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NDSU looks for 20th straight home win
Jauary 25, 2005
North Dakota State (6-2-0) is scheduled to host cross-town rival Minnesota State-Moorhead (4-1-0) on Friday, Jan. 28 at the Bison Sports Arena. The opening dual is slated to start at 7:30 p.m. NDSU has won 19 consecutive duals at home, dating back to the 2000-01 season. Minnesota State-Moorhead defeated Concordia-Moorhead 38-3 on Jan. 22. The Dragons will host Northern State on Wednesday, Jan. 26, before meeting the Bison on Friday.
THE SERIES: This will be the 47th meeting all-time between North Dakota State and Minnesota State-Moorhead, with the Bison holding a 32-14-0 advantage in the series. The Bison won eight of ten matches in a 29-8 victory over the Dragons in Fargo a season ago.
THIRTY-ONE STRAIGHT WINS OVER DRAGONS: NDSU has won 31-consecutive meetings with Minnesota State-Moorhead. NDSU's last loss to the Dragons came after a 22-13 setback during the 1968-69 season. MSU- Moorhead dominated the beginning of the series, winning 14 of the first 15 duals starting with the series opener in the 1957-58 season.
ROLE REVERSAL: Former NDSU heavyweight Chris Tuchscherer will be wearing scarlet and white instead of green and yellow in Friday night's dual. Tuchscherer made the decision in December to transfer to Minnesota State-Moorhead after competing for three seasons at NDSU. The junior from Bowman, N.D., wrestled in four open tournaments this season for the Bison placing second at the Warren/Williamson Daktronics Open and fourth at the Bison Open. Tuchscherer went 10-6 with three pins for NDSU this season and amassed 32 career wins as a Bison.
MEET THE DRAGONS: Second-year head coach Keenan Spiess and the Dragons finished 12-3 in dual competition and captured a 10th Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference title with a perfect 3-0 slate a year ago. The Dragons are currently ranked 19th in the latest Division II coaches' poll. This winter MSU Moorhead made the shift to the North Central Conference for regional qualifying. Both NDSU and MSU-Moorhead faced Princeton back on Dec. 9, with the Bison winning 29-6 and the Dragons prevailing 25-15 over the Tigers. The Dragons only loss this season came against Wisconsin-La Cross, 33-6 at the Terry Haws Duals.
HAVEN'T WE MET?: NDSU and Minnesota State-Moorhead have crossed paths twice already this season at the Bison Open on Nov. 13 and the Kaufman-Brand Open on Nov. 20. There is a possibility of four potential Bison/Dragon rematches. NDSU's Lucas Christianson decisioned Ben Keen 7-4 at the Bison Open at 141 pounds. Zach Stevens (149) decisioned the Dragon's Danny Meyer 7-2 at the Bison Open. Adam Dahlstrom defeated Eric Hageman 5-2 at the Kaufman-Brand Open in their 174 pound matchup. While NDSU's Collin Kelly has battled MSU-Moorhead 157-pounder Josh Jansen at both tournaments winning 6-2 at the Bison Open and 3-2 at the Kaufman-Brand Open.
BISON HOME WINNING STREAKS: The Bison will carry a 19-match home winning streak into the Minnesota State-Moorhead dual. NDSU is 2-0 at the Bison Sports Arena this season with wins over Princeton and Northern Colorado. The Bison's string of 18-straight dates back to the 2000-01 season when Division III power Augsburg defeated NDSU 19-12.
BISON TOPPLE BEARS 31-3: Freshman Andy Pickar picked up his fifth pin of the season at 165 pounds and Matt Hermann notched career win #50 to lead North Dakota State to a 31-3 victory over Northern Colorado on Saturday, Jan. 22, in front of a crowd of 781 at the Bison Sports Arena. NDSU (6-2) won nine of ten matches over UNC (3-4) and extended its home winning streak to 19-consecutive at the Bison Sports Arena. Mike Meger and Nick Magee built the Bison lead to 6-0 after two early decisions and NDSU would win the final seven bouts to put away the Bears.
Pickar extended NDSU's lead to 18-3 with a first period pin over UNC's John White at 165 pounds. Hermann scored seven takedowns in his match with Cole Allison at 184 pounds to score a 15-5 major decision. Hermann's 50th career win as a Bison gave NDSU a 25-3 lead in the dual. At 197, Dustin Benz scored a takedown with four-seconds left to escape with a 4-3 win over UNC's Tanner Linsacum. NDSU's Tim Kraemer picked up his team-leading 26th win of the season after his 10-3 win over UNC's Sam Safken at heavyweight. Kraemer remained undefeated (7-0) in duals this season.
HERMANN REACHES 50 CAREER WINS: Bison sophomore Matt Hermann's 15-6 major decision over Northern Colorado's Cole Allison on Jan. 22 was his 50th career win as a Bison. NDSU senior Nick Magee captured his 50th career win after pinning Appalachian State's Terrell Williams at 133 pounds at the NC State Duals. Magee (11-5) improved his career record to 54-26 as a Bison with a win against UNC. Junior Zach Stevens (13-8) has gone over 50 career wins and has amassed 56 career wins. Senior Collin Kelly (19-8) notched his 50th career win in the Bison's home opener against Princeton and is now 54-35 all-time. Senior Lucas Christianson eclipsed the 60-career win mark with a 13-4 decision over Tyler Safratowich of Minnesota at this year's Bison Open. Christianson is chasing the 70-win plateau with a 67-49 career record at North Dakota State.
BISON FINISH 1-2 AT VIRGINIA DUALS: Rider University took advantage of a pin at 157 pounds by Dave Miller to break open a 7-7 tie with North Dakota State and never gave up the lead again in a 19-16 opening round victory over the Bison at the Virginia Duals on Friday. The fifth-seeded Broncs put an end to NDSU's school record 23-match winning streak. Against Rider, 133 pound senior Nick Magee and 149 pound junior Zach Stevens answered Broncs' victories to tie the match at 7-7 after four matches. Miller pinned NDSU's Collin Kelly at 157 pounds to put Rider up 13-7. NDSU's Andy Pickar (165), Matt Hermann (184) and Tim Kraemer (HWT) all came up with victories, but the Bison fell 19-16.
NDSU took on the University of Buffalo of the Mid-American Conference in the consolation bracket and fell 25-15. Buffalo took control of the dual early with four straight wins from 125 to 149 pounds before Bison senior Collin Kelly answered with a 5-1 decision over Scott Rendos at 157. Adam Dahlstrom (174) and Kraemer (HWT) posted victories for NDSU and Dustin Benz picked up his fourth pin of the season at 197-pounds. The Bulls won six of ten matches to defeat NDSU, 25-15.
In NDSU's final dual of the tournament, the Bison faced the University of Virginia and edged the Cavaliers 21-18. The Bison were led by Stevens with a pin at 149, Magee with a technical fall at 133 and Benz with a major decision at 197 pounds. NDSU improved its overall dual record to 5-2 on the season and 3-0 against the Atlantic Coast Conference with the victory.
BISON PERFECT AT NC STATE DUALS: The magic number was 23 for North Dakota State at the NC State Duals on Saturday. NDSU heavyweight Tim Kraemer recorded a takedown with 23 seconds remaining to register a 3-2 decision over Duke's Andrew Herbert and lift the Bison to an 18-12 victory over the Blue Devils in the third round of the NC State Duals, held at Reynolds Coliseum. The victory extended NDSU's dual-match winning streak to 23 matches and gave Kraemer his 23rd win of the season. The Bison defeated Appalachian State 34-3 in the opening match of the day and then won at the wire on last-minute points by Kraemer again in the heavyweight bout to defeat NC State 19-13 in the second round. NDSU senior Nick Magee picked up his 50th career victory with a pin of Appalachian State's Terrell Williams at 133 pounds to highlight an opening round 34-3 dismantling of the Mountaineers. Kraemer, Dustin Benz (197) and Andy Pickar (165) all went 3-0 on the day.
BISON CAPTAINS: NDSU is captained by seniors Nick Magee, Lucas Christianson and Collin Kelly in its first season of Division I wrestling. The trio has combined for 175 career wins on the mat for the Bison.
MAKING THE TRANSITION: NDSU is in its first year of a two-year waiting period for the NCAA tournament. Wrestling received notification of acceptance from the NCAA for multidivisional classification that will provide NCAA Division I postseason opportunities in 2006-07. Originally, NDSU was not eligible for the NCAA national tournament until the 2008-09 season.
DIVISION II TITLE YEARS: North Dakota State captured four NCAA titles in its storied history in Division II. The Bison won in 1988, 1998, 2000 and 2001. NDSU's four titles is second most among teams still in Division II. Central Oklahoma has six championships. Cal Poly and Cal State-Bakersfield each won eight crowns before moving to Division I wrestling.
HEAD COACH BUCKY MAUGHAN: North Dakota State is coached by a National Wrestling Hall of Famer. Bucky Maughan is in his 41st year at the helm of the Bison. Maughan is only the second full-time wrestling coach in the school's history. He has a 408-112-11 record to date in dual meets and has guided the Herd to 17 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 five halls of fame after his 2003 induction to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
BISON ASSISTANTS: Beginning his fourth year at NDSU, assistant coach Bret Maughan brings a wealth of experience to the Bison program. The two-time All-American on the mat at NDSU had head coaching stints at Moorhead (Minn.) High School and Bismarck State College before returning to his alma mater. Former three-time All-American and national champion Kris Nelson begins his fifth season as an assistant. Fellow NDSU All-Americans Thad Pike, Joe Bryce and Paul Carlson will serve as student assistants this season.