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NDSU takes winning streak out west
February 1, 2006
North Dakota State (4-3) will go on the road to wrestle four matches in seven days, beginning with Northern Colorado on Monday, Feb. 6, and Utah Valley State on Tuesday, Feb. 7. Both matches are slated for a 8 p.m. central time start.
THE SERIES: The Bison lead the series with Northern Colorado 24-2-1 but the two teams split last year's duals. North Dakota State took care of the Bears 31-3 on Jan. 22, 2005 at the Bison Sports Arena with the Bears getting their revenge less than a month later in Greeley, defeating the Bison 19-15 on Feb. 18, 2005.
NDSU also leads the series with Utah Valley State 1-0. The Bison defeated the Wolverines 25-10 in Greeley the same night they were defeated by Northern Colorado.
SCOUTING NORTHERN COLORADO: The Bears are 4-3 on the season, winning three of their last four. They also took home the team title at the Colorado Collegiates on Jan. 22. Before wrestling the Bison, UNC will square off against South Dakota State on Thursday, Feb. 2, in Greeley, Colo.
Northern Colorado is led by redshirt sophomore Reece Hopkin. Hopkin, ranked 17th according to the Jan. 31 NWCA/InterMat Division I Coaches'Poll at 197 pounds, is 20-4 on the season and 7-0 in dual matches. At 174 pounds, sophomore Shawn Hart is 18-4 overall, 6-1 in duals.
UNC is coached by Jack Maughan. Maughan, son of NDSU wrestling coach Bucky Maughan, is in his 19th season for the Bears and has complied a 110-134-1 record over that span. The younger Maughan picked up his first win against his father in 19 attempts last year in the Bears victory over the Bison in Greeley, Colo.
SCOUTING UTAH VALLEY STATE: After starting the 2005-06 season 0-5, the Wolverines are 5-8 on the season. UVSC has won their last three duals over Western Wyoming, Wyoming and Adams State. The Wolverines will wrestle South Dakota State on Saturday, Feb. 4, before taking on North Dakota State.
Senior Erkin Tadzhimetov leads UVSC at 133 pounds. A native from the country of Uzbekistan, Tadzhimetov is 25-8 this season and 11-2 in dual matches. Junior Talon Vickers also returns to the lineup from last year's squad. The 125-pounder is 18-9 on the year.
UVSC is coached by Cody Sanderson. Sanderson is in his third year and has a career record of 18-25-1. Sanderson wrestled at Iowa State University where he was a two-time NCAA national runner-up and two-time All-American.
BRYCE'S WIN AT 197 CLINCHES 18-15 WIN OVER WYOMING: Thanks to Eric Sanders' pin at 133 pounds and Jacob Bryce's victory at 197, North Dakota State won its fourth consecutive match defeating Wyoming 18-15 in front of a crowd of 647 at the Bison Sports Arena on Saturday, Jan. 28.
The match began at 125 pounds when Wyoming's Bryce Leonhardt defeated NDSU's Mike Meger 10-4. Meger kept it close for two periods but was outscored in the final session 6-2.
North Dakota State (4-3) bounced back with Eric Sanders making quick work of Wyoming's Cody Grant, pinning him in 1 minute, 37 seconds. Sanders picked up career win No. 30 and has now won his last three bouts, two of them coming by fall.
Wyoming (4-6) stormed back with victories at 141, 149 and 157 pounds. Cowboy 141-pounder Shay Lawrence led throughout the match and shut out NDSU's David Cunningham 5-0. At 149 pounds, Gabe Mooney fell to Wyoming's Carter Downing 11-6, giving Wyoming the early 9-6 lead. North Dakota State's Andrew Quittschreiber made his dual-match debut but fell short to 2005 NCAA national qualifier Dan Clum by the score of 7-4 at 157 pounds.
The Bison bounced back when 165-pound freshman Zach Molitor defeated Gary Dack 6-1. Molitor never lost the lead in the match and now has won three consecutive matches.
At 174 pounds, junior Matt Hermann picked up career win No. 60 and his second win in as many nights, defeating Wyoming's Dan Barrone 7-4. NDSU's Matt Wetterling won his fourth match in a row by defeating Preston Pavich 12-8 in the 184-pound bout. Wetterling is now 21-6 on the season.
The match of the day came at 197 pounds between NDSU's Jacob Bryce and Wyoming's Malcolm Havens. With the match tied 2-2 early in the second period, Havens was called for an illegal slam as Bryce was dropped on the back of his head. After a brief recovery period, Bryce came out aggressive and was able to take down Havens in the final seconds of the second period, giving Bryce a 5-2 lead. In the final period, Bryce was able to escape Haven's grasp and notch another takedown with 1:09 remaining. Bryce went on to win the match 8-3 and gave the Bison the 18-12 advantage.
Leading by six points going into the heavyweight bout, anything short of a Wyoming pin would give the Bison a victory. NDSU's Mike Maresh and Dusty Hoffschneider wrestled in an electrifying match with Hoffschneider coming out on top 11-6. The loss was Maresh's first of his season and career but North Dakota State came out victorious at the end by the score of 18-15.
BISON WIN THIRD STRAIGHT; DEFEAT AIR FORCE 27-9: The North Dakota State wrestling team won seven of 10 bouts en route to a 27-9 victory over Air Force on Friday, Jan. 27, in front of a crowd of 744 at the Bison Sports Arena.
The match started with Air Force jumping out to an early 6-0 lead after brothers Bridger and Zach Lord picked up victories in the 149 and 157-pound bouts. Bridger Lord defeated Gabe Mooney 7-4 and Zach Lord earned three points for the Falcons by beating NDSU's Adam Aho 10-7.
North Dakota State came back with three straight victories, starting with 165-pounder Zach Molitor. The true freshman picked up his second consecutive win by scoring five unanswered points in the final period, giving him a 7-2 victory over Greg Ford.
The match continued with team captain Matt Hermann edging out Stephen Crozier 9-8 at 174 pounds. The match was even throughout and came down to Hermann's advantage time of 1 minute and 12 seconds. With the victory, Hermann improved his overall record to 4-5 and evened his dual record to 3-3.
At 184 pounds, Matt Wetterling picked up his 20th victory and 15th pin of the season sticking Zane Hershey in just 51 seconds, giving the Bison a 12-6 lead. The sophomore is now 4-2 in duals and has recorded pins in his last three matches.
At 197 pounds, Air Force's Brendan McLean took down NDSU's Jacob Bryce with 12 seconds remaining in the match to give McLean the 3-2 decison. McLean, who was nationally ranked until this week, was called for stalling with 21 seconds remaining in the third period before securing the victory.
Heavyweight Mike Maresh picked up his fifth consecutive win, beating Frank McGrath 11-4 and gave North Dakota State a 15-9 advantage.
After a forfeit by the Falcons at 125 pounds, Eric Sanders defeated Brandon Strong 7-6. Strong, a 2005 NCAA national qualifier, had a 6-4 lead after the first period. Sanders came back in the second period with a reversal and sealed the victory at 133 pounds thanks to 2:55 of advantage time.
The match concluded at 133 pounds with David Cunningham defeating Shane Manuel 9-5. Cunningham is now third on the team in wins with 13 and improved his dual record to 3-3.
HOME SWEET HOME: Through four matches at the Bison Sports Arena, North Dakota State is 3-1, winning their last three matches. After dropping the season opener to North Carolina State, NDSU has reeled off wins against Portland State 37-6, Air Force 27-9 and Wyoming 18-15. The Bison will wrestle their final match in Fargo and of the season against American University on Feb. 20.
The Bison will wrestle their first true road matches beginning with Northern Colorado on Feb. 6 and Utah Valley State the following evening. North Dakota State traveled to the Virginia Duals on Jan. 13 and went 1-2 for the tournament.
MINNESOTA BORN: All 10 of NDSU's wrestlers in the Bison starting lineup are from Minnesota. Collectively, they won 12 Minnesota state championships in their high school careers and have a combined 200 wins to go along with a .604 winning percentage (200-131) while wrestling for North Dakota State.
NATIONAL RANKINGS: Several potential Bison dual-meet opponents are ranked nationally according to the January 31th USA Today/NWCA NCAA Division I Coaches' Poll. The Bison lost to No. 22 Penn 38-3 on Jan. 13 at the Virginia Duals and will travel to No. 24 Northern Illinois on February 12 and No. 25 Northern Iowa on February 18.
Several individual wrestlers NDSU will face are also nationally ranked. Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa and American University has three and Northern Colorado has one individual nationally ranked. The Bison will host American University on Feb. 20.
MEET THE BISON:
MIKE MEGER (125): Meger enters his second year as the 125-pounder for North Dakota State and is 6-6 on the year. The sophomore is on a roll, winning his last four of his last five dual matches, two of them by major decisions.
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 has won three straight duals and is only one of two NDSU wrestlers that are undefeated at home.
DAVID CUNNINGHAM (141): Cunningham begins his first year of action for North Dakota State after redshirting in 2004-05. After his victory against Shane Manuel of Air Force on Jan. 27, Cunningham is tied for third on the team in wins (13).
GABE MOONEY (149): Mooney is currently second on the team in victories with 17 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 picked up his first career dual-match victory on Jan. 13 at the Virginia Duals defeating Billy Bullwinkel of The Citadel 7-2.
ADAM AHO (157): Aho is 6-6 on the year and has been hampered by injuries this season. The redshirt freshman has been wrestling well of late, winning three of his last four matches.
ANDREW QUITTSCHREIBER (157): Quittschreiber made his dual match debut against 2005 NCAA qualifier Dan Clum of Wyoming and lost 7-4 on Jan. 28. The redshirt freshman is 11-9 on the year.
ZACH MOLITOR (165): Molitor is the starter for North Dakota State this year at 165 pounds as a true freshman. The freshman is on a roll, picking up his third consecutive victory, beating Gary Dack of Wyoming 6-1.
MATT HERMANN (174): Team captain Matt Hermann is 5-5 on the year and 4-3 in dual matches. The junior picked up career win No. 60 on Jan. 28 against Wyoming's Dan Barrone.
MATT WETTERLING (184): Wetterling currently leads the team in wins (21), pins (15) and fastest pin (0:37) this season. The sophomore has won his last four matches, three of those coming by pin.
JACOB BRYCE (197): Bryce is currently 13-9 and picked up his first career dual victory against Portland State defeating Jake Schneider. The redshirt freshman had the match-winning victory against Wyoming's Malcolm Havens on Jan. 28 in Fargo. Bryce also 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 made his North Dakota State wrestling debut at the Virginia Duals on January 13 with outstanding results. Maresh was the only Bison who went 3-0 at the tournament and also won his first home dual of his career, defeating Steve Fittinger of Portland State. Maresh was defeated for the first time against Wyoming's Dusty Hoffschneider on Jan. 28, dropping his record to 5-1.