FULL SCORESHEET

ABERDEEN, S.D. - It was a night of upsets and high energy matches as the Northern State grapplers (5-3, 1-0 NSIC) opened their NSIC schedule with a huge 18-13 win over #7-ranked Minnesota State Moorhead (10-5, 1-1 NSIC) on Wednesday.  The Wolves were not intimidated by the Dragons, who entered the building with five active wrestlers ranked in the top ten in the nation.  Northern gained upsets in two of these matches and won six of the ten weight classes on their way to an 18-13 win.

The Wolves shocked th

e Dragons from the start, rolling to a 12-0 lead by nabbing wins in the first four matches of the evening and setting the tone for the night.  Cale Cornemann (7-4) led 4-1 after two periods in a low-scoring opening match at 184 pounds.  MSUM's Dan LeDuc tightened the score with a third period takedown, but Cornemann hung on and, with riding time, won 5-2 to put Northern up 3-0.

Todd Naasz improved to 11-4 on the year with a big win over #8 Matt Nelson.  With the score tied 3-3 going into the third period, Naasz opened the final with an escape.  Each man took shots in the remaining time, but neither managed to gain the advantage and Naasz took the 4-3 win.

Another exciting match came next with the heavyweight match.  Jared Little was behind 1-0 going into the third period but quickly tied the score with an escape.  With little time remaining, Swart (MSUM) attempted a takedown, but Little evaded and turned the effort into his own two points.  Even with a penalty point assessed to Swart, Little marked a 4-2 win.

Perhaps the most suspenseful match came at 125 pounds, as Chas Chas Welch won an 8-7 overtime thriller agia.  In just his second appearance of the season, Welch came out triumphant, forcing the overtime with a third period escape and a riding time point, tying the score 6-6.  No points were scored in the sudden death section of the first overtime, but Welch gained the slim advantage with an escape in the first tiebreak.  Fighting for the win, Welch refused to allow Werner an escape in the final tiebreak and sat on his opponent for the win, putting the Wolves up 12-0.

The Dragons finally got on the board, winning two of the next three bouts.  David Schiley (13-7) split the NSU losses with a 4-3 win at 141-lb., going ahead with a takedown with just 12 seconds left in the match.  Northern's other win of the evening came from Dustin Bonn (11-7), whose late reversal and fall gave him four points in the third period and a 4-2 win at 157 pounds.

The Wolves hope to carry the momentum from their huge win to the road this weekend.  They will compete at the Central Missouri Duals on Saturday.

Results
184 - Cornemann (NSU, 7-4) dec. DeLuc (MSUM, 7-16); 5-2
197 - Naasz (NSU, 11-4) dec. #8 Nelson (MSUM, 18-8), 4-3
HWT - Little (NSU, 5-9) dec. Swart (MSUM, 7-6); 4-2
125 - Welch (NSU, 2-0) dec. #6 Werner (20-7); 8-7 (TB-1)
133 - #6 Janke (MSUM, 15-8) dec. R. Schiley (NSU, 4-9); 8-5
141 - D. Schiley (NSU, 13-7) dec. McFarland (MSUM, 10-14); 4-3
149 - Bomstad (MSUM, 20-5) dec. Larsen (NSU, 9-8); 6-5
157 - Bonn (NSU, 11-7) dec. Wald (MSUM, 16-13); 4-2
165 - #7 Stavin (MSUM, 16-10) maj. dec. Downs (NSU, 4-1); 14-5
174 - #5 Tubbs (MSUM, 13-2) dec. Bowden (NSU, 5-10); 12-5