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#2 Mavericks top #17 Bulldogs
Feb. 18, 2005
Kirksville, Mo. -- Minnesota State won eight of ten matches, including two overtime decisions, to roll to a 27-6 road win over #17 Truman State in the regular-season finale. With the non-conference triumph, the second-ranked Mavericks improve to 16-3, matching the team record for most wins in a season. The 1997-98 Mavericks also went 16-3, while the 1974-75 squad went 16-5.
Freshman Nick Smith (Yankton, S.D.) got the Mavericks rolling with an 8-4 decision at 125 pounds. The fourth-ranked Smith secured a takedown in the third period to earn his tenth win in a Maverick uniform. He was followed up by sophomore Efrain Ayala (Grand Island, Neb.) who earned a 10-8 overtime win at 133 to give MSU a 6-0 lead.
At 141 pounds, junior Charlie Dawson (El Paso, Texas) dropped a close 10-4 decision to defending NCAA Division II national champion and top-ranked Merrick Meyer but returning All-American Jason Rhoten (Kasson, Minn.) pulled out a 4-2 win at 149 to put the cushion back to six points and improve his personal mark to 25-5.
The Mavericks surrendered their final points of the night at 157 when Dustin Teeman upset #5 Mathias Bitz (Bismarck, N.D.) by a narrow margin of 6-4. Sophomore 165-pounder Jeremiah Nowak (Edgar, Wis.) started the finishing run with a 4-2 overtime win, his 18th of the season.
Sophomore Erik Wallace (Gaylord, Minn.) narrowly missed a major decision win at 174, extending the MSU lead with an 11-4 triumph in relief of the injured Travis Krinkie (Blue Earth, Minn.). Junior John Koons (Crosby, Minn.) matched that performance with a 12-5 win of his own to improve to 28-9 on the season.
The Mavericks received bonus points in the final two matches of the evening as seniors Josh Janousek (Greenbush, Minn.) and Mike Engelmann (Spencer, Iowa) posted identical 12-2 wins at 197 and heavyweight, respectively.
Minnesota State will next be in action on Feb. 27 at the North Central Regional in Marshall, Minn. The event serves as the qualifier for the NCAA Division II National Championships held on March 11-12 in Omaha, Neb.