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North Dakota State returns to action this weekend at the Virginia Duals
January 9, 2006
North Dakota State returns from a month layoff to compete in the Virginia Duals this weekend in Hampton, Va. NDSU will wrestle their first match Friday, January 13 at 9 a.m.
VIRGINIA DUALS: This will be the second consecutive year the Bison compete in the highly-competitive Virginia Duals. Last year the Bison went 1-2 at the event, losing to Rider 19-16 and Buffalo 25-15 and defeating the University of Virginia 21-18. The losses to Rider and Buffalo mark the last time NDSU has lost back-to-back matches. The tournament bracket will be set later this week for the event.
Other teams scheduled to compete at the event include Bloomsburg, UC Davis, Citadel, Columbia, Drexel, Indiana, North Carolina, Old Dominion, Ohio State, Penn, Rider, Tennessee-Chattanooga, Virginia, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.
The latest USA Today/NWCA NCAA Division I Coaches' Poll has Indiana ranked 15th in the country and Penn 25th. West Virginia is also receiving votes in the poll.
BISON FALL TO NORTH CAROLINA STATE: North Dakota State (0-1) came up short in its opening dual match of the 2005-06 season, falling to North Carolina State (4-0, 0-0 ACC) 22-14 in front of a crowd of 733 at the Bison Sports Arena, Friday, December 16. The loss also snapped NDSU's five-match opening-dual winning streak.
North Carolina State jumped out to an early 3-0 lead when 125-pounder Jeremy Hartrum defeated North Dakota State's Mike Meger 10-5. The Bison responded quickly in their next two bouts as 133-pounder Eric Sanders and 141-pounder David Cunningham were able to pickup victories, giving NDSU a 7-3 lead.
The Wolfpack struck back when Joe Caramanica defeated Gabe Mooney 6-2 at 149 pounds. At 157 pounds, reigning ACC Freshman of the Year Kody Hamrah gave the Wolfpack the lead for good at 12-7 when he pinned Adam Aho.
Zach Molitor made his North Dakota State debut but came up short to Obie Simpson 6-5 at 165 pounds. Simpson scored a takedown with 36 seconds left in the match to secure the win. NDSU team captain Matt Hermann retaliated with a 6-4 decision over Rick Brownlee at 174 pounds.
Matt Wetterling inched the Bison closer, picking up his team-leading 17th win of the season for North Dakota State at 184 pounds when he defeated Jeremy Colbert 13-2, narrowing the team score to 15-14. At 197 pounds, NC State's Ryan Goodman responded with a four-point victory of his own, defeating Jacob Bryce 9-1.
The match concluded with the Wolfpack's Jainor Palma defeating Dustin Benz 7-3 at heavyweight.
ABOUT NDSU: Junior team captain Matt Hermann leads a squad that only returns two starters from last year's dual lineup. Along with Hermann, sophomore Mike Meger returns for the Bison at 125 pounds. Sophomore Eric Sanders redshirted last season and will start for North Dakota State at 133 pounds. The remainder of the starting lineup consists of one sophomore, four redshirt freshman and two wrestlers in their first year with the wrestling program.
NATIONAL RANKINGS: Several potential Bison dual-meet opponents are ranked nationally according to the January 3rd USA Today/NWCA NCAA Div I Coaches' Poll. Along with three ranked teams at the Virginia Duals, the Bison will travel to No. 22 Northern Illinois on February 12 and No. 23 Northern Iowa on February 18.
Several individual wreslters NDSU will face are also nationally ranked. Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa and American University each have three wrestlers ranked in the top 20 and Air Force has one individual in the top-20. The Bison will host Air Force on January 27 and American University on February 20.
NORTH DAKOTA STATE SIGNS EVAN HACKER: Evan Hacker of Canby (Minn.) High School signed a National Letter of Intent to wrestle and continue his education at North Dakota State University during the November early signing period. Hacker, who went 40-3 last season as a junior, is the defending Class A Minnesota state heavyweight champion. Hacker was also selected to the all-state academic wrestling team and was an all-conference academic offensive lineman for Canby's football team as well as a member of the Minnesota Junior National Wrestling Team.
LAST YEAR OF RECLASSIFICATION: The Bison are still without a conference affiliation, but NDSU is looking ahead to 2006-07 when its NCAA tournament eligibility begins, thanks to an NCAA ruling in September 2004 that North Dakota State could reclassify its wrestling and volleyball teams to Division I in three years instead of five. NDSU is on track to reclassify in all sports by 2008-09.
MEET THE BISON:
MIKE MEGER (125): Meger enters his second year as the 125-pounder for North Dakota State and is 2-5 on the year. The sophomore went 10-9 last season, 7-7 in duals. Meger only competed in the Bison Open prior to the NC State Dual because of an injury.
ERIC SANDERS (133): After redshirting last season, Sanders returns to the Bison lineup. The sophomore started off the 2005-06 season hot, winning seven of his first eight matches and placing second at the Daktronics and Bison Opens. Sanders also started off the dual season on a positive note as he defeated Jeff Breese of North Carolina State.
DAVID CUNNINGHAM (141): Cunningham begins his first year of action for North Dakota State after redshirting in 2004-05. Cunningham is only one of four wrestlers in the starting lineup to have double-digit victories (11) and won his first career varsity dual match in the opener against North Carolina State, defeating Jalil Dozier 12-4.
GABE MOONEY (149): Mooney is currently second on the team in victories with 16 and has placed in three of the four tournaments he competed in which includes a championship at the Daktronics Open in Brookings, S.D. The redshirt freshman will look for his first career dual-match victory this weekend at the Virginia Duals.
ADAM AHO (157): Aho is currently 3-3 on the year and has been hampered by injuries this season. The redshirt freshman went 3-2 in the Daktronics Open and fell to last year's ACC Rookie of the Year, Kody Hamrah in the dual against North Carolina State.
ZACH MOLITOR (165): Molitor will start for North Dakota State this year at 165 pounds as a true freshman. During the open tournament season, Molitor went 9-3 in two events and placed third at the Bison Open in November.
MATT HERMANN (174): Team captain Matt Hermann notched career victory No. 57 in the dual opener against North Carolina State. The junior has only competed in the Bison Open prior to the dual opener as he suffered a shoulder injury in his first match of the tournament.
MATT WETTERLING (184): Wetterling currently leads the team in wins (17), pins (12) and fastest pin (0:37) this season. Wetterling has placed in three of four tournaments he competed in which included a championship at the Cobber Open and a third-place showing at the Northern Iowa Open.
JACOB BRYCE (197): Bryce started out the season winning 10 of his first 13 matches and is currently 11-5. Bryce placed runner-up this year at the Daktronics and Bison Opens and had a fifth-place showing at the Northern Iowa Open.
MIKE MARESH (Hwt.): Maresh will make his North Dakota State wrestling debut and fill the void at heavyweight, beginning this weekend at the Virginia Duals.
Maresh went 132-22 for Champlin Park High School (Minn.) that included a state championship at 215 pounds in 2004. Maresh was also the starting outside linebacker for NDSU's football team this past season finishing with 45 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble.