No. 5 St. Cloud State rolls to 34-6 win in Moorhead; Four bonus point wins key Huskies outburst over MSUM
MOORHEAD, Minn. – No. 5 St. Cloud State Wrestling won eight of 10 matches with a forfeit and four bonus point wins to flatten Minnesota State-Moorhead 34-6 on Friday evening at Nemzek Fieldhouse in Moorhead. After dropping their first bout by decision, the Huskies rattled off eight straight wins to improve to 3-1 in NSIC dual competition.
SCSU won the takedown battle 17-2 and piled up four four-point nearfalls.
The Dragons earned their first win of the match in the first bout at 125 as Ashton Clark dropped a tight 4-3 decision to Clayson Mele. Caleb Meekins made sure the lead wouldn’t last long in his bout at 133, shooting in for a cradle of Thomas Carillo to stick him just 14 seconds in.
Riding the momentum provided by Meekins’ fall, No. 11 Alyeus Craig provided a vintage effort at 141 to earn a 9-1 major decision over Hunter Hayes. Craig scored three takedowns and a reversal, adding the riding time point as he dominated on top.
No. 8 Joey Bianchini squared off with Jacob Davis at 149 and found himself in a hole early after misfiring on a leg attack, winding up on his back for a four-point nearfall and a 6-0 deficit. Bianchini quickly found his composure and spun back around for a reversal before the action exited the circle, going to work on top and turning Davis with a pair of roll-throughs for a 10-6 lead after one. He earned his escape after choosing down in the second, dragging Davis down and tilting him twice more for the 21-6 tech fall at 4:43 – outscoring his opponent 21-0 to close out the bout.
Blake Legred made his varsity debut at 157, showing off his skills in the controlling position to earn a 6-0 decision over Peyton Ringling. Legred scored a takedown in the second, escaped in the third and added a second takedown to ride out both periods.
At 165, Jimmy Pierandozzi earned a 10-3 decision over Jonas Anez with four takedowns. Bryce Dagel added an 8-5 decision over Anthony Castro at 174, erasing a 4-3 deficit after two. Dagel earned his escape then brought Castro down, cutting him and picking up another takedown for the 8-5 final.
Shaeden Scheidt won a 10-0 major decision over Brett Graham at 184, tilting his opponent in the third for four swipes and riding out the period to clinch his major. Tyson Meyer earned a forfeit win at 197 before Elijah Novak dropped a 2-1 decision to Andre Baguma at heavyweight.
Quotables – St. Cloud State head coach Steve Costanzo
“I think the guys did fairly well tonight. We had quite a few matches end in bonus point wins, so I was happy with that. We had a nice pin by Caleb Meekins at 133 to really get us going after we dropped the first match. It sparked us, and we did pretty well from there.”
“Well, I’ll be honest – Caleb just went out there and took care of business. He came out with a lot of energy, took the guy down, captured a cradle, took the guy to his back and got the pin. That was good for us because it gave us momentum, and then we rattled the next eight wins in a row.”
“Alyeus was very controlling, very poised throughout his match. He puts himself in some awkward positions from time to time, but he stays composed and generally comes out on top. Joey’s match, he gives up a takedown and some back points right away, down in a hole early. He gets a takedown then rattled off several backpoints from the top position. It was good to see him start firing on all cylinders as soon as he woke up in that match.”
“I just think Joey’s got to have confidence. That’s all it comes down to. He’s one of the best wrestlers in the country regardless of weight class, and he’s got to believe in himself more. He’s a skilled veteran, he’s been around the block, he’s a fifth-year senior. There’s no reason he shouldn’t have confidence.”
“Blake’s very similar to Alyeus. He’s very poised up there, controls positions very well, has good leverage. When he gets a takedown, his favorite position is on top – that’s where he feels comfortable – getting on top he has the ability to turn and ride for long periods of time. That really wears his opponent out. It’s exciting for him, it’s his first varsity dual win – I’m very happy for him.”
“I felt we could have blown those matches at 165 and 174 open a little bit more than they did. It just comes down to being a little bit more confident and energetic when they compete. They came out a little bit slow – but controlling – and I felt we could have put up some more points there. Shaeden again, another individual that wrestled very poised, gets the takedown and gets on top to turn the guy and blow the match open. It’s great to see some of those younger guys go out and find success early in their career. I think that’s really important.”
“We definitely have to come out firing on all cylinders tomorrow. They’re a little bit better than Moorhead, very capable of ruining our trip. We have to go out there and control the tempo with our ties, get to our leg attacks and finish our leg attacks, make sure we get out from the bottom and wrestle smart.”
Up Next
The Dragons are back in Nemzek Fieldhouse on Saturday to face off with Minnesota State Mankato. The first match is scheduled for 3 p.m. The Huskies wrestle No. 20 Northern State at Wachs Arena in Aberdeen on Saturday with a 2:00 p.m. CT first bout. Coverage is available on the NSIC Network and can be found at the SCSU Wrestling schedule page.
Jan. 27, 2023 | Nemzek Fieldhouse | Moorhead, Minn.
No. 5 St. Cloud State 34, Minnesota State-Moorhead 6
125: Clayson Mele (MSUM) dec. Ashton Clark (SCSU), 4-3
133: Caleb Meekins (SCSU) fall Thomas Carillo (MSUM), 0:14
141: No. 11 Alyeus Craig (SCSU) MD Hunter Hayes (MSUM), 9-1
149: No. 8 Joey Bianchini (SCSU) TF Jacob Davis (MSUM), 21-6 at 4:43
157: Blake Legred (SCSU) dec. Peyton Ringling (MSUM), 6-0
165: Jimmy Pierandozzi (SCSU) dec. Jonas Anez (MSUM), 10-3
174: Bryce Dagel (SCSU) dec. Anthony Castro (MSUM), 8-5
184: Shaeden Scheidt (SCSU) MD Brett Graham (MSUM), 10-0
197: Tyson Meyer (SCSU) by forfeit
HWT: Andre Baguma (MSUM) dec. Elijah Novak (SCSU), 2-1
Information regarding single dual and season tickets can be found at scsutickets.com. For all the latest on St. Cloud State Wrestling, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.