MOORHEAD, Minn. — The Minnesota State University Moorhead wrestling team will compete in a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference duals this week, starting Wednesday at home against Northern State. The Dragons will then hit the road the next day to face No. 4-ranked St. Cloud State.
Wednesday’s match against Northern was rescheduled from Saturday because of poor travel conditions.
MSUM (5-2 duals) won its first three matches at the Grand Canyon Duals, beating California Baptist (27-18), Colorado School of Mines (24-16) and Simon Fraser (29-19) before falling to No. 6 Grand Canyon (22-19) in the final match of the day.
Northern State is 3-0 in duals so far this season, while St. Cloud State is 11-0 overall.
About MSUM
In their last action on Jan. 5, the Dragons went 3-1 at the Grand Canyon Duals, led by 4-0 days from sophomore Philippe Walker (133 pounds) and redshirt freshman Jesse Puncochar (174). Seniors Jacob Bennett and Kerron Williams and juniors Angel Vega and Casey Williams each went 3-1 on the day for MSUM.
Vega (141 pounds) leads the Dragons with a 17-7 mark, while Casey Williams is at 12-4 and Walker 12-7. Puncochar is 10-3 while Matt Lewellen is 10-6 and Kerron Williams is 8-3.
Kris Nelson is in his fourth season as MSUM’s head coach with a record of 20-30 at the school.
About Northern State
Northern State is 3-0 in duals. The Wolves beat Chadron State, 21-20, in their last dual meet action on Dec. 8, 2012 in Aberdeen, S.D. Senior Matt Meuleners, the No. 1-ranked heavyweight in Division II, is 20-3 on the season for Northern, while senior Chad Gibson is 16-5 at 184 pounds. Junior Blake Lundgren is 14-7 at 165 pounds for the Wolves.
Pat Timm is in his 10th season as Northern’s head coach.
About St. Cloud State
The Huskies, who are ranked No. 4 in the latest Division II Coaches Poll, are 11-0 in duals this season. They went 4-0 at the NWCA Division II National Duals in Springfield, Ill., on Jan. 12, beating North Carolina-Pembroke (40-7), Upper Iowa (29-12), Wisconsin-Parkside (27-9) and Notre Dame College (17-15).
Redshirt freshman Clint Poster is 18-1 at 157 pounds for the Huskies, while senior Shamus O’Grady is 18-2 at 174 pounds. Freshman Gabe Fogerty is 12-2 at 165 pounds for St. Cloud State.
Steve Costanzo is in his seventh season as SCSU’s head coach with a record of 90-23.