Bison Fall to Northern Iowa, 21-19
FARGO, N.D. – The North Dakota State wrestling team dropped a hard fought 21-19 decision to Northern Iowa in the Western Wrestling Conference opener on Friday, Jan. 14 in front of 406 fans at the Bison Sports Arena. The Bison are now 6-2 overall and 0-1 in the WWC. UNI is 6-7 overall and 1-0 in the WWC.
No. 19 Trent Sprenkle got the Bison off to a strong start as he earned a 17-4 major decision over Caleb Flores. Sprenkle tallied five takedowns and two near falls in the win.
The Panthers won the next three straight bouts by decision to take a 9-4 lead going into the 157 pound match. After a scoreless first period between Vince Salminen and David Bonin, Salminen used an early reverse to kick start a 5-1 second period. Salminen earned a point for riding time and brought the Bison to within two points after his 6-2 win.
At 165 pounds, Tyler Johnson gave NDSU a 13-9 lead after pinning Riley Banach in 1:29. Johnson tallied a takedown a minute into the period and was able to flip Banach to his back to get the pin.
Back to back decisions at 174 and 184 pounds for UNI gave the visitors a 15-13 lead. At 197 pounds, Drew Ross withstood two early takedowns from Joe Johnson before notching seven straight points. Ross turned his final takedown into a pin at the 4:22 mark to give the Bison a 19-15 lead.
Ross’ ninth pin of the year was not enough to snap the UNI winning streak as Christian Brantley won the heavyweight bout by forfeit to earn the six points needed for a Panther victory.
The Bison continue WWC action next Sunday, Jan. 23 as they host Northern Colorado at 1 p.m.
Northern Iowa 21, North Dakota State 19
125 – Trent Sprenkle (NDSU) maj. dec Caleb Flores, 17-4
133—Ryan Jauch (UNI ) dec. Justin Solberg, 11-8
141—Joey Lazor (UNI) dec. Trevor Johnson, 9-3
149—Brett Robbins (UNI) dec. Mark Erickson, 5-4
157—Vince Salminen (NDSU) dec. David Bonin, 6-2
165—Tyler Johnson (NDSU) fall Riley Banach, 1:29
174—Brice Wolf (UNI) dec. Steven Monk, 9-3
184 – Ryan Loder (UNI) dec. Kenny Moenkedick, 8-5
197—Drew Ross (NDSU) fall Joe Johnson, 4:22
Hwt—Christian Brantley (UNI) win by forfeit