MSUM Wrestlers Place 7 at Annual Dragon Open

MOORHEAD, Minn. – Four Minnesota State University Moorhead wrestlers placed second in their weight divisions to highlight the day at the Dragon Open, which was held Saturday at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse in Moorhead, Minn. The tournament was the Dragons’ first home competition of 2013-14.

Several hundred fans attended the annual event, which featured more than 250 wrestlers and nearly 20 teams, including Division I schools Minnesota, South Dakota State and North Dakota State.

Freshman Blake Bosch, senior Angel Vega (wrestling unattached), senior Matt Lewellen each earned second-place finishes in the White Division, while freshman Garret Hoffner posted a runner-up finish in the Red Division.

“I thought we wrestled well as a team,” MSUM head coach Kris Nelson said. “Overall I thought we had a good day.”

Bosch had a strong day in the Red Division’s 125-pound bracket. After an opening bye, he beat Gabe Foltz of Concordia, 7-5 and then followed with a hard-fought 4-2 win over Northern State’s Anthony Bruno. Bosch fell to Tanner Johnshoy of St. Cloud State, 5-3 in the finals.

“Blake Bosch did a great job for us,” Nelson said. “He had a great win in the semis over Anthony Bruno of Northern State who was a national qualifier and he wrestled a good match in the finals. He’s doing a good job at 125. Today was a good test for him.”

Vega, competing unattached, was second in the Red Division’s 141-pound bracket. He pinned Jake Kostik of Concordia in 40 seconds to open the day and followed with a pin of Mike Tanner of Minnesota West in 3:41. Vega then beat Josh Shupe of the University of Minnesota, 9-5 in the semis before falling to North Dakota State’s Mitchell Bengston, 4-3 in the finals.

Also wrestling well at 141 pounds was MSUM redshirt freshman Isaac Novacek, who placed third with a 3-1 record. Novacek beat Ryan Cook of Augsburg, 12-3 and then pinned Yonas Gebreab of Concordia in 5:45. He lost to NDSU’s Bengston by fall before coming back with a 7-6 win over Minnesota’s Shupe in the third-place match.

“It was Isaac’s first time down to 141 this year. Isaac wrestled great,” Nelson said. “He was aggressive all day. We’re excited to have Isaac in the lineup.”

Lewellen continued to wrestle well at 184 pounds for MSUM. Competing in the Red Division, Lewellen opened with a 5-0 win over Mary’s Tom Devito, and then edged Shea Nolan of South Dakota State, 6-4. Lewellen then beat Clayton Jennison of St. Cloud State, 10-8 in the semifinals before losing a tough 7-5 contest to Christian Harrison of Concordia in the finals.
“Matt Lewellen wrestled hard all day,” Nelson said. “He gives 100 percent all the time.”

Freshman Tyler Schlosser continued his solid start to the season, placing fourth with a 2-2 record at 197 pounds (Red Division). He had a bye to open the day and then edged Mitchell Eull of Minot State, 3-2. He fell to Matthew Hechsel of Augsburg, 4-0 and then fell to Delson Saintal of Concordia, 10-3 in the third-place match.

Novak, competing unattached at 125 pounds in the White Division, opened with a bye and then beat Richy Soto of Concordia by technical fall, 20-5. Novak lost to Jarred Oftedahl of St. Cloud State, 10-2 and then fell to Joel Saloman of St. Cloud State, 7-0 in the third-place match.

Hoffner also had a good day, taking second in the 149-pound class in the White Division. He beat Brandon Brunner of South Dakota State, 10-1 and then pinned Tyler Tischer, competing unattached, in 2:33. Hoffner then beat Kyle Leet of SDSU, 8-2 before losing a tough 4-0 decision to Lucas Zliverberg of SDSU in the finals.

The Dragons will face nationally-ranked Augsburg College in a dual on Wednesday which begins at 7 p.m. in Minneapolis, Minn.

Dragon Open Results

MSUM Individuals

Red Division
125 – Blake Bosch (2-1, 2nd place)
Quarterfinal – Blake Bosch (MSU – Moorhead) won by decision over Gabe Foltz (Concordia-Moorhead) (Dec 7-5)
Semifinal – Blake Bosch (MSU – Moorhead) won in sudden victory – 1 over Anthony Bruno (Northern State University) (SV-1 4-2)
1st Place Match – Tanner Johnshoy (St. Cloud State) won by decision over Blake Bosch (MSU – Moorhead) (Dec 5-3)

141 – Isaac Novacek (3-1, 3rd place)
Champ. Round 1 – Isaac Novacek (MSU – Moorhead) won by major decision over Ryan Cook (Augsburg College) (Maj 12-3)
Quarterfinal – Isaac Novacek (MSU – Moorhead) won by fall over Yonas Gebreab (Concordia-Moorhead) (Fall 2:48)
Semifinal – Mitchell Bengtson (North Dakota State University) won by fall over Isaac Novacek (MSU – Moorhead) (Fall 5:31)
3rd Place Match – Isaac Novacek (MSU – Moorhead) won by decision over Josh Shupe (University of Minnesota) (Dec 7-6)

141 – Connor MacGregor (1-2, no place)
Quarterfinal – Mitchell Bengtson (North Dakota State University) won by decision over Connor MacGregor (MSU – Moorhead) (Dec 7-0)
Cons. Round 2 – Connor MacGregor (MSU – Moorhead) won by major decision over Jake Kostik (Concordia-Moorhead) (Maj 13-5)
Cons. Semi – Yonas Gebreab (Concordia-Moorhead) won by decision over Connor MacGregor (MSU – Moorhead) (Dec 10-4)

141 – Mario Tuccitto (2-2)
Champ. Round 1 – Mario Tuccitto (MSU – Moorhead) won by fall over Tyler Frost (Northern State University) (Fall 4:07)
Quarterfinal – Josh Shupe (University of Minnesota) won by decision over Mario Tuccitto (MSU – Moorhead) (Dec 8-4)
Cons. Round 2 – Mario Tuccitto (MSU – Moorhead) won by decision over Ryan Cook (Augsburg College) (Dec 5-1)
Cons. Semi – Ian Muirhead (Northern State University) won by decision over Mario Tuccitto (MSU – Moorhead) (Dec 7-1)

141 – Angel Vega (unattached, 3-1, 2nd)
Champ. Round 1 – Angel Vega (MSU – Moorhead) won by fall over Jake Kostik (Concordia-Moorhead) (Fall 0:40)
Quarterfinal – Angel Vega (MSU – Moorhead) won by fall over Mike Tanner (Minnesota West Comm & Tech) (Fall 3:41)
Semifinal – Angel Vega (MSU – Moorhead) won by decision over Josh Shupe (University of Minnesota) (Dec 9-5)
1st Place Match – Mitchell Bengtson (North Dakota State University) won by decision over Angel Vega (MSU – Moorhead) (Dec 4-3)

174 – Conner Monk (0-2, no place)
Champ. Round 1 – Tom Teigen (Augsburg College) won by decision over Conner Monk (MSU – Moorhead) (Dec 7-2)
Cons. Round 1 – Blake Lundgren (Northern State University) won by decision over Conner Monk (MSU – Moorhead) (Dec 8-6)

174 – Michael Joseph (1-2, no place)
Champ. Round 1 – John Nething Ii (South Dakota State) won by fall over Michael Joseph (MSU – Moorhead) (Fall 6:14)
Cons. Round 2 – Michael Joseph (MSU – Moorhead) won by decision over Jack Barnes (St. Cloud State) (Dec 7-1)
Cons. Semi – Tiger Paasch (Minot State) won by fall over Michael Joseph (MSU – Moorhead) (Fall 3:50)

184 – Matt Lewellen (3-1, 2nd place)
Champ. Round 1 – Matt Lewellen (MSU – Moorhead) won by decision over Tom Devito (University of Mary) (Dec 5-0)
Quarterfinal – Matt Lewellen (MSU – Moorhead) won by decision over Shea Nolan (South Dakota State) (Dec 6-4)
Semifinal – Matt Lewellen (MSU – Moorhead) won by decision over Clayton Jennissen (St. Cloud State) (Dec 10-8)
1st Place Match – Christian Harrison (Concordia-Moorhead) won by decision over Matt Lewellen (MSU – Moorhead) (Dec 7-5)

197 – Tyler Schlosser (2-1, 4th place)
Quarterfinal – Tyler Schlosser (MSU – Moorhead) won by decision over Mitchell Eull (Minot State) (Dec 3-2)
Semifinal – Matthew Hechsel (Augsburg College) won by decision over Tyler Schlosser (MSU – Moorhead) (Dec 4-0)
3rd Place Match – Delson Saintal (Concordia-Moorhead) won by decision over Tyler Schlosser (MSU – Moorhead) (Dec 10-3)

White Division
125 – Shane Novak (unattached, 1-2, 4th place)
Quarterfinal – Shane Novak (MSU – Moorhead) won by tech fall over Richy Soto (Concordia-Moorhead) (TF 20-5)
Semifinal – Jarred Oftedahl (St. Cloud State) won by major decision over Shane Novak (MSU – Moorhead) (Maj 10-2)
3rd Place Match – Joel Salomon (St. Cloud State) won by decision over Shane Novak (MSU – Moorhead) (Dec 7-0)

133 – Tyler Tensen (unattached, 2-2)
Champ. Round 1 – Tyler Tensen (MSU – Moorhead) won by decision over Daniel Polanco (St. Cloud State) (Dec 7-5)
Quarterfinal – Adam Sutlief (Ridgewater College) won by fall over Tyler Tensen (MSU – Moorhead) (Fall 2:43)
Cons. Round 2 – Tyler Tensen (MSU – Moorhead) won by decision over Fritz Vogel (St. Cloud State) (Dec 6-1)
Cons. Semi – Andrew Foutch (St. Cloud State) won by fall over Tyler Tensen (MSU – Moorhead) (Fall 2:46)

141 – Andrew Meyers (0-2)
Champ. Round 1 – Deven Donais (Augustana) won by decision over Andrew Meyers (MSU – Moorhead) (Dec 7-2)
Cons. Round 1 – Blake Miller (Augsburg College) won in sudden victory – 1 over Andrew Meyers (MSU – Moorhead) (SV-1 5-3)

149 – Garret Hoffner (3-1, 2nd place)
Champ. Round 1 – Garret Hoffner (MSU – Moorhead) won by major decision over Brandon Brunner (South Dakota State) (Maj 10-1)
Quarterfinal – Garret Hoffner (MSU – Moorhead) won by fall over Tyler Tischer (Unattached) (Fall 2:33)
Semifinal – Garret Hoffner (MSU – Moorhead) won by decision over Kyle Leet (South Dakota State) (Dec 8-2)
1st Place Match – Lucas Zilverberg (South Dakota State) won by decision over Garret Hoffner (MSU – Moorhead) (Dec 4-0)

157 – Dan Murakami (2-2, no place)
Prelim – Matt Meyer (Ridgewater College) won by decision over Dan Murakami (MSU – Moorhead) (Dec 5-4)
Prelim – Dan Murakami (MSU – Moorhead) won by decision over Ryan Schroepfer (St. Cloud State) (Dec 6-2)
Cons. Round 1 – Dan Murakami (MSU – Moorhead) won by decision over Grant Parker (Augsburg College) (Dec 5-3)
Cons. Round 2 – Matt Meyer (Ridgewater College) won by decision over Dan Murakami (MSU – Moorhead) (Dec 6-5)

174 – Mike Urban (1-2, no place)
Quarterfinal – Mike Urban (MSU – Moorhead) won by fall over Collin Huckbody (Northland) (Fall 4:05)
Semifinal – Josh Berg (St. Cloud State) won by major decision over Mike Urban (MSU – Moorhead) (Maj 11-3)
3rd Place Match – Cody Tibbetts (St. Cloud State) won in sudden victory – 1 over Mike Urban (MSU – Moorhead) (SV-1 3-1)

184 – Jorge Munoz-Pederson (unattached, 0-2, no place)
Quarterfinal – Anthony Navarro (Northern State University) won by major decision over Jorge Munoz-Pederson (MSU – Moorhead) (Maj 12-2)
Cons. Round 2 – Gregory Skon (Augsburg College) won by fall over Jorge Munoz-Pederson (MSU – Moorhead) (Fall 4:54)

285 – Kyle Johnson (unattached, 0-2, no place)
Quarterfinal – Justice Davis (Concordia-Moorhead) won by decision over Kyle Johnson (MSU – Moorhead) (Dec 2-1)
Cons. Round 2 – Logan Hortop (Augsburg College) won by fall over Kyle Johnson (MSU – Moorhead) (Fall 6:30)