2003-04 College News - NDSU, Nebraska-Omaha tangle Friday night

February 16, 2004

THIS WEEK: Top-ranked North Dakota State (13-0, 4-0 NCC) will wrestle for its 17th North Central Conference championship Friday night at the Bison Sports Arena when it hosts No. 3-ranked Nebraska-Omaha. Matches begin at 7:30 p.m. The Mavericks won last year's conference title in Fargo when the NCC conducted an individual championship tournament.

THE SERIES: Friday will be the 35th meeting between the Bison and Nebraska-Omaha. NDSU leads the series 19-13-2 including an 18-13 win in the semifinals of the NWCA National Duals tournament Jan. 17 at Cleveland State University.

ABOUT NEBRASKA-OMAHA: The Mavericks (9-2, 3-0 NCC) have won three straight duals heading into a Wednesday NCC contest at Augustana. UNO rebounded from a 22-12 loss at Central Oklahoma on Feb. 6 with wins against Nebraska-Kearney (26-15), Minnesota State-Mankato (27-9) and St. Cloud State (22-12).

BRYCE HAS TOUGH TASK AHEAD: NDSU heavyweight Joe Bryce will have a tall order in front of him Friday night. Bryce, winner of 15 of his last 17 matches, will face Nebraska-Omaha's Les Sigman (36-1). Sigman, the defending North Central Conference heavyweight champion, has defeated Bryce twice this year by scores of 7-4 and 15-2.

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS:
#1 NORTH DAKOTA STATE (13-0 Overall, 4-0 NCC)
Yr. W-L Pins
125 Eric Sanders Fr. 10-10 0
133 #8 Nick Magee Jr. 15-4 1
141 Mathias Bitz So. 19-12 4
149 #7 Zach Stevens So. 23-7 1
157 #1 Paul Carlson Sr. 21-6 0
165 #3 Mike Fiedler Sr. 22-6 6
174 #1 Thad Pike Sr. 22-4 4
184 Matt Hermann Fr. 18-11 1
197 #4 Brian Kraemer Sr. 24-5 8
Hwt. #3 Joe Bryce Jr. 23-6 7

#3 NEBRASKA-OMAHA (9-2 Overall, 3-0 NCC)
Yr. W-L
125 Dustin Tovar Jr. 29-11
133 #7 Mitch Waite So. 26-7
141 #8 Eli Dominguez Jr. 23-7
149 Patrick Allibone Fr. 30-10
157 #7 Chas DeVetter Jr. 15-2
165 #4 J.D. Naig Fr. 32-7
174 Steve Conlin Fr. 26-14
184 Nate Oviatt Fr. 20-10
197 Ben Strandberg Fr. 18-17
Hwt. #1 Les Sigman So. 36-1

UNO's records prior to a Wednesday night dual meet at Augustana College.

JANUARY'S MEETING: North Dakota State won six of the 10 matches against Nebraska-Omaha on Jan. 17 in the semifinals of the NWCA National Duals tournament at Cleveland State University. Only two bouts were decided by more than two points. One was a 10-5 decision by NDSU's Thad Pike at 174 pounds that staked the Bison to 15-6 lead with two weights to go. After the Mavericks' Nate Oviatt (184) won by 2-1 decision in double overtime, NDSU's Brian Kraemer (197) posted a 5-3 win to push the Bison lead to 18-9 and clinch the win.

NDSU advanced to the championship and picked up a win over Central Oklahoma, while Nebraska-Omaha went into the consolation round and won twice for third place.

NWCA National Duals Tournament Semifinals
January 17 at Cleveland State University
North Dakota State 18, Nebraska-Omaha 13
125--Dustin Tovar, UNO, dec. Eric Sanders, 5-4
133--Mitch Waite, UNO, dec. Nick Magee, 7-5
141--Mathias Bitz, NDSU, dec. Kris Thayer, 3-2
149--Zach Stevens, NDSU, dec. Patrick Allibone, 3-2
157--Paul Carlson, NDSU, dec. Chas DeVetter, 7-6
165--Mike Fielder, NDSU, dec. J.D. Naig, 4-3
174--Thad Pike, NDSU, dec. Steve Conlin, 10-5
184--Nate Oviatt, UNO, dec. Matt Hermann, 2-1 (2 OT)
197--Brian Kraemer, NDSU, dec. Ben Strandberg, 5-3
Hwt.--Les Sigman, UNO, dec. Joe Bryce, 15-2

KRAEMER THREE WINS AWAY: Bison senior Brian Kraemer (94-44) is only three wins away from the No. 10 spot on NDSU's all-time victories list and the three-time All-American is on track to become the seventh wrestler in school history to reach the 100-win mark. Seniors Paul Carlson (90-36) and Mike Fiedler (90-34) also are close to the top 10 chart. Here are NDSU's leaders in career wins...

Name Years Weight Record
1. Mike Langlais 1980-84 142 151-22-0
2. Brian Kapusta 1991-95 118 108-17-0
3. Steve Saxlund 1996-01 184 107-19-0
3. Pat Johannes 1984-88 177 107-29-1
5. Dave Hass 1980-84 190 104-39-1
6. Todd Fuller 1998-02 174 101-29-0
7. Lon Brew 1975-79 142 99-22-2
8. John Morgan 1982-86 167/177 98-36-0
8. Gregg Stensgard 1978-82 158/167 98-36-0
10. Matt Strawser 1999-03 125 97-40-0
Brian Kraemer 2000- 197 94-44-0

BISON WINNING STREAKS: The Bison have an 18-match overall winning streak intact dating back to last season. North Dakota State is 4-0 on its home mat this year and the Bison have won 16 straight duals at the Bison Sports Arena dating back to the 2000-01 season when Division III power Augsburg defeated NDSU 19-12 in Fargo.

NCC WINNING STREAK: North Dakota State is 4-0 in the North Central Conference this year, and the Bison have won 20 straight matches in the conference dating back to a 22-12 loss at Nebraska-Omaha in 2000-01.

POSTSEASON FORMAT CHANGES: Membership changes in the North Central Conference have sparked changes in the championship criteria for both the NCC and NCAA. The conference tournament, which was for many years a national qualifying tournament, has been eliminated in favor of an NCAA regional. Here are some details...

The team conference championship will be determined by the best dual meet win-loss record in league action.
Individual conference championships will be awarded to the highest league finishers at each weight at the NCAA North Regional.
The top three conference individuals in each weight at the North Regional will be awarded all-conference honors in the NCC.
Berths in the national tournament will continue to be awarded to the top four individuals at the North Regional in each weight class.

DIVISION I TRANSITION: This is North Dakota State's final year of eligibility in NCAA Division II after announcing in August 2002 its plans to reclassify. The Bison will leave the North Central Conference in favor of Division I athletics beginning with the 2004-05 season. The reclassification will encompass all sports at NDSU, including a jump to I-AA on the football field.

AROUND THE NORTH CENTRAL CONFERENCE: North Dakota State remains undefeated in NCC dual meets with only Nebraska-Omaha left in the way of NDSU's 17th conference championship. The Mavericks are at Augustana Wednesday before finishing the season in Fargo on Friday night.

Conference Overall
North Dakota State 4-0 13-0
Nebraska-Omaha 3-0 9-2
Minnesota State-Mankato 2-2 6-6
Augustana 1-2 6-5
South Dakota State 1-3 4-9
St. Cloud State 0-4 1-6

Wednesday, Feb. 18
Nebraska-Omaha at Augustana, 7:00

Thursday, Feb. 19
Augustana at South Dakota State, 7:00
Northern State at MSU-Mankato, 7:00
St. Cloud State at MSU-Moorhead, 7:00

Friday, Feb. 20
St. Cloud State at MSU-Mankato, 7:00
Nebraska-Omaha at North Dakota State, 7:30

NATIONAL RANKINGS: North Dakota State is the unanimous No. 1 team in Division II wrestling according to the Feb. 11 poll issued by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. NDSU has held that top ranking all season. Seven Bison starters are listed in the individual top eights.

Pts. Prev.
1. North Dakota State (8) 160 1st
2. Central Oklahoma 152 2nd
3. Nebraska-Omaha 144 3rd
4. Findlay (OH) 136 4th
5. Pittsburgh-Johnstown 127 5th
6. Ashland (OH) 116 6th
7. Western State (CO) 105 10th
8. Augustana (SD) 100 9th
9. Adams State (CO) 92 7th
10. Wisconsin-Parkside 87 8th
11. North Carolina-Pembroke 80 11th
12. Minnesota State-Mankato 70 15th
13. Mercyhurst (PA) 69 13th
14. Chadron State (NE) 54 16th
15. Nebraska-Kearney 44 12th
16. Fort Hays State (KS) 41 19th
17. Central Missouri State 32 14th
18. West Liberty State (WV) 24 NR
19. Indianapolis 19 20th
20. Shippensburg (PA) 12 NR

133 Pounds
1. Cole Province, Central Oklahoma
7. Mitch Waite, Nebraska-Omaha
8. Nick Magee, North Dakota State

141 Pounds
1. Merrick Meyer, Truman State (MO)
8. Eli Dominguez, Nebraska-Omaha

149 Pounds
1. Ryan King, Augustana (SD)
7. Zach Stevens, North Dakota State

157 Pounds
1. Paul Carlson, North Dakota State
2. Jack Quintana, Western State (CO)
7. Chas DeVetter, Nebraska-Omaha

165 Pounds
1. Shawn Silvis, Central Oklahoma
2. Waylon Lowe, Findlay (OH)
3. Mike Fiedler, North Dakota State

174 Pounds
1. Thad Pike, North Dakota State
2. Jason Tapia, Central Oklahoma

197 Pounds
1. Jeff Rusher, Chadron State (NE)
4. Brian Kraemer, North Dakota State

Heavyweight
1. Les Sigman, Nebraska-Omaha
2. Baron Blanchard, Northern State (SD)
3. Joe Bryce, North Dakota State

The Guillotine