College News - North Dakota State Wins NCAA Division II Duals

North Dakota State Wins NCAA Division II Duals

01/20/2001

North Dakota State University junior Nick Severson (Hayfield, MN) pinned Central Oklahoma's Jeremy McCoy in 3:26 in the heavyweight match to help the Bison tie UCO 18-18 and win the team championship of the NCAA Division II Duals in Brookings, SD on Saturday, Jan. 20.

The third-ranked Bison (4-1-2) took the championship on criteria, taking the seventh tiebreaker with the most near falls. NDSU had three near falls to none for No. 4 Central Oklahoma, with the near falls coming from Severson, Matt Strawser (Coon Rapids, MN) and Thad Pike (Brownsdale, MN).

Mark Dodgen pinned Strawser in 2:22 at 125, and UCO's Cole Province topped Lucas Christianson (Apple Valley, MN) 10-4 in the 133-pound match. NDSU got its first win from Jake Thielbar (Faribault, MN) at 141, who was an 8-4 winner over Joe Schneider.

NDSU freshman Paul Carlson (Cedar, MN) fell to Gabe Sullivan 4-3 at 149, but Pike defeated H.M. Chapman at 157, 8-7. Central Oklahoma's Shawn Silvis topped Mike Fiedler (Sauk Centre, MN) 4-2 at 165 to give UCO a 15-6 lead.

The Bison rallied to win back-to-back matches as national champions Todd Fuller (Maple Lake, MN) and Steve Saxlund (Pipestone, MN) won at 174 and 184. Fuller decisioned Dennis Parker 7-6 and Saxlund nipped Muhammad Lawal, 4-3.

Freshman Brian Kraemer (Cold Spring, MN) was edged 2-1 by T.J. Tallent at 197, setting up Severson's heroics.

It marked the first national duals championship for North Dakota State, and the fourth time in five years that UCO has placed second. South Dakota State took third in the 16-team tourney with a 25-10 win over Ashland.

Saxlund and Severson represented the champions on the All-Tournament Team. Saxlund won all four of his matches in the tournament, and Severson was 3-0 with three pins. Thielbar won all four of his matches.

North Dakota State goes to Nebraska-Omaha next Saturday to face the top-ranked Division II team in the nation in North Central Conference action.