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Kelly Triumphs, 5 other NDSU wrestler's reach finals at Bison Open
November 13, 2004
FARGO, N.D.--Senior Collin Kelly captured the 157 pound championship at the Bison Open on Saturday, Nov. 13 in dramatic fashion. Trailing Minnesota's Mitch Kuhlman with less than thirty-seconds remaining in the match, Kelly scored a takedown and rode Kuhlman out to secure the win. Five straight NDSU wrestlers reached the finals from 157 pounds to 197 pounds at the 35th annual Bison Open before an attendance of 843 at the Bison Sports Arena. Minnesota returned to the Bison Open after a two-year absence from the tournament and crowned eight champions.
After an opening round bye, Kelly posted three straight decisions to reach the finals. The senior from Oakes, N.D., defeated Lee Rahrlein of Concordia-Moorhead (5-3), Jeremy Anderson of Minnesota (10-4) and Josh Jansen of Minnesota State-Moorhead to set up his match with Kuhlman in the finals. After trading takedowns, Kuhlman held a slight advantage late in the third period, only to see Kelly secure a late takedown after a scramble and hold on for the win. Kelly improved his record to 8-1 on the year.
The Bison placed 16 wrestlers in the top-six. Lucas Christianson (141), Andy Pickar (165), Adam Dahlstrom (174), Matt Hermann (184) and Dustin Benz (197) all reached the finals and placed second.
Skip Johnson (197) and Tim Kraemer (Heavyweight) finished third. Mike Meger (125), Zach Stevens (149), Dan Flatau (197) and Chris Tuchscherer (Heavyweight) placed fourth. Gabriel Mooney (149), Jacob Bryce (184) and Nathan Stoen (197) captured fifth, while Adam Aho (157) secured sixth place.
Christianson went 3-1 on the day, winning three straight matches by decision before facing Minnesota's Wil Holst in the finals. Holst pinned Christianson at the 1:52 mark of the first period to capture the title at 141. The senior from Apple Valley, Minn., is now 6-2 on the season.
Pickar pinned David Ahmed of Concordia-Moorhead in 2:38, then defeated Skip Troops of Minnesota State-Moorhead 3-1 to make it to the finals. Pickar fell 1-0 to Minnesota's Matt Nagel in a tight-knit contest for the 165 pound championship. The redshirt freshman dropped his first match of the season after going undefeated at last week's Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open.
Dahlstrom lost 10-2 to Minnesota's Gabe Dretch in the 174 pound championship. The junior from Oakes, N.D., was 3-1 on the day scoring in double digits in his first three victories over David Oliver of Mary (13-6), Mike Aldridge of Minnesota State-Moorhead (15-1) and Nick Davis of Minnesota (11-4).
Hermann also went 3-1 in the tournament with wins over Jason Waidsulis of Minnesota, Matt Pazanin of Mary and Ryan Cunningham of the U.S. Marine Corps. Hermann met the nation's top recruit in 2003 in Minnesota's Roger Kish. Hermann fell 22-10 to finish second at 184.
Benz won by pin over Dave Rector of Lakehead University in 3 minutes, 52 seconds, then defeated Jesse Laber of Mary 4-1 en route to the title match at 197. There he met Jacob Clark of the U.S. Marine Corps and fell in a closely battled match 2-1.
Johnson stormed through the consolations after falling to Jesse Laber of Mary in the quarterfinals at 197. The redshirt freshman recorded four straight pins, including a pin over NDSU teammate Flatau in 2:59 in the third-place match. Johnson is now 8-3 on the season with all eight victories coming via pinfall.
Flatau finished in fourth after finishing 3-2. He lost 13-5 to Clark of the U.S. Marine Corps, then positioned himself in the third place match with Johnson after three straight wins in the consolation bracket.
Kraemer and Tuchscherer were both 3-1 on the day entering their third-place match at heavyweight. Kraemer was credited with third place after a forfeit. Both Tuchscherer and Kraemer recorded pins in their opening round bouts.
Meger made his first start of the season and captured fourth at 125. The redshirt freshman went 3-2 on the day with two decisions and a pin. Meger's chances of reaching the finals were halted by Bobby Lowe of Minnesota 13-6 in the semifinals. Fellow Gopher Travis Lang pinned Meger in the third-place match.
Stevens went 4-2 at the tournament and also finished fourth. The junior recorded two decisions before falling to Matt Everson (6-2) of Minnesota in the quarterfinals at 149. He bounced back to beat Danny Meyer of Minnesota State-Moorhead 7-2, Joey Irmen of Mary 5-2, and teammate Mooney 1-0. Everson had Stevens' number again for third, winning by a tie-breaker in overtime.
Mooney posted a 3-2 mark on the day and captured fifth place at 149 by pinning Andrew Sinner of Mary in 2:31. Mooney posted two wins over Sinner in the tournament, winning in the quarterfinals 9-0.
Bryce was also 3-2 at the tournament. The true freshman defeated Eugene Pierre of St. Cloud State 8-7 to capture fifth place at 184.
Stoen posted three wins at 197 and placed fifth. He won via medical forfeit over Laber of Mary in the fifth-place match. The true freshman finished 3-2 on the day.
Aho added a sixth place finish for the Bison at 157. The freshman from Frazee, Minn., went 2-3 on the day losing two close battles with Kuhlman of Minnesota 3-1 in the semifinals and Jeremy Anderson of Minnesota 2-1 in consolation action.
Next action for the Bison will be Saturday, Nov. 20th, when NDSU travels to Omaha, Neb. for the Kaufman-Brand Open.