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NDSU edges Nebraska-Omaha for NCC Championship
February 20, 2004
FARGO, ND--Trailing by a point after eight matches, top-ranked North Dakota State got back-to-back wins from seniors Paul Carlson and Mike Fiedler for an 18-13 win over third-ranked Nebraska-Omaha on Friday night before a crowd of 872 at the Bison Sports Arena.
The victory clinched NDSU's 17th North Central Conference wrestling championship. The Bison finished their dual meet schedule 14-0 overall and 5-0 in the conference. UNO finished 10-3 overall and 4-1 in the NCC.
Carlson, the No. 1-ranked wrestler in Division II at 157 pounds, held on for a 3-2 win over seventh-ranked Chas DeVetter to give the Bison their third lead of the night at 15-13.
Fiedler went up 4-1 on J.D. Naig after one period and finished with a 5-3 win to ignite the vocal crowd one last time.
North Dakota State won the first three bouts, highlighted by a 5-4 overtime decision by Matt Hermann at 184 pounds. UNO's Nate Oviatt tied the match at 3 with a 1:12 time advantage, and the wrestlers remained tied after the first sudden-victory period.
Oviatt went up 4-3 with an escape in the first tiebreaker, but Hermann won it with a reversal 11 seconds into second tiebreaker.
Brian Kraemer's win at 197 pounds gave the Bison a seemingly safe 9-0 lead, but Nebraska-Omaha whittled it away with ease.
The Mavericks answered with three wins a row, starting at heavyweight where top-ranked heavyweight Les Sigman improved to 38-1 on the year with a 7-2 decision over NDSU's Joe Bryce.
UNO's Dustin Tovar scored a major decision at 125 pounds and Mitch Waite won 5-3 at 133 pounds to put the Mavericks ahead for the first time.
Mathias Bitz won 3-2 over eighth-ranked Eli Dominguez at 141 pounds to regain the NDSU lead, but Patrick Allibone's 8-1 whipping of Zach Stevens put UNO ahead again before Carlson and Fiedler sealed it for the Herd.
It was the third time in the teams' last four meetings that NDSU won by an 18-13 count. The Bison won by the same score here two years ago and in January at the NWCA National Duals tournament.
NDSU recorded its third undefeated season in the 40-year tenure of head coach Bucky Maughan. The Bison improved their overall winning streak to 19, their home winning streak to 17, and their NCC dual meet victory streak to 21.
The next action for both teams will be the NCAA Division II North Regional on Sunday, Feb. 29, at Halenbeck Hall in St. Cloud, MN.