No. 17 Missouri Derails Bison Wrestling Opener, 23-9
FARGO, N.D. – The No. 24-ranked North Dakota State wrestling team dropped its season-opening dual to No. 17 Missouri on Friday evening inside the Bison Sports Arena. Missouri won seven out of 10 matches to earn the 23-9 victory.
NDSU (0-1) received wins from senior 141-pounder Justin LaValle, senior 165-pounder Steven Monk and sophomore 174-pounder Hayden Zillmer.
The Bison dropped four matches by three points or less, including Evan Knutson’s near-upset of No. 16 Devin Mellon at heavyweight. Mellon won a marathon match 4-3 by riding time advantage after a second tiebreaker period.
Missouri (1-0) won the first five matches of the dual, starting at 184 pounds and progressing to 133 pounds, before LaValle won a 4-1 decision over Trevor Jauch in his Bison debut. LaValle joined NDSU as a transfer from Old Dominion prior to this season.
The No. 3-ranked Monk recorded a 6-1 decision over Jordan Gagliano at 165 pounds to open his season. Zillmer wrapped up the dual by defeating Mike England 3-1 with a takedown in the final seconds.
NDSU had redshirt freshmen Hunter Weber (125), Justin Scherkenbach (133), Matthew Gray (157) and Colt Castlebury (197) make their collegiate debuts on Friday.
NDSU will host the Bison Open on Saturday, Nov. 9, for its next competition.
No. 17 Missouri 23, No. 24 North Dakota State 9
184 John Eblen, MISS, dec. Kurtis Julson, NDSU, 5-2
197 J`Den Cox, MISS, maj. dec. Colt Castlebury, NDSU, 14-4
285 Devon Mellon (MISS) tb-2 Evan Knutson (NDSU) 4-3
125 Barlow McGhee, MISS, dec. Hunter Weber, NDSU, 5-2
133 Eric Wilson, MISS, dec. Justin Scherkenbach, NDSU, 4-2
141 Justin LaValle, NDSU, dec. Trevor Jauch, MISS, 4-1
149 Drake Houdashelt, MISS, dec. Tyler Diamond, NDSU, 6-1
157 Kyle Bradley, MISS, maj. dec. Matthew Gray, NDSU, 10-2
165 Steven Monk, NDSU, dec. Jordan Gagliano, MISS, 6-1
174 Hayden Zillmer, NDSU, dec. Mike England, MISS, 3-1