Cedar Falls, Iowa – The Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons wrestling team finished their third dual on Saturday and the team’s third against a top-15 ranked opponent when they faced No. 13 University of North Carolina at Pembroke Braves. The Dragons mounted a comeback but were turned away in the end, falling by a final of 14-20.
The Dragons’ 141-pounder Redshirt Senior Brady Schneeberger won his second match on the day when he took care of the Braves’ Tyquan Easton by a major decision. Schneeberger jumped out early with a takedown and a two-point nearfall in the opening period along with a penalty to take a 5-0 lead into the second period.
After exchanging reversals in the second, Schneeberger put Easton away with a pair of takedowns along with a two-point and three-point nearfall to secure a 17-6 win. Redshirt senior Tallen Wald got his second shutout of the day, defeating Patrick Foxworth by a final of 11-0.
Wald jumped out early, taking down Foxworth and earning a three-point nearfall to take a 5-0 lead after the first period. Wald repeated his opening performance in the second, this time earning a three-point nearfall. An escape in the third period would seal the win for Wald.
In the 174-pound contest Trent Sovde would defeat Dennis Fix in thrilling fashion. After both wrestlers earned escapes the match went into sudden victory overtime. There, Sovde gained a takedown to capture the 3-1 win. True freshman Kody Kalkbrenner followed up with an overtime thriller of his own, defeating Shiheem Bryant 7-5 in the second round of overtime.
Kalkbrenner took a 1-0 lead into the third period. In the third, Kalkbrenner’s two-point reversal and escape was enough to hold off Bryant’s comeback and send the match into overtime. After both wrestlers escaped in the second overtime period, the match moved into its second sudden victory overtime. Kalkbrenner would not let the win slip away and gained a takedown to secure the win.
The Dragons were with in three points of the Braves but James De La Riva defeated Jon Swart in a second sudden victory overtime period, and the Braves escaped the grasp of the Dragons and held on to a 20-14 win.
The Dragons will now move on to their Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference schedule with a dual against No. 3 Augustana (S.D.) in Sioux Falls, S.D. on Jan. 15 at 7 p.m.
Dragons Wrestling Upsets No. 10 Grand Canyon
Cedar Falls, Iowa – The Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons wrestling team went right back to work after falling to No. 1 Nebraska-Omaha against No. 10 Grand Canyon (Ariz.), their fourth ranked opponent in a row. The Dragons’ lower weights won four of their first five matches to propel the Dragons to an 18-16 upset.
The Dragons got another solid performance from 125-pounder Corey Ulmer as he defeated Grand Canyon’s Madison Gambrell 12-7. Ulmer had two reversals in his opening period and finished off Gambrell with a two-point and three-point nearfall in the third.
Redshirt senior Jon Swart also gained his second win on the day, edging out Peter Anguiano by a final of 4-3. Swart used a takedown to keep pace with Anguiano 2-2 after the second period. In the third Swart’s escape gave him the edge with riding time to secure the win.
Fellow senior Brady Schneeberger wasted little time in bouncing back, pinning Kyle Wilson just 2:10 into the opening frame to start a run by the Dragons. Tyler Steinwand, the Dragons’ 149-pounder, also bounced back with a big win over Austen Morre. Steinwand’s three takedowns and reversal were too much for Moore to overcome as Steinwand took the match by a final of 9-2.
Senior Tallen Wald shutout Grand Canyon’s Teddy Bristol 6-0 in the 157-pound matchup. Wald jumped out to a 2-0 lead after gaining a takedown of Bristol. After a scoreless second period, Wald gained a reversal and capped it off with a point for both riding time and a penalty called against Bristol.
The Dragons even up their dual season record at 2-2 and will move on to face North Carolina at Pembroke to cap off day one of the National Duals in Cedar Falls at 5 p.m.
Dragons Strong Start Not Enough Against Top Ranked Mavericks
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons opened up the National Duals in Iowa. The Dragons jumped out early over the No. 1 ranked Mavericks but could not hold off the top ranked team and fell by a final of 13-33.
The Dragons got on the board first when 125-pounder Corey Ulmer captured a major decision over Nebraska-Omaha’s Cody Tyler. Ulmer had a pair of takedowns and a two-point nearfall in the first period while yielding only one point on an escape.
Ulmer backed up his tough first period by taking down Tyler once again and putting him on his back for another two-point nearfall, putting him up 10-1. Ulmer would gain one more point on riding time and go on to an 11-1 win.
Redshirt Senior Evan Forde (141 pounds) would also gain points for the Dragons, getting a forfeit win over the Mavericks. The Dragons could not secure another win until the final match when Redshirt Senior and heavyweight Jon Swart defeated Taylor Escamilla 6-5.
Swart found himself down 0-1 after two periods but rallied in the third. Swart gained a pair of escapes and capitalized with one reversal and a takedown to give himself the win. But the top-ranked Mavericks run through the middleweights gave them the momentum to secure a final 33-13 win over the Dragons.
The Dragons fall to 1-2 on the dual season, both losses coming against No. 1 ranked teams, and will now move on to face Grand Canyon (Ariz.) at 1 p.m.