20 wrestlers place with 14 finalists as Huskies dominate in Moorhead
MOORHEAD, Minn. – No. 1 St. Cloud State Wrestling earned 11 titles at the Dragon Open in Moorhead on Saturday. 20 total Huskies earned top-six finishes at the open while 14 were finalists – most wrestlers competing unattached at the key early-season open.
In the Red Division, Archer Heelan went 4-0 with a pin at 125 to earn the Huskies’ first title of the day. Phillip Kue added a title by going 3-0 with a tech fall at 141 while 149-pounder Nolan Throne rolled to a 3-0 day with one tech fall to win a title of his own. Blake Legred made it four titles in the division with a 4-0 performance at 157, recording a major and a tech while outscoring his opponents 38-2 – blanking three.
Six Huskies earned titles in the White Division, first scoring co-champs at 149 as Aoci Bernard went 3-0 with a major and Luke Studer piled up three bonus point wins – two pins and a major decision – to go 3-0. Logan Vaughan won both his matches with a major decision and a pin to share the title at 165 with Owen Herbst, who enjoyed a strong 2-0 effort with a pin. Two more co-champs were crowned at 184 as Mac Copeland went 2-0 with a major decision and Bryce FitzPatrick won his semifinal match by major decision. Heavyweight Donnie Hidden closed out the day with three pins and a 4-0 effort for a dominant title-winning performance.
Robby Horsman went 3-1 with a tech fall and two majors to earn a runner-up finish at 133 in the Red Division while Isaac Grams earned second with a 3-1 day, scoring a pin and a major decision. Heavyweight Kaleb Haase took fourth while 197-pounder Jaydon Walls went 4-2 for fourth, pinning three of his opponents. Daniel Valeria added a fourth-place finish at 141 to round out the Huskies’ efforts in the division.
Ethan Birch had a strong showing in the White Division, going 3-1 with a pair of pins to take second at 157. Sebastian Zamorano took fourth at 174 with a 3-2 day – recording one pin – while Augustus Donovan placed fourth at 149 with a 4-2 performance and one tech fall. 157-pounder Cody Minor placed sixth after going 3-3 with a major decision while Kaleb Horn just missed the placements at 149.
St. Cloud State wrestlers were a combined 69-22 at the open, winning 75.8% of their matches – leading all teams in bout wins and placing second in winning percentage. SCSU scored five tech falls and 15 pins to lead the open in both categories.
MSU Moorhead Dragon Open Results
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