Dragons Fall Short in Upset Bid Against Upper Iowa, Roll Past Jamestown
MOORHEAD, Minn. – The Minnesota State University Moorhead wrestling team split a pair of home duals on Saturday. The Dragons saw their upset bid fall just short against No. 6-ranked Upper Iowa, falling to the Peacocks 21-18 before rolling to a 37-5 win over Jamestown to conclude the day.
MSUM is now 3-3 in duals this season and 0-2 in the NSIC.
“We wrestled aggressive in both duals,” MSUM head coach Kris Nelson said. “The whole team wrestled very well in the top position.”7167
The Dragons were in position to upset No. 6-ranked Upper Iowa before a late rally by the Peacocks gave them a 21-18 win. MSUM won five matches, including one by fall, and held an 18-6 lead at one point in the dual.
Bosch put the Dragons in the lead with a pin of Matt Paulus in 3:39. Bosch trailed 5-0 at one point in the first period but battled back to take a 6-5 lead. In the second period he got Paulus to his back and finished the pin in 3:39 to put MSUM up 6-3.
Starting with Bosch’s win, the Dragons won four straight matches. Senior Philippe Walker defeated Jordan Roths by decision, 6-2 at 141 to give MSUM a 9-3 lead.
“Philippe Walker had a big win,” Nelson said. “He wrestled very well in the top position.”
At 149, sophomore Isaac Novacek won a hard-fought 3-2 decision over Upper Iowa’s Trevor Duke to give the Dragons a 12-3 lead. Sophomore Garret Hoffner added to the lead with a close 3-2 win over Upper Iowa’s Jordan Rinken, who entered the match with a 21-6 record. Heading into 165 MSUM led 15-3.
Upper Iowa won by decision at 165 before Dragon senior Michael Joseph got the Dragons back in the win column with a 5-0 victory over Dalton Westerlund at 174 pounds to give MSUM an 18-6 lead with three weights left.
“Mike Joseph went 3-0 this weekend and did a great job,” Nelson said.
The Peacocks won the final three matches, however, including two by fall, to rally for the 21-18 win.
“We wrestled the best we have this year against Upper Iowa,” Nelson said. “We dug deep and wrestled aggressive. We would have liked to get the win, but we showed we’re a good team that can battle against good teams.”
In the second dual of the day, MSUM rolled to the 37-5 win, recording victories in nine of the 10 matches. In addition to a win by forfeit at 197, MSUM earned bonus points in four matches.
Novak got MSUM on the board with a 1-0 win over Jamestown’s Joseph Murillo. Bosch added his second pin of the day with a win by fall over Jamestown’s Joseph Zepeda which pushed the Dragon lead to 9-0.
Jamestown won by pin at 141 but that would be the only win of the day for the Jimmies (who later lost a team point due to unsportsmanlike conduct).
Novacek controlled his match from start to finish at 149, beating Justin Folson by technical fall (21-5) to give MSUM a 14-6 lead. Hoffner continued his strong showings of late with an 11-3 major decision win over Tyler Schnaubert at 157.
“Garret Hoffner is showing us a little more. He is wrestling more aggressive than he was at the beginning of the year,” Nelson said. “He is going out there looking to score points.”
Sophomore Dan Murakami won 5-0 at 165 over Jacob Paul to give the Dragons a comfortable 21-5 lead. Joseph capped off a 3-0 weekend with an 8-2 win over Jonathon Gonzalez at 174.
Senior Shawn Porter added more bonus points for MSUM With a 9-1 major decision win over Matthew Hernandez of Jamestown. The Dragons won by forfeit at 197 and sophomore Nader Abdullatif finished the day off on a solid note for MSUM with a 4-2 win over Antonio Lopez at 285.
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MSUM is at Augustana on Wednesday for a conference dual.
“We had some good wins against Upper Iowa,” Nelson said. “We hope that carries over to our upcoming conference matches.”
No. 6 Upper Iowa 21, MSU-Moorhead 18
125-Garrett Wangsness (UI) dec. Shane Novak, 9-6
133-Blake Bosch (MSUM) pinned Matt Paulus, 3:39
141-Philippe Walker (MSUM) dec. Jordan Roths, 6-2
149-Isaac Novacek (MSUM) dec. Trevor Duke, 3-2
157-Garret Hoffner (MSUM) dec. Jordan Rinken, 3-2
165-Colbey Vance (UIU) dec. Dan Murakami, 5-2
174-Michael Joseph (MSUM) dec. Dalton Westerlund, 5-0
184-Blake Sorenson (UIU) pinned Shawn Porter, 1:07
197-Richard Briggs (UIU) dec. Chris Bascon, 7-4
285-Logan Hopp (UIU) pinned Nader Abdullatif, 3:15
MSU-Moorhead 37, Jamestown 5
125-Shane Novak (MSUM) dec. Joseph Murillo, 1-0
133-Blake Bosch (MSUM) pinned Joseph Zepeda, 1:11
141-Dillon Kifer (UJ) pinned Philippe Walker, 2:07
149-Isaac Novacek (MSUM) tech. fall Justin Folsom, 21-5
157-Garret Hoffner (MSUM) maj. dec. Tyler Schnaubert, 11-3
165-Dan Murakami (MSUM) dec. Jacob Paul, 5-0
174-Michael Joseph (MSUM) dec. Jonathon Gonzalez, 8-2
184-Shawn Porter (MSUM) maj. dec. Matthew Hernandez, 9-1
197-Chris Bascon (MSUM) won by forfeit
285-Nader Abdullatif (MSUM) dec. Antonio Lopez, 4-2
Note: Jamestown lost team point due to unsportsmanlike conduct at 157.
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