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NDSU chases 4th straight title Saturday at St. Cloud State Invitational

 

December 8, 2003

 

THIS WEEK: North Dakota State sends its wrestling team to the St. Cloud State Invitational on Saturday in St. Cloud, MN...Matches will begin at 9 a.m. in the South Fieldhouse at Halenbeck Hall and continue throughout the day.

 

LONG BREAK AHEAD: Final exams and the holiday season spell nearly a one-month break for the Bison wrestlers after Saturday‚s tournament...North Dakota State will not return to action until Jan. 11...The Bison will revisit St. Cloud State that Sunday afternoon for their North Central Conference dual meet opener.

 

BISON DOMINATE IN ST. CLOUD: North Dakota State has won the last three St. Cloud State tournaments and will be looking for its fourth crown in a row...Four Bison wrestlers won individual crowns last year including returners Nick Magee (133), Zach Stevens (149) and Paul Carlson (157)...Two years ago the Bison got championship finishes from Thad Pike (157) and Mike Fiedler (165)...Lucas Christianson (133) was a champion his freshman year when the Bison took their first team title in the current winning string.

 

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP

NORTH DAKOTA STATE (0-0 Overall, 0-0 NCC)

Yr. W-L Pins

125 Eric Sanders Fr. 1-2 0

Mike Meger Fr. 0-0 0

133 Lucas Christianson Sr. 4-4 0

Nick Magee Jr. 1-2 0

141 Mathias Bitz So. 4-5 0

149 Zach Stevens So. 5-5 1

157 Paul Carlson Sr. 7-4 0

165 Mike Fiedler Sr. 5-4 4

174 Thad Pike Sr. 4-2 1

184 Matt Hermann Fr. 5-5 0

197 Brian Kraemer Sr. 9-4 4

Hwt. Joe Bryce Jr. 5-4 1

 

BISON IMPRESSIVE AGAIN AT VEGAS: North Dakota State has finished in the top 20 four straight seasons at the Las Vegas Invitational, and the Bison have been the top Division II team in the final standings each of those four years...NDSU was 13th this year, 18th last season, and 16th each of the two previous years.

 

FIRST TIME IN SIX YEARS: North Dakota State had two placewinners at the Las Vegas Invite this season for the first time in six years...Thad Pike (174) finished fourth and Brian Kraemer (197) placed sixth...It was 1997 when Ryan Wolters was sixth at 190 pounds and Wayne Mooney seventh at 150 in Las Vegas...That duo went on to earn All-American honors as NDSU won its second NCAA championship.

 

CAREER WIN LIST CHASE: Three senior Bison wrestlers this season will be closing in on NDSU‚s top 10 list for career victories...Brian Kraemer (79-43), Paul Carlson (76-34) and Mike Fiedler (73-32) are the wrestlers in reach of the top 10 at North Dakota State...Tenth place is 97 wins, belonging to Matt Strawser (1999-2003).

 

EVERYBODY‚S FAVORITE: North Dakota State University is the preseason favorite to win the NCAA and North Central Conference wrestling championships according to preseason polls issued by the Division II Wrestling Coaches Association and NCC coaches...National rankings are based on returning team points from last year‚s national tournament.

 

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 Central Regional.

--The top three conference individuals in each weight at the North Central Regional will be awarded all-conference honors.

--Berths in the national tournament will continue to be awarded to the top four individuals at the North Central Regional in each weight class.

 

HALL OF FAME COACH: North Dakota State is coached by a National Wrestling Hall of Famer...Bucky Maughan is in his 40th year at the helm of the Bison...Maughan is only the second full-time wrestling coach in the school‚s history...He has a 394-112-11 record to date in duals and has guided the Herd to 16 North Central Conference titles, four NCAA Division II championships, and 26 top-five national finishes...The Bison won nine straight NCC titles from 1982 to 1990 under his direction...He is a member of four halls of fame after his 2003 induction to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame...Here is Maughan‚s NDSU coaching record...

 

Year Team Duals NCC NCAA

1964-65 NDSU 8-5-0 3rd ˜

1965-66 NDSU 7-9-0 ˜ ˜

1966-67 NDSU 10-9-0 5th ˜

1967-68 NDSU 3-11-1 4th ˜

1968-69 NDSU 10-3-1 2nd 21st

1969-70 NDSU 11-3-2 4th ˜

1970-71 NDSU 12-1-0 2nd 4th

1971-72 NDSU 15-1-0 2nd 2nd

1972-73 NDSU 11-2-0 3rd 3rd

1973-74 NDSU 13-3-0 2nd 4th

1974-75 NDSU 12-1-0 2nd 4th

1975-76 NDSU 11-3-0 3rd 5th

1976-77 NDSU 11-1-0 2nd 5th

1977-78 NDSU 6-4-2 3rd 8th

1978-79 NDSU 13-1-0 1st 10th

1979-80 NDSU 9-3-0 3rd 28th

1980-81 NDSU 13-2-0 2nd 5th

1981-82 NDSU 12-1-0 1st 2nd

1982-83 NDSU 13-1-0 1st 2nd

1983-84 NDSU 9-2-1 1st 3rd

1984-85 NDSU 11-0-0 1st 6th

1985-86 NDSU 10-1-0 1st 4th

1986-87 NDSU 12-1-0 1st 3rd

1987-88 NDSU 11-1-0 1st 1st

1988-89 NDSU 8-4-0 1st 3rd

1989-90 NDSU 7-3-2 1st 5th

1990-91 NDSU 9-1-0 2nd 4th

1991-92 NDSU 16-0-0 1st 2nd(t)

1992-93 NDSU 8-4-0 1st 3rd

1993-94 NDSU 11-3-0 1st 5th

1994-95 NDSU 8-3-0 2nd 3rd

1995-96 NDSU 8-3-0 4th 13th

1996-97 NDSU 7-4-0 4th 7th

1997-98 NDSU 8-4-0 1st 1st

1998-99 NDSU 7-4-0 2nd 7th

1999-00 NDSU 10-2-0 2nd 1st

2000-01 NDSU 9-3-2 1st 1st

2001-02 NDSU 13-2-0 1st 2nd

2002-03 NDSU 12-3-0 2nd 4th

 

HOME WINNING STREAK: North Dakota State won all five of its home dual meets in 2002-03 and the Bison have won 12 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 was 6-0 in the North Central Conference last year despite a second-place finish in the league championship tournament...The Bison have won 16 straight matches in the conference dating back to a 22-12 loss at Nebraska-Omaha in 2000-01.

 

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.

 

NWCA DIVISION II POLLS

(Released October 22, 2003)

Pts. Place

1. North Dakota State 38 4th

2. Central Oklahoma 36 1st

3. Findlay (OH) 32 5th

4. Nebraska-Omaha 28 3rd

5. Adams State (CO) 26 6th

6. St. Cloud State 24 9th

7. Western State (CO) 22 13th

8. Pittsburgh-Johnstown 20 11th

9. North Carolina-Pembroke 19 T15th

10. Nebraska-Kearney 18 2nd

T11. Ashland (OH) 15 18th

T11. Mercyhurst (PA) 15 20th

13. Central Missouri State 13 19th

T14. Indianapolis 12 22nd

T14. Wisconsin-Parkside 12 12th

T14. Truman State (MO) 12 21st

T17. South Dakota State 11 10th

T17. San Francisco State 11 8th

T19. Central Washington 10 17th

T19. Chadron State (NE) 10 23rd

 

141 POUNDS

1. Shane Barnes, Adams State (CO)

7. Lucas Christianson, N. Dakota State

 

157 POUNDS

1. Paul Carlson, North Dakota State

2. Jack Quintana, Western State (CO)

 

165 POUNDS

1. Shawn Silvis, Central Oklahoma

2. Mike Fiedler, North Dakota State

 

174 POUNDS

1. Bob Edmonds, Nebraska-Omaha

2. Thad Pike, North Dakota State

 

197 POUNDS

1. Brian Kraemer, North Dakota State

2. Jeff Rusher, Chadron State (NE)

 

HEAVYWEIGHT

1. Les Sigman, Nebraska-Omaha

7. Joe Bryce, North Dakota State

 

NORTH CENTRAL CONFERENCE STANDINGS

(Through December 7, 2003)

Conference Overall

Augustana 0-0 1-0

North Dakota State 0-0 0-0

Nebraska-Omaha 0-0 0-0

St. Cloud State 0-0 0-0

South Dakota State 0-0 0-2

Minnesota State-Mankato 0-0 0-3