Strong Start Propels No. 18 Bison Wrestling to Win Over Binghamton
FARGO, N.D. – The No. 18 North Dakota State wrestling program picked up a victory over Binghamton Friday night at the Scheels Center, using a strong start en route to an 18-13 win.
The Bison (2-0) won the first three matches, and six of the first seven overall, to jump out to an insurmountable lead and remain undefeated against the Bearcats (0-2) all time.
Gaven Sax had the biggest win of the night for the Bison as his come-from-behind effort over #33 Brevin Cassella at 174 pounds helped secure the victory. Sax trailed 2-1 headed to the third, but secured a takedown with 14 seconds left and added a four-point nearfall to win 7-2.
Carlos Negrete Jr. and Fernando Barreto picked up their first career dual match victories to start the evening. In the 125-pound match, Negrete rode an early takedown with a two-point nearfall and a four-point nearfall in the first period to cruise to a 9-2 victory over Micah Roes.
Barreto, wrestling in his first dual as a Bison, took a 1-0 lead into the third of the 133-pound match after his escape in period two. He then secured a late takedown with 26 seconds left to pick up the victory with a 3-1 decision over Anthony Sobotker.
#9 Dylan Droegemueller kept the momentum going as he used a pair of takedowns in the first period and a takedown in the second to secure a 7-5 victory in the 141-pound match over Nat Lucier.
After Binghamton picked up a major decision win at 149 pounds, #8 Jared Franek extended the Bison lead before the break with an 11-4 decision over Conner Decker at 157 pounds. Franek had two takedowns in the first period and then a reversal to start the second to jump out to a 6-1 lead. He would add a takedown, a penalty point and a riding time point in the third.
Coming out of the break with the 165-pound match, #15 Michael Caliendo continued his unbeaten start to the season as he used two early takedowns and a riding time point to pick up a 5-2 win over Will Ebert.
Binghamton would pick up three victories by decision in the final three matches.
The Bison will be back out on the road on Sunday with a small group headed to Brookings, S.D., set to compete in the Daktronics Open. Opening matches are set to begin at 9 a.m. inside Frost Arena at South Dakota State. The Bison will return to dual competition on December 9, as NDSU welcomes in Minnesota to the Scheels Center.
North Dakota State 18 Binghamton 13
125: Carlos Negrete Jr (NDSU) over Micah Roes (BING) (Dec 9-2); NDSU 3-0
133: Fernando Barreto (NDSU) over Anthony Sobotker (BING) (Dec 3-1); NDSU 6-0
141: #9 Dylan Droegemueller (NDSU) over Nate Lucier (BING) (Dec 7-5); NDSU 9-0
149: Michael Zarif (BING) over Gabriel Schumm (NDSU) (MD 13-4); NDSU 9-4
157: #8 Jared Franek (NDSU) over Conner Decker (BING) (Dec 11-4); NDSU 12-4
165: #15 Michael Caliendo III (NDSU) over Will Ebert (BING) (Dec 5-2); NDSU 15-4
174: Gaven Sax (NDSU) over #33 Brevin Cassella (BING) (Dec 7-2); NDSU 18-4
184: #22 Jacob Nolan (BING) over #29 DJ Parker (NDSU) (Dec 3-1); NDSU 18-7
197: #7 Lou Deprez (BING) over #29 Owen Pentz (NDSU) (Dec 8-1); NDSU 18-10
285: Cory Day (BING) over Juan Mora (NDSU) (Dec 5-4); NDSU 18-13
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