North Dakota State 35 Northern Illinois 4

No. 22 North Dakota State Earns 35-4 Win over Northern Illinois

FARGO, N.D. – No. 22-ranked North Dakota State won 9 of 10 matches and closed with a pair of falls from 197 Cordell Eaton and 285 Brandon Metz to finish off a hard-fought 35-4 win over Northern Illinois in a non-conference dual before 502 spectators in the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex.

North Dakota State improved to 2-0 this season, while the Huskies dropped to 0-1. NDSU is scheduled to host the 48th annual Bison Open starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 10, in Scheels Center including wrestlers from nationally-ranked Arizona State, Minnesota and South Dakota State.

Eaton, a redshirt junior from Long Grove, Iowa, grinded out a fall in 4-minutes, 33-seconds for his second win of the season. Metz, a redshirt freshman from West Fargo, needed just 21-seconds to complete pin and energize the crowd in the finale to even his record at 1-1.

North Dakota State won the first six matches highlighted by the 15-0 tech fall from No. 17-ranked 133-pounder Cam Sykora. Sykora (2-0) was second in the nation last season with a dozen tech falls. NDSU’s No. 23-ranked Brent Fleetwood closed out strong for a 7-1 win over Bryce West at 125 pounds.

The Bison had to persevere over the next four of five weights. Gavin Sutton (1-1) recorded his first collegiate win, a 7-4 decision over NIU’s Anthony Cheloni. Sutton led 6-4 with 1:36 remaining when NDSU won a challenge and a Cheloni takedown was overturned.

North Dakota State redshirt freshman Jaden Van Maanen (2-0) used a bullish second period that included an escape and 4-point near fall to take a 5-0 lead and take an 8-4 decision over McCoy Kent at 149 pounds. NDSU 157-pounder Nick Knutson (1-1) recorded a first-period takedown, and allowed only a penalty point and escape in a 4-2 win over Mason Kauffman to put the Bison ahead 17-0.

No. 12-ranked Andrew Fogarty (2-0) had his hands full with Kenny Moore at 165 pounds in a 3-2 win. Fogarty and Moore were scoreless after one period. Moore recorded the only takedown in the match in the second, but Fogarty countered with a pair of escapes. Fogarty then held the top position for the entire third period and gained the deciding point with 1-minute, 43-seconds of riding time.

The lone win for Northern Illinois came at 174 pounds where Brit Wilson posted a 15-4 major decision over No. 24-ranked Lorenzo De La Riva.

After another scoreless first period, NDSU 184-pounder Tyler McNutt recorded a takedown with 6-seconds left to take a 3-2 lead in the second and held the top spot for the entire third to earn the riding time point in a 4-2 decision over Caden McWhirter.

North Dakota State 35 Northern Illinois 4
125: Brent Fleetwood (NDSU) over Bryce West (NOIL) (Dec 7-1)
133: Cam Sykora (NDSU) over Alijah Jeffery (NOIL) (TF 15-0 5:00)
141: Gavin Sutton (NDSU) over Anthony Cheloni (NOIL) (Dec 7-4)
149: Jaden VanMaanen (NDSU) over McCoy Kent (NOIL) (Dec 8-4)
157: Nick Knutson (NDSU) over Mason Kauffman (NOIL) (Dec 4-2)
165: Andrew Fogarty (NDSU) over Kenny Moore (NOIL) (Dec 3-2)
174: Brit Wilson (NOIL) over Lorenzo De La Riva (NDSU) (MD 15-4)
184: Tyler McNutt (NDSU) over Caden McWhirter (NOIL) (Dec 4-2)
197: Cordell Eaton (NDSU) over Ross Sealby (NOIL) (Fall 4:33)
285: Brandon Metz (NDSU) over Caleb Gossett (NOIL) (Fall 0:21)

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