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Minnesota highlights 35th Annual Bison Open
November 9, 2004
THE 35TH ANNUAL BISON OPEN: North Dakota State hosts the 35th Annual Bison Open on Saturday, Nov. 13 at the Bison Sports Arena. Wrestling action will begin at 10 a.m. At last year's Bison Open, six teams and 103 wrestlers competed in the all day event. This year's tournament features national Division I powerhouse Minnesota amongst the teams. South Dakota State, the University of Mary, Jamestown College, Minnesota State-Moorhead, Concordia-Moorhead, St. Cloud State, Si Tanka-Huron and the University of Regina are all scheduled to compete.
LAST YEAR'S BISON OPEN: NDSU placed 14 wrestlers in the finals of the 2003 Bison Open. Current Bison wrestlers Nick Magee (133), Lucas Christianson (141) and Zach Stevens (149) all captured championships. Other current NDSU wrestlers that reached the finals include Collin Kelly, Andy Pickar, Adam Dahlstrom, Matt Hermann, Dustin Benz, Chris Tuchscherer and Shane Eskelson, who was competing for Minnesota State-Moorhead last year.
BISON HISTORY AT THE OPEN: NDSU has crowned 48 individual champions over the tournament's 34-year history. That is the second most behind Minnesota's 125. NDSU's first-ever Bison Open champions were Lynn Forde (142), Bill Demaray (177) and Brad Rheingans (190) back in 1971. Former Bison Dave Calliguri is one of two NDSU wrestlers that claimed four Bison Open championships. He defended his title at 118 pounds from 1986-1989. Bison great Mike Langlais also performed the feat, winning the 142 pound title twice as an NDSU wrestler in 1981 and 1982. He won two more titles wrestling unattached at 142 in 1983 and at 150 pounds in 1986.
BISON CAPTAINS: NDSU will be captained by seniors Nick Magee, Lucas Christianson and Collin Kelly in its first season of Division I wrestling. The trio has combined for 133 career wins on the mat for the Bison.
RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS: Nick Magee, Lucas Christianson and Matt Hermann are all returning Division II All-Americans. Hermann placed second and Magee finished third last season. Christianson has performed the feat twice, capturing eighth in 2003 and sixth in 2002 before sitting out most of last season.
STRONG SHOWING AT DAKTRONICS OPEN: Redshirt freshman Andy Pickar captured an individual championship at 165 pounds at the Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open on Saturday, Nov. 6 hosted by South Dakota State. Thirteen other Bison placed in the tournament which featured over 200 wrestlers from 15 different teams. Heavyweight Tim Kraemer recorded the most pins in the tournament with four, on way to placing fifth in the tournament. Five other Bison wrestlers reached the finals. Senior Lucas Christianson (141), senior Collin Kelly (157), sophomore Matt Hermann (184), sophomore Dustin Benz (197) and senior Chris Tuchscherer all finished runners-up in the tournament. NDSU received a pair of third place finishes from true freshman Gabriel Mooney at 149 and junior Adam Dahlstrom at 174. Junior Zach Stevens (149), freshman Adam Aho (157) and Kraemer all placed fifth. True freshmen Mike Quamme (157) and Jacob Bryce (184) captured sixth place, along with redshirt Skip Johnson at 197.
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.