.

Sloan came out next and silenced the Panther fans and caused the South Dakota State contingent to erupt. After the pin, he stood up and pointed to a small corner inside the West Gym. Of the 1,819 that came to watch on Friday, a small group trekked up from Alburnett to cheer him on.

On the other side of the gym, the Northern Iowa coaching staff collectively grimaced. These Panthers have big goals for this season, but another opportunity to showcase their overall ability slipped through their grasp on Friday night.

“We have to sack up as a team,” Schwab said. “If we perform like that against Missouri, if we don’t have more fight against the teams we’re going to come up against — and I point to Missouri because that’s next — the same thing is going to happen.”

Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.

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South Dakota St. 25, No. 11 Northern Iowa 13

  • 125: Daniel Vega (SDSU) dec. No. 18 Jacob Schwarm (UNI), 10-6
  • 133: Zach Price (SDSU) dec. Kyle Biscoglia (UNI), 11-4
  • 141: No. 28 Michael Blockhus (UNI) dec. Clay Carlson (SDSU), 7-5
  • 149: No. 17 Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU) maj. dec. No. 7 Max Thomsen (UNI), 9-1
  • 157: Colten Carlson (SDSU) dec. Derek Holschlag (UNI), 4-0
  • 165: No. 31 Tanner Cook (SDSU) over Austin Yant (UNI) by fall, 6:07
  • 174: No. 5 Bryce Steiert (UNI) maj. dec. Cade King (SDSU), 12-1
  • 184: No. 5 Taylor Lujan (UNI) dec. No. 19 Zach Carlson (SDSU), 10-3
  • 197: No. 19 Tanner Sloan (SDSU) over Noah Glaser (UNI) by fall, 1:42
  • 285: No. 12 Carter Isley (UNI) dec. Blake Wolters (SDSU), 3-1 (SV1)

Rankings from Trackwrestling.