No. 20 Dragons Send Wolves Packing At John Sterner Endowment Dual
MOORHEAD, Minn. – The No. 20 Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons welcome in the Northern State Wolves (S.D.) for the annual John Sterner Endowment Dual. The Dragons worked over the Wolves early on for three pins en route to a 30-13 win.
After a forfeit win for the Dragons at 125 pounds in favor of Graelin Garlington, Senior Evan Forde opened up the dual with a big win over Ian Muirhead. Forde showed that he was in firm control early on with a takedown just 24 seconds into the match.
Forde led 8-6 after the opening period, racking up three more points in the second period with a near fall. In the final period Forde finally got his aggressive offense to pay off, pinning Ian Muirhead at 6:37 to put the Dragons up 12-0.
Tyler Steinwand looked to continue his recent run of success against Beau Voegeli at 149 pounds. Steinwand was forced to rally after Voegeli lead 4-2 after the first period. Steinwand chose down to start the second and reversed Voegeli, taking him down 30 seconds later.
After Voegeli tied the match with an escape, he failed to capitalize any further as Steinwand gained the winning point with 2:33 of riding time for a 7-6 win. The Dragons early success continued at 157 pounds with No. 7 ranked Tallen Wald taking on Ryan Dickonson.
Wald gained control early with a takedown just 15 seconds into the opening period, nearly pinning Dickinson 24 seconds later. Wald finally put away Dickinson with a pin fall at 1:24 of the match, the Dragons second pin fall of the night. The pin by Wald opened up the lead to 21-3.
Tyler Kivel opened up the second half against Neil Sell at 165 pounds. Kivel gained a takedown 24 seconds into the match while Sell responded with an escape. After Kivel kept Sell from scoring in the second, Kivel chose down to start the third, escaping Sell’s hold and taking him down simultaneously. Kivel kept on the pressure, gaining the third pin fall for the Dragons, which gave the Dragons a 27-3 lead.
The Wolves gained a win at 174 pounds with Chad Gibson gaining a win over Trent Sovde. With the match in Gibson’s favor, Sovde made a last second move for a tying takedown but was not awarded the points.
Freshman Kody Kalkbrenner regained the momentum for the Dragons at 184 pounds, taking on Jeb Clay. Kalkbrenner traded takedowns and reversals with Clay in the first period but Kalkbrenner’s escape gave him the one point lead after the first period.
Clay tied the match up in the second matching Kalkbrenner with an escape but gaining a takedown with 19 seconds remaining. Kalkbrenner racked up the points in the third, getting two takedowns and nearly pinning Clay as the match ended, capping his match with a three-point near fall to win by a final of 15-8.
After a Wolves’ win at 197 pounds between Northern State’s Brent Fosheim and Brian Woelfel, the dual reached the final match between the Dragons’ Jon Swart and the No. 2 ranked heavyweight in the nation, Matthew Meuleners.
Meuleners and Swart each exchanged escapes to begin the second and third periods, respectively. Both wrestlers battled for position in the first overtime period but neither gained any points. During the second set of overtime periods, both Meuleners and Swart each swapped escapes. Meuleners gained the decisive takedown to win the match by a final of 4-2.
The Dragons 30-13 win brings their record to 6-8 (2-4 NSIC). The Dragons continue their home stand with a dual against Dickinson State on Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. inside Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse.
MSU-Moorhead 30 Northern State 13
125 Graelin Garlington (MSM) For Forfeit (NS)
133 Evan Forde (MSM) FALL Ian Muirhead (NS) 6:37
141 Benton Crow (NS) DEC Brady Schneeberger (MSM) 4-1
149 Tyler Steinwand (MSM) DEC Beau Voegeli (NS) 7-6
157 Tallen Wald (MSM) FALL Ryan Dickinson (NS) 1:24
165 Tyler Kivel (MSM) FALL Neil Sell (NS) (6:16)
174 Chad Gibson (NS) DEC Trent Sovde (MSM) 3-1
184 Kody Kalkbrenner (MSM) DEC Jeb Clay (NS) 15-8
197 Brent Fosheim (NS) MD Brian Woelfel (MSM) 13-1
285 Matthew Meuleners (NS) DEC Jon Swart (MSM) 4-2