MOORHEAD, Minn. — The Minnesota State University Moorhead wrestling team continues its homestand this week with three duals. The Dragons will host St. John’s in a nonconference dual on Friday at 7 p.m., and then will host Upper Iowa (2 p.m.) and Jamestown (4 p.m.) on Saturday.
It is part of a stretch of four straight home matches for MSUM (1-2, 0-1 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference). After this weekend’s matches, MSUM will be on the road for the next seven matches, starting on Jan. 21 at Augustana.
In its last action on Jan. 10, MSUM fell in its conference opener to Minnesota State, Mankato by a 27-12 score. Sophomore Blake Bosch had a pin at 133 pounds for MSUM while sophomore Isaac Novacek (149) and senior Shawn Porter (184) added wins for the Dragons.
Bosch leads MSUM with an 11-5 mark at 133 pounds, while sophomore Garret Hoffner is 5-2 at 157. Sophomore Shane Novak is 4-2 at 125 while sophomore Nader Abdullatif is 9-7 at 285. Sophomore Isaac Novacek is 6-5 at 149 for the Dragons.
Kris Nelson is in his sixth season as MSUM’s head coach.
About St. John’s: The Johnnies are 3-11 in duals this season. They competed at the Division III National Duals on Jan. 9 in Fort Wayne, Ind., and went 0-3. Junior Ben Henle leads the Johnnies with a 20-4 record at 141 pounds, while senior Ryan Michaelis is 6-1 at 197. Sophomore Colin Fisher is 5-2 at 285 pounds. Tony Willaert is in his first season as St. John’s interim head coach.
About Upper Iowa: The Peacocks are 5-2 overall. They split four matches at the NWCA National Duals last weekend, beating No. 5-ranked Mercyhurst, 33-8 and No. 6 McKendree, 18-15 before losing to No. 7 St. Cloud State, 26-6 and No. 1 Notre Dame, 22-12. Logan Hopp is 20-3 at 285 pounds for the Peacocks while Jordan Rinken is 21-6 at 157 pounds for Upper Iowa. Blake Sorenson is 16-5 at 184 pounds for the Peacocks. Heath Grimm is in his 15th season as Upper Iowa’s head coach.
About Jamestown: The Jimmies are 4-3 in duals this season, including 1-1 against the NSIC. They lost at Minot State, 35-15 but beat Mary 25-18. In its last dual on Jan. 9, Jamestown topped Hastings (Neb.) 30-13. Anthony Kifer and Jonathon Gonzalez had pins for the Jimmies. The team competed at the Cusatis Open on Jan. 12 with Joseph Murillo and Michael Nord each placing third. Jeremy Hernandez is in his first season as Jamestown’s coach.