2009-10 College Results
Dragons Send Five To Nationals, Schneeberger Stuns NSIC
February 28, 2010
ABERDEEN, S.D. – On Friday, Head Coach Kris Nelson boldly predicted that
junior Brady Schneeberger and the Minnesota State University Moorhead
Dragons would surprise many at the Super III Regionals in Aberdeen, S.D.
His prediction came true, as Schneeberger will join four other Dragons
who qualified for the national tournament.
The Dragons came into the regional tournament with many skeptics in a
conference widely considered to be the best in NCAA Division-II
wrestling. While Augustana College came away with the team title, the
Dragons met and exceeded expectations, placing fifth with a team total
of 73 points.
The Dragons sent five wrestlers to the nation tournament in 2009, and
did so again in 2010. Sophomore Corey Ulmer (125 pounds), juniors Derek
Bomstad (149 pounds) and Schneeberger (141 pounds) will each make their
first trip to nationals while seniors Tim Johnson and Jarret Hall will
make a return. Johnson and Hall both finished the regionals with a third
place finish, the same finish both wrestlers had at last year’s
regionals.
The night would start at 125 pounds as Ulmer picked up a 6-2 decision
over Trent Herold of St. Cloud State but fell in a 4-6 decision to No. 1
Tyler Mumbulo who would later win the weight class. Ulmer gained a bye
in the third place bracket and defeated Matt Garcia in an 8-6 decision.
In the third place match Ulmer lossed to No. 3 Alex Meger of Augustana
in a 2-3 decision. Ulmer finished the night with a fourth place finish
and advances to nationals.
Not many eyebrows were raised until Schneeberger took the mat at 141
pounds against No. 3 Robby Fischer of Minnesota State Mankato.
Schneeberger caught a lot of attention after he stunned Fischer with an
8-6 decision. After Benton Crow of Northern State upset No. 2 Gabriel
Suarez of St. Cloud State, Schneeberger schooled Crow in a 17-1
technical fall at the 4:39 mark of the semi-final match.
Schneeberger would not lose sight of his goal, as he took on his
toughest opponent on the season in his biggest match of the season, No. 1
Jay Scherer of Augustana in the championship match.
Schneeberger held a slight edge over Scherer as the match went into the
third period. Scherer took down Schneeberger with only 26 seconds to go,
giving him a 7-5 lead.
Scherer, instead of riding out Schneeberger, got overconfident and
decided to go for the pin. Schneeberger crafted a daring move and
flattened Scherer’s shoulders and pinned the favorite at the 6:45 mark
of his match. The unranked and underrated Schneeberger stunned the NSIC
and will move onto the national tournament as the regional champion at
141 pounds.
Defeating unlikely opponents became a trend for the middle weight
classes as Derek Bomstad followed Schneeberger’s momentum in the
149-pound weight class. Bomstad, after a bye in the opening round, took
on No. 2 Derek Stolarzyk of Upper Iowa. Bomstad would also pull off an
upset as he defeated Stolarzyk in a 4-3 decision to advance to the
finals. There he would face his toughest opponent on the season,
Augustana’s No. 1 ranked Nate Herda.
Late in the third period, Herda and Bomstad traded takedowns and escapes
but Herda’s takedown in the final period forced Bomstad to begin
looking for a shooting attempt to takedown Herda but couldn’t get his
late chances to capitalize and Bomstad finished with a second place
finish, again as an unranked wrestler in a bracket that featured five
ranked opponents.
Hall looked to return to the national tournament after qualifying last
season with a third place result. Hall, with only four matches under his
belt before this year’s regionals (3-1 record), looked to make more
noise for the Dragons.
No. 5 Hall took the early match against No. 4 Ben Becker of Minnesota
State Mankato. Hall busted out early and dominated Becker with a 12-0
major decision. Hall ran into No. 1 Mitch Norton of Upper Iowa who came
off a 22-4 technical fall over Phillip Downs of Northern State in the
first round. Hall and Norton battled through two periods but Norton
gained a slight edge over Hall and was granted the pin at the 6:10 mark.
Hall would not lose after that match. Hall took out frustrations of an
early defeat on William Fate of Southwest Minnesota State. Hall earned a
6-2 decision over Fate to advance to the third place match. There Hall
would find himself in a rematch of the opening round against Becker, and
the results didn’t change by much. Hall again shut out Becker with a
5-0 decision to advance to the national tournament for the second
straight time as a Dragon.
Johnson came into his opening match as the No. 3 ranked wrestler at 285
pounds. Johnson disposed of Aaron Cramer of Upper Iowa, pinning Cramer
at the 3:43 mark of the match. In the semi-finals, Johnson locked up
against No. 2 Jake Kahnke of St. Cloud State. Johnson got an early
escape but could not get more as Kahnke moved on with a 9-1 major
decision.
Johnson, as Hall did at 174 pounds, would not lose again. Johnson took
on No. 5 Lance Peters of Augustana in the semi-finals of the third place
bracket. Johnson pinned Peters at the 3:46 mark to move on to the third
place finals against No. 4 Brian Rodas who also came off a pin in the
previous round. Johnson would outwork Rodas as he did when the two faced
off in the regular season when Johnson won 5-2. Johnson would take his
third place match over Rodas with a 5-3 decision.
The Dragons surprised many with their resiliency and toughness. At one
time, the Dragons had seven wrestlers in position to qualify for
nationals. The Dragons now set their sights on the national tournament
where first year Head Coach Kris Nelson will take Ulmer, Schneeberger,
Bomstad, Hall and Johnson as qualifiers to the NCAA Division-II National
Championships on March 12-13 inside Sapp Fieldhouse on the campus of
the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
NCAA Super Region 3 Tournament Results
MSU-Moorhead Results
125 – Corey Ulmer (4th)
• 6-2 Dec. over Trent Herold (SCSU)
• Lost 6-4 Dec. to Tyler Mumbulo (UIU)
• 8-6 Dec. over Matt Garcia (Mary)
• Lost 3-2 Dec. to Alex Meger (Augie)
133 – Evan Forde
• Lost 13-4 MD to Adam Jennings (SMSU)
• 5-2 Dec. over Cody Schmidt (Mary)
• Lost 14-2 MD to Shane McQuade (SCSU)
141 – Brady Schneeberger (1st)
• 8-6 Dec. over Robby Fischer (Mankato)
• 17-1 Tech. Fall over Benton Crow (NSU) (4:39)
• 6:45 fall over Jay Scherer (Augie)
149 – Derek Bomstad (2nd)
• 4-3 Dec. over Derek Stolarzyk (UIU)
• Lost 7-12 Dec. to Nate Herda (Augie)
157 – Tallen Wald
• Lost 1-4 Dec. to Justin Decker (UIU)
• 3-2 Dec. over Wade Granger (SMSU)
• Lost 3-5 Dec. to Justin Turek (Mankato)
• Lost 4-6 Dec. to Collin Engelhardt (Mary)
165 – Tyler Kivel
• Lost 2-13 Maj. Dec. to Travis Eggers (UIU)
• Lost 1-6 Dec. to Tel Todd (Mankato)
174 – Jarret Hall (3rd)
• 12-0 MD over Ben Becker (Mankato)
• 6:10 Fall to Mitch Norton (UIU)
• 6-2 Dec. over William Fate (SMSU)
• 5-3 Dec. over Ben Becker (Mankato)
184 – Tayler Yliniemi
• Lost 2-8 Dec. to Derek Skala (SCSU)
• Lost 1-9 Maj. Dec. to Nick Henning (Augie)
197 – Jon Swart
• Lost 0-6 Dec. to Lucas Munkelwitz (SCSU)
• Lost 1-3 Sudden Victory Dec. to John Makabe (Mankato)
HWT – Tim Johnson (3rd)
• 3:43 Fall over Aaron Cramer (UIU)
• Lost 1-9 Maj. Dec. to Jake Kahnke (SCSU)
• 3:46 Fall over Lance Peters (Augie)
• 5-3 Dec. over Brian Rodas (SMSU)
