Mankato, Minn. – The No. 20 Minnesota State wrestling team hosted their first conference wrestling dual of the season against No. 11 University of Mary, falling 2-15 to the Marauders.
The dual started at 165 lbs., with Kole Marko, a MSU freshman, and Riley Noble, a redshirt junior from UMary. Marko had a dominant second period with two takedowns and finished the match 6-2 to give the Mavericks an early 3-0 lead. Mike Smith, from MSU, and #3 Max Bruss, from UMary, were next at 174 lbs. Smith got an early takedown in the first period at 11 seconds, as the first period ended in a 3-3 tie. Bruss went on to win the match by an 8-5 decision, tying the teams at 3-3. Wrestling for MSU at 184 lbs. was Shane Gibson, against Wyatt Lidberg of UMary. Lidberg opened the match with a takedown and 4pt near fall in the first period and went on to win the match by a 17-0 tech fall, bringing the team score to 8-3 UMary.
Tommy Johnson of MSU and #12 Matthew Kaylor of UMary were next at 197 lbs. After scoreless first period, Kaylor won the match by a 2-0 decision with an escape in the second period and riding time to finish the third period. UMary still led the team score with 11-3. An almost identical match happened next at 285 lbs. between MSU’s Darrell Mason against UMary’s Luke Tweeton. Mason won the match by a 2-0 decision after a no score first period, an escape in the second, and riding time throughout the third, with a team result of 11-6 UMary.
Dropping back to the lower weight classes, MSU forfeited at 125 lbs. to Jaden Verhagen of UMary, giving UMary a larger lead of 17-6 in team scores. Isaiah Mlsna of MSU was next at 133 lbs. against #14 Reece Barnhardt of UMary. Barnhardt had takedowns in the second and third period, to help achieve a 6-0 decision win over Mlsna, putting UMary at 20-6 in the team score. Two seniors were up next between #12 Brock Luthens of MSU and Laken Boese of UMary. After a dramatic third period, Luthens came away with the win in a 6-2 decision. Caleb Meunier, a freshman from MSU, and Lincoln Turmar, a redshirt senior from UMary, were at 149 lbs. Turmar kept the lead throughout the three periods, finally getting the close win over Meunier with a 6-4 decision, helping UMary pull away in the team score at 23-9. For the last match of the evening, Drake Hayward of MSU and #9 Brandon Huber of UMary battled at 157 lbs. Neither opponent scored during the first or second period, having it all come down to the third. Huber had an early escape, followed by a takedown by Hayward, before Hayward won via fall at 6:00. This final win for MSU ended the dual, with UMary winning 23-15.
Two exhibitions matches followed the end of the dual. MSU’s Nic Leo wrestled UMary’s Sam Bruss with Bruss winning by a 5-2 decision. Max Villnow of MSU also wrestled Jose Reyes of UMary, resulting in a 14-3 major decision for Reyes.
The Mavericks are back at home in Bresnan Arena on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. against Southwest Minnesota State to continue their conference dual schedule.
University of Mary 23, Minnesota State 15
165: Kole Marko (MSU) over Riley Noble (UMary) Dec 6-2 | 3-0 MSU
174: Max Bruss(UMary) over Mike Smith(MSU) Dec 8-5 | 3-3 Tied
184: Wyatt Lidberg (UMary) over Shane Gibson (MSU) TF 17-0 | 8-3 UMary
197: Matthew Kaylor(UMary) over Tommy Johnson(MSU) Dec 2-0 | 11-3 UMary
285: Darrell Mason (MSU) over Luke Tweeton (UMary) Dec 2-0 | 11-6 UMary
125: Jaden Verhagen (UMary) over Unknown (For.) | 17-6 UMary
133: Reece Barnhardt (UMary) over Isaiah Mlsna (MSU) Dec 6-0 | 20-6 UMary
141: Brock Luthens (MSU) over LakenBoese (UMary) Dec 6-2 | 20-9 UMary
149: Lincoln Turmar (UMary) over Caleb Meunier (MSU) Dec 6-4 | 23-9 UMary
157: Drake Hayward (MSU) over Braydon Huber (UMary) Fall 6:00 | 23-15 UMary
Exhibition Match #1: Sam Bruss (UMary) over Nic Leo (MSU) | Bruss wins 5-2 decision
Exhibition Match #2: Jose Reyes (UMary) over Max Villnow (MSU) | Reyes wins 14-3 major decision
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