2003-04 College News - North Dakota State favored by League Coaches for North Central Conference title

North Dakota State favored by League Coaches for North Central Conference title

October 28, 2003

North Dakota State University is the preseason favorite to win the North Central Conference wrestling championship according to the preseason poll announced Tuesday by league coaches.

NDSU, runner-up in the league last year, will be pursuing its 17th conference title, and this will be the last such chance for the Herd. North Dakota State is reclassifying to Division I and will depart Division II and the North Central Conference after this year.

Six North Dakota State wrestlers have been picked to win conference titles, including two-time defending champion Paul Carlson at 157 pounds.

Individual North Central Conference championships will be awarded to the highest finishers at the North Central Regional in each weight class this season. The team championship will be awarded based on the best dual meet record in the round-robin schedule.

The revamped championship format stems from changes in NCC membership. With only six wrestling teams, the conference is no longer its own region and will not sponsor a championship tournament.

NCC teams now must compete in the North Central Regional with schools from the Northern Sun Conference to determine national qualifiers.

North Dakota State begins the season by hosting the Bison Open on Saturday, Nov. 8.

NCC Wrestling Coaches Preseason Poll
1. North Dakota State 82
2. Nebraska-Omaha 59
3. Augustana 28
4. South Dakota State 26
5. Minnesota State-Mankato 20
6. St. Cloud State 15

125 Pounds
1. Aaron Graumann, Augustana
2. Dustin Tovar, Nebraska-Omaha
3. Eric Sanders, North Dakota State
4. Josh Lindquist, St. Cloud State

133 Pounds
1. Mitch Waite, Nebraska-Omaha
2. Nick Magee, North Dakota State
3. Derek Miller, St. Cloud State
4. Bryce Bahe, Minnesota State-Mankato

141 Pounds
1. Lucas Christianson, North Dakota State
2. Eli Dominguez, Nebraska-Omaha
3. Jason Rhoten, Minnesota State-Mankato
4. Lenny Tol, South Dakota State

149 Pounds
1. Zach Stevens, North Dakota State
2. Jared Barnes, South Dakota State
3. Ryan King, Augustana
4. Christian Alt, Nebraska-Omaha

157 Pounds
1. Paul Carlson, North Dakota State
2. Dan Duch, St. Cloud State
3. Matt McDougall, Augustana
4. Joe Kenton, South Dakota State

165 Pounds
1. Mike Fiedler, North Dakota State
2. Blu Wahle, Nebraska-Omaha
3. Nate Althoff, South Dakota State
4. Matt Perrizo, Minnesota State-Mankato

174 Pounds
1. Thad Pike, North Dakota State
2. Bob Edmonds, Nebraska-Omaha
3. Bryan Cowdin, South Dakota State
4. Jon Dierks, Minnesota State-Mankato

184 Pounds
1. Tom Meester, Augustana
2. Dan Vech, Nebraska-Omaha
3. Matt Hermann, North Dakota State
4. Ben Janike, Minnesota State-Mankato

197 Pounds
1. Brian Kraemer, North Dakota State
2. Tim Boldt, South Dakota State
3. Josh Janousek, Minnesota State-Mankato
4. Lance Tolstedt, Nebraska-Omaha

Heavyweight
1. Les Sigman, Nebraska-Omaha
2. Joe Bryce, North Dakota State
3. Mike Engelman, Minnesota State-Mankato
4. Karl Kanothy, St. Cloud State