Bonus Points Lead to Bison Upset of #8 Nebraska in Thriller
LINCOLN, Neb. – The North Dakota State wrestling team opened up the 2022-23 season with a thrilling victory over No. 8 Nebraska Friday night, defeating the Huskers 20-16 at the Devaney Center.
The dual came down to a winner-take-all final match as NDSU led 17-16 heading into the heavyweight battle. Trailing 1-0, Juan Mora chose neutral headed into the third period and then secured a takedown in the final minute to take a 2-1 lead. Mora then rode out Nebraska’s #28 Cale Davidson to secure victory for the Bison.
Both teams won five matches in the dual, but the Bison secured five bonus points to just one for Nebraska, as redshirt freshman Michael Caliendo secured a pin in his first collegiate dual at 165 and DJ Parker picked up a tech fall decision at 184 to give the Bison a 4-point edge.
Nebraska took the first two matches, as Carlos Negrete fell to #10 Liam Cronin 5-1 at 125, and McGwire Midkiff lost 6-2 to #24 Boo Dryden at 133.
#9 Dylan Droegemueller scored the first victory for the Bison, as he overcame an early takedown from #28 Brock Hardy to win a 10-4 decision at 141. Droegemueller responded with an escape and a takedown that led to a 4-point nearfall as he led 7-3 after the first. The senior then had an escape and takedown in the second period to help secure his victory.
Michael Weber then immediately followed with another big win, taking down Dayne Morton 3-2 in sudden victory to tie the match at 6-6. After a scoreless first, Weber rode out Morton in the second, securing two minutes of riding time. In the third Weber escaped early, securing a riding time point for a 2-0 lead, but Morton picked up a takedown in the final second to force overtime. After a scoreless overtime, Weber picked up a quick escape and ultimately won 3-2 in the tiebreaker round.
Nebraska took a lead headed into overtime, as #4 Peyton Robb picked up a 7-4 decision over #9 Jared Franek.
Coming out of the halftime break, #19 Caliendo swung momentum in the favor of the Bison as he secured a pin just 1:20 into the 165-pound match to lift the Bison into their first lead of the match, 12-9.
Nebraska would go back in front as #3 Mikey Labriola picked up a major decision win at 174 over Gaven Sax, winning 15-7 as Nebraska went up 13-12.
However, #31 Parker would get the Bison back in front, this time for good, as he secured three 4-point nearfalls, including two in the final period to pick up a 17-2 win by tech fall over Brandyn Van Tassel at 184 pounds, as NDSU went up 17-13.
Nebraska would win at 197 as #27 Silas Alred defeated #21 Owen Pentz 4-2 in a sudden victory to set up the winner-take-all final match at heavyweight.
The Bison win snapped a six-dual losing skid to Nebraska, including two duals in the Division I era for NDSU.
North Dakota State also picked up their first ranked win since defeating #21 Stanford 28-13 on February 15, 2020, in Fargo. It is the second-highest-ranked win in the program’s D1 history, behind only a 25-22 win over No. 6 Boise State on January 15, 2010. It is the highest-ranked win in a true road dual in program history.
The Bison will now open up the home slate with the annual Bison Open on Saturday, November 12. The event will begin at 9 a.m. inside the Scheels Center. North Dakota State will jump back into dual action on Friday, November 18 against Binghamton, also at the Scheels Center.
Friday, Nov. 4, 2022 | Devaney Center | Lincoln, Neb.
North Dakota State 20, Nebraska 16
125: #10 Liam Cronin (NEB) over Carlos Negrete Jr (NDSU) (Dec 5-1); NEB 3-0
133: #24 Boo Dryden (NEB) over McGwire Midkiff (NDSU) (Dec 6-2); NEB 6-0
141: #9 Dylan Droegemueller (NDSU) over #28 Brock Hardy (NEB) (Dec 10-4); NEB 6-3
149: Michael Weber (NDSU) over Dayne Morton (NEB) (TB-1 3-2); Tied 6-6
157: #4 Peyton Robb (NEB) over #9 Jared Franek (NDSU) (Dec 7-4); NEB 9-6
165: #19 Michael Caliendo III (NDSU) over Jagger Condomitti (NEB) (Fall 1:20); NDSU 12-9
174: #3 Mikey Labriola (NEB) over Gaven Sax (NDSU) (MD 15-7); NEB 13-12
184: #31 DJ Parker (NDSU) over Brandyn Van Tassel (NEB) (TF 17-2 7:00); NDSU 17-13
197: #27 Silas Alred (NEB) over #21 Owen Pentz (NDSU) (SV-1 4-2); NDSU 17-16
285: Juan Mora (NDSU) over #28 Cale Davidson (NEB) (Dec 2-1); NDSU 20-16
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