NDSU travels to Las Vegas Invitational
December 3, 2008
The North Dakota State
wrestling team heads to Las Vegas, Nev. for the 27th Annual Cliff Keen
Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 5 and 6. Action begins at 9 a.m. PT. A
premier tournament, the Las Vegas Invitational features ten USA
Today/Intermat/NWCA top 25 teams including No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4
Cornell, No. 7 Illinois, No. 8 Minnesota and No. 10 Lehigh. Five
Western Wrestling Conference teams will also be participating: Wyoming,
Utah Valley, South Dakota State, Northern Colorado and Air Force. Only
the starters for the Bison will be participating in the team scored
event. Michigan captured the event title in 2007.
Bison go 1-1-1 at Northern Quad
NDSU went 1-1-1 at the Northern Quad on Saturday, Nov. 29. The team
defeated Portland State, 39-0, tied Northern Colorado, 19-19, and lost
to Minnesota, 36-6. Sophomore Kenny Moenkedick was the only Bison to go
3-0 on the day, while five others posted 2-1 records. The Bison shut
out Portland State with a sweep of all ten weight classes. Freshman
Trent Sprenkle (125) and sophomore Tyler Hemmesch (Hwt) both won by
fall. The match against Northern Colorado was a tight one with the
outcome undecided until the heavyweight bout when UNC’s Justin Tuell
pinned Hemmesch to tie the score at 19-19. Minnesota captured eight of
ten weight classes en route to a 36-6 victory. Ryan Adams and
Moenkedick defeated their Gopher opponents.
Moenkedick off to a hot start
Sophomore Kenny Moenkedick has started the season on a 7-0 run. At the
Bison Open, Moenkedick went 4-0 en route to capturing the 184 pound
title. At the Northern Quad this past weekend, he was the only Bison to
win all three of his matches. He defeated Portland State’s Brady Garner
by a 6-1 decision, Brad Eidenshink of Minnesota in a 7-3 decision and
Ryan Johnson of Northern Colorado in an 8-6 decision. So far this
season, he has won four matches by decision, two by major decision and
one by fall.
Freshmen step into lineup
The Bison lost three starters to graduation last year which left some
holes to fill in the lineup. Freshman Trent Sprenkle has stepped into
the gap left by Eric Hoffman at 125 pounds. Fellow freshman Drew Ross
has taken over the 197 slot, replacing Jacob Bryce. Both Sprenkle and
Ross wrestled the first two open meets of the season unattached, but
saw their first dual action at the Northern Quad last weekend. Sprenkle
posted a 1-2 record at the Northern Quad, while Ross was 2-1.
Bison to host Dickinson State and Iowa State
On Saturday, Dec. 13, NDSU will host Dickinson State at 1 p.m. and
current No. 2 Iowa State at 5 p.m. at the Bison Sports Arena. It will
be the 12th meeting between Dickinson State and the first between the
Bison and Cyclones. Iowa State has won two straight Big 12 titles and
are led by wrestling legend Cael Sanderson.
The Coaches
Head coach Bucky Maughan returns for his 45th season with the Bison. He
currently has a 444-137-13 record at the helm of NDSU. Assistant coach
Bret Maughan is in his eighth season with the Bison while Kris Nelson
is in his ninth season. Former Bison wrestler Eric Hoffman joins the
staff as a student assistant coach.
The Western Wrestling Conference
The Bison are starting their third season in the Western Wrestling
Conference. Last year, NDSU finished third in the regular season
standings and then came in fifth at the NCAA West Regional, which
served as the conference tournament. Eric Hoffman was named to the
all-conference first team after capturing the WWC title at 125. Junior
Ryan Adams and Jacob Bryce both earned second team nods after earning
runner-up finishes at the West Regional. Senior Eric Sanders was a
third team selection.
