MOORHEAD, Minn. – Sophomore Blake Bosch won the championship at 133 pounds to lead the Minnesota State University Moorhead wrestling team at the 11th annual Dragon Open which was held Sunday at Nemzek Fieldhouse in Moorhead, Minn. MSUM finished with five top three finishes on the day in their annual home tournament.
In addition to Bosch’s performance, sophomore Shane Novak (125 pounds), senior Philippe Walker (141), sophomore Garret Hoffner (157) and senior Michael Joseph (174) all had top three finishes for MSUM.
Bosch, a national qualifier in 2014, had a big day for the Dragons at 133 pounds. He had an opening bye and then topped North Dakota State’s Hunter Weber, 7-1. In the finals, he avenged an earlier loss to Jarred Oftedahl of St. Cloud State, winning a hard-fought 3-2 contest to claim the title at 133.
“Blake Bosch had a great tournament,” MSUM head coach Kris Nelson said.
Novak had a runner-up finish at 125 pounds (Red Division). He pinned Richy Soto of Concordia in 2:47 in the first round, and then lost a heartbreaker to St. Cloud State’s Joel Salomon by a 5-4 decision in round two. He beat Tirso Lara of North Dakota State 13-5 to finish the day 2-1 and as the runner-up.
Walker had a strong showing at 141 pounds. He beat Augsburg’s Cameron Henning by a 15-3 major decision in the opening round. He fell in a tough 4-3 contest to Clayton Cathey of NDSU but responded with two wins, including a 6-2 win over Northern State’s Tyler Frost in the consolation bracket. He then pinned Thomas Walton of NDSU in 5:00 to take third.
“Philippe was very tough in the top position today and I feel he has made the adjustment to moving up to the 141-pound weight class,” Nelson said.
Hoffner was solid at 157 pounds. He opened with a 7-5 win over Minnesota West before losing to Grant Nehring of NDSU, 4-2 in the semis. Hoffner came back with a 4-1 win over Ben Cousins of Concordia and then topped Alex Blaney of NDSU 6-1 to take third.
“Garret had a good day finishing third in his first tournament of the season,” Nelson said.
Senior Michael Joseph was third at 174 pounds with a 1-2 mark. He pinned Anthony Navarro of Northern State in 2:10 but lost to St. Cloud State’s Garret Miller (7-4) and Clayton Jennissen (6-3).
At 149, sophomore Isaac Novacek won his opening match, topping Yonas Gebreab of Concordia by a 6-2 score. He was pinned by St. Cloud State’s Josh Howk in 4:05 in the semifinals but came back with a pin of Trevor Scott of Rochester Community and Technical College. Novacek finished the day 2-2 after losing to Mitchell Friedman of NDSU by fall in the third place match.
Sophomore Nader Abdullatif was fourth at 285 pounds. He received an opening bye and then defeated Caleb White of St. Cloud State in sudden victory 4-2. In the semifinals Abdullatif was pinned by St. Cloud State standout Austin Goergen in 2:39. Abdullatif came back with a 2-1 overtime win over Travis Smith of Mary before falling to Justice Davis of Concordia, 2-1 in the third-place match.
The next action for MSUM is the Grapple at the Garden on Sunday, Dec. 21 in New York City. The Dragons will face LIU-Post at 8 a.m. Central time that day.
MSU-Moorhead Dragon Open results
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