11/7/2002 6:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Losing four All-Americans to graduation is almost enough to bring a wrestling coach to tears. But North Dakota State University head coach BUCKY MAUGHAN is far from that.
The 39th-year Bison mentor returns five All-Americans and a total of seven NCAA national qualifiers for the 2002-03 season.
Six starters are back from a team that posted a 13-2 duals record a year ago and fell just shy of the program's third straight national championship.
It's all testimony to the state of Bison wrestling as the program enters its 46th tour of duty. There haven't been many seasons in recent NDSU history worthy of tears.
“It's a lot nicer going into year 39 than it was going into the first five or six,” Maughan said. “We had probably the worst wrestling program in America at that time, and North Dakota and Minnesota wrestling was shaky at best.
“It's kind of fun to see how it evolved. North Dakota's gotten better, Minnesota's gotten a lot better, and consequently our program's gotten better because that's where we get 90 percent of our wrestlers,” Maughan continued.
Four of NDSU's early signees this year came from Minnesota, one came from North Dakota and another came from South Dakota.
Minnesota has proven most valuable, however. NDSU's top five returning veterans all hail from the Land of Lakes.
The leading returner is headlined right at the top of the lineup. All-American MATT STRAWSER brings 66 career wins into his senior season. The Wadena, MN, product could finish his career as one of the top 10 all-time leaders in victories.
Bison junior LUCAS CHRISTIANSON could be a force at 133 or 141 for NDSU. The Apple Valley, MN, native has placed at the NCC and NCAA meets in each class.
NDSU returns a national runner-up at 157 pounds in junior PAUL CARLSON. A product of St. Francis, MN, Carlson won the North Central Conference title and finished 26-9 overall in 2001-02.
At 165 the Bison will send junior MIKE FIEDLER to the mat. The Sauk Centre, MN, wrestler placed third at the NCC and NCAA meets last year and posted an impressive 12-3 duals mark. He's 45-16 overall in his career.
Knee troubles aside, the Bison will look for big things from Cold Spring, MN, junior BRIAN KRAEMER. Riddled with pain during the last half of his sophomore campaign, Kraemer (43-26) claimed third at 197 pounds in the NCC and battled to seventh at the NCAA meet.
Despite that solid core of returners, Maughan sees a run at the school's fifth national title to be a difficult task. He ranks defending champion Central Oklahoma as the team to beat.
“On paper, nobody's even close to Central Oklahoma. They have four national champs returning ... on paper they're the team to beat,” Maughan said.
“But I don't think they're unbeatable.”
Maughan cites weak regional competition as a boost for UCO. That's not the case for North Dakota State. All six of NDSU's North Central Conference foes were ranked in the preseason national poll.
“I think we're going to have the strongest North Central Conference we've ever had from top to bottom,” Maughan said.
That will make it a challenge for any team in the NCC, he said, to send many athletes to the NCAA meet.
“We've been very fortunate the last two years that we've had enough balance to get our whole team to the nationals. That gives you a chance,” he said.
Here's a weight-by-weight look at how the Bison will stack up in 2002-03:
125 POUNDS: The NCC champion Strawser gets the starting nod here and has Pelican Rapids, MN, sophomore JAKE ANDERSON and freshman ERIC SATTERSTROM from Cold Spring, MN, behind him.
Anderson posted a 3-1 record in tournament action as a freshman in 2000-01. He redshirted last season. Satterstrom is coming back from shoulder surgery.
133 POUNDS: The junior Christianson is a probable starter here but sophomore NICK MAGEE (Hudson, WI) will push for mat time. Freshman JOEB OYSTER (Hewitt, MN) has also been impressive in preseason workouts.
Magee sat out last season with an injury after a 10-6 campaign in unattached action as a redshirt in 2000-01. He's the likely No. 1 if Christianson moves up a weight class.
141 POUNDS: Two North Dakota products, REESE BOEHM and MATHIAS BITZ, will claw and scratch for action here if Christianson is at 133.
Boehm, a sophomore from New Salem, was 10-14 a year ago and 3-4 in duals. Bitz, a highly recruited freshman from Bismarck, tied for first at one open last year and went 4-6 as a redshirt in the Bison program.
NDSU will have considerable depth at 141 with the talents of redshirt freshman RYAN ENGELHARDT and true freshman CHRIS BRANDRIET on reserve. Engelhardt, another Bismarck product, wrestled unattached in a pair of opens last year. Brandriet recorded almost 30 wins last year as a senior at Brookings (SD) High School.
149 POUNDS: The starting job here could be a toss-up. Three front-runners are redshirt freshman ZACH STEVENS (Erwinna, PA), sophomore PHIL RIEDMAN (Valley City, ND) and junior RYAN KRUMWIEDE (Perham, MN).
Stevens, a standout from the Blair Academy in New Jersey, started an impressive 6-0 in unattached action last year before finishing 9-3. He won the Bison Open.
Riedman has a 7-5 record after one year, including a 2-2 mark in dual action. Krumwiede has yet to see his first dual.
Redshirt freshman ADAM JOHNSON (Milaca, MN) and incoming freshman TIM CURRAN (Elk Point, SD) and will challenge for time as well. Johnson was 5-2 at two opens last year and Curran is coming off a South Dakota state prep title at 145 pounds in a 47-1 senior year.
157 POUNDS: Sitting “head and shoulders above anybody” here, Maughan projects Carlson as the starter at 157. Carlson's the top-ranked wrestler in the NWCA preseason poll.
Seniors NATE JOHNSON (Milaca, MN), BOB GONSHOROWSKI (Washington, IA), and MIKE BEMBOOM (Sauk Rapids, MN) bring considerable experience to the mat, 149-pound NCC placewinner COLLIN KELLY (So., Oakes, ND) is looking for success at the next level, and newcomers CODY CHILSON (Velva, ND), ERIC DuCHENE (Faribault, MN) and BEN MERGEN (Albany, MN) will look to get their feet wet.
Only Kelly has seen dual action among the listed challengers, and that was at 149. Nate Johnson, Adam's older brother, is 10-8, Gonshorowski is 3-5 at NDSU after transferring from the University of Iowa program, and Bemboom is 7-12 in three years.
Chilson was 3-5 as a redshirt last year for NDSU, DuChene was a three-time placewinner in the Minnesota state high school tournament, and Mergen won four conference titles at four weights during his prep campaign.
165 POUNDS: Fiedler is the top wrestler here with certainly able competition behind him.
Junior THAD PIKE (Hayfield, MN) is two wins over .500 entering his third year of action and is a strong competitor. NATE PESTA will try to crack the lineup in January after working an internship in the fall. A senior from Long Prairie, MN, Pesta has recorded a 12-15 record and has wrestled between 157 and 174 in his career.
Two freshmen, ROSS MALIKOWSKI (St. Joseph, MN) and BEN LARSON (Corcoran, MN), give the Bison extra firepower at 165. Malikowski is coming off a 36-6 senior year and has been especially tough in fall workouts. Larson was a Class 3A section champion.
174 POUNDS: The experienced Pike is also a probable starter here after the departure of three-time national champ Todd Fuller. Junior JASON PERALA (Crookston, MN) is another contender and redshirt freshman ADAM DAHLSTROM (Oakes, ND) could push for action.
Dahlstrom is the favorite after an impressive redshirt year. He finished 10-9 in opens. Perala is 9-6 in one year of action.
184 POUNDS: Perala could also see time here, but the leading candidate is true freshman MATT HERMANN from Burnsville, MN. The Herd should be strong here with an experienced sophomore, TONY VITTETOE, ready to step in.
Vittetoe saw considerable action his first year in the program out of Wadena, MN. He charted a 5-10 overall record with two pins at 197. Hermann lacks collegiate experience but showed his exceptional ability with second-, third- and fourth-place finishes at the Minnesota state tournament during his prep career.
197 POUNDS: Kraemer is the top prospect for regular starting duty here, and Vittetoe could be a nice complement.
The Bison welcome a pair of true freshmen to the heavy side of the lineup. BRENT WUNDERLICH (Velva, ND) and DAN FLATAU (Perham, MN) will provide excellent depth in their first year with the program. Wunderlich won a state prep title at 215 pounds last season and Flatau was a two-time conference champion in high school.
HEAVYWEIGHT: This cupboard's not completely dry after the departure of two-time NCAA champ Nick Severson.
Sophomore JOE BRYCE could see a majority of the work after filling in for Severson during the first half of the 2001-02 season. A native of Glenwood, MN, Bryce was 15-12 last year with 11 pins.
Junior NICK BRUELS (Hastings, MN) is 6-11 with two pins in two years of work for the Bison. Redshirt freshman DUSTIN BENZ (Virginia, MN) was 3-3 in unattached action last year at NDSU.
North Dakota State will have plenty of options with the addition of sophomore TIM KRAEMER (Cold Spring, MN) and junior CHRIS TUCHSCHERER (Bowman, ND).
Kraemer, the younger brother of 197-pounder Brian, was a state champ and a four-time conference champion at 189 during his prep career before arriving at NDSU in 2001 to play football. Tuchscherer graduated from high school in 1994 with a phenomenal 125-7 overall record and back-to-back region and state titles.
North Dakota State will send a small squad to the Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open on Saturday, Nov. 9, to open the season in Brookings, SD.
The 33rd annual Bison Open will be the true season opener for NDSU on Saturday, Nov. 16, at the Bison Sports Arena.
Action begins at 9 a.m. at both events and will continue all day.
The 39th-year Bison mentor returns five All-Americans and a total of seven NCAA national qualifiers for the 2002-03 season.
Six starters are back from a team that posted a 13-2 duals record a year ago and fell just shy of the program's third straight national championship.
It's all testimony to the state of Bison wrestling as the program enters its 46th tour of duty. There haven't been many seasons in recent NDSU history worthy of tears.
“It's a lot nicer going into year 39 than it was going into the first five or six,” Maughan said. “We had probably the worst wrestling program in America at that time, and North Dakota and Minnesota wrestling was shaky at best.
“It's kind of fun to see how it evolved. North Dakota's gotten better, Minnesota's gotten a lot better, and consequently our program's gotten better because that's where we get 90 percent of our wrestlers,” Maughan continued.
Four of NDSU's early signees this year came from Minnesota, one came from North Dakota and another came from South Dakota.
Minnesota has proven most valuable, however. NDSU's top five returning veterans all hail from the Land of Lakes.
The leading returner is headlined right at the top of the lineup. All-American MATT STRAWSER brings 66 career wins into his senior season. The Wadena, MN, product could finish his career as one of the top 10 all-time leaders in victories.
Bison junior LUCAS CHRISTIANSON could be a force at 133 or 141 for NDSU. The Apple Valley, MN, native has placed at the NCC and NCAA meets in each class.
NDSU returns a national runner-up at 157 pounds in junior PAUL CARLSON. A product of St. Francis, MN, Carlson won the North Central Conference title and finished 26-9 overall in 2001-02.
At 165 the Bison will send junior MIKE FIEDLER to the mat. The Sauk Centre, MN, wrestler placed third at the NCC and NCAA meets last year and posted an impressive 12-3 duals mark. He's 45-16 overall in his career.
Knee troubles aside, the Bison will look for big things from Cold Spring, MN, junior BRIAN KRAEMER. Riddled with pain during the last half of his sophomore campaign, Kraemer (43-26) claimed third at 197 pounds in the NCC and battled to seventh at the NCAA meet.
Despite that solid core of returners, Maughan sees a run at the school's fifth national title to be a difficult task. He ranks defending champion Central Oklahoma as the team to beat.
“On paper, nobody's even close to Central Oklahoma. They have four national champs returning ... on paper they're the team to beat,” Maughan said.
“But I don't think they're unbeatable.”
Maughan cites weak regional competition as a boost for UCO. That's not the case for North Dakota State. All six of NDSU's North Central Conference foes were ranked in the preseason national poll.
“I think we're going to have the strongest North Central Conference we've ever had from top to bottom,” Maughan said.
That will make it a challenge for any team in the NCC, he said, to send many athletes to the NCAA meet.
“We've been very fortunate the last two years that we've had enough balance to get our whole team to the nationals. That gives you a chance,” he said.
Here's a weight-by-weight look at how the Bison will stack up in 2002-03:
125 POUNDS: The NCC champion Strawser gets the starting nod here and has Pelican Rapids, MN, sophomore JAKE ANDERSON and freshman ERIC SATTERSTROM from Cold Spring, MN, behind him.
Anderson posted a 3-1 record in tournament action as a freshman in 2000-01. He redshirted last season. Satterstrom is coming back from shoulder surgery.
133 POUNDS: The junior Christianson is a probable starter here but sophomore NICK MAGEE (Hudson, WI) will push for mat time. Freshman JOEB OYSTER (Hewitt, MN) has also been impressive in preseason workouts.
Magee sat out last season with an injury after a 10-6 campaign in unattached action as a redshirt in 2000-01. He's the likely No. 1 if Christianson moves up a weight class.
141 POUNDS: Two North Dakota products, REESE BOEHM and MATHIAS BITZ, will claw and scratch for action here if Christianson is at 133.
Boehm, a sophomore from New Salem, was 10-14 a year ago and 3-4 in duals. Bitz, a highly recruited freshman from Bismarck, tied for first at one open last year and went 4-6 as a redshirt in the Bison program.
NDSU will have considerable depth at 141 with the talents of redshirt freshman RYAN ENGELHARDT and true freshman CHRIS BRANDRIET on reserve. Engelhardt, another Bismarck product, wrestled unattached in a pair of opens last year. Brandriet recorded almost 30 wins last year as a senior at Brookings (SD) High School.
149 POUNDS: The starting job here could be a toss-up. Three front-runners are redshirt freshman ZACH STEVENS (Erwinna, PA), sophomore PHIL RIEDMAN (Valley City, ND) and junior RYAN KRUMWIEDE (Perham, MN).
Stevens, a standout from the Blair Academy in New Jersey, started an impressive 6-0 in unattached action last year before finishing 9-3. He won the Bison Open.
Riedman has a 7-5 record after one year, including a 2-2 mark in dual action. Krumwiede has yet to see his first dual.
Redshirt freshman ADAM JOHNSON (Milaca, MN) and incoming freshman TIM CURRAN (Elk Point, SD) and will challenge for time as well. Johnson was 5-2 at two opens last year and Curran is coming off a South Dakota state prep title at 145 pounds in a 47-1 senior year.
157 POUNDS: Sitting “head and shoulders above anybody” here, Maughan projects Carlson as the starter at 157. Carlson's the top-ranked wrestler in the NWCA preseason poll.
Seniors NATE JOHNSON (Milaca, MN), BOB GONSHOROWSKI (Washington, IA), and MIKE BEMBOOM (Sauk Rapids, MN) bring considerable experience to the mat, 149-pound NCC placewinner COLLIN KELLY (So., Oakes, ND) is looking for success at the next level, and newcomers CODY CHILSON (Velva, ND), ERIC DuCHENE (Faribault, MN) and BEN MERGEN (Albany, MN) will look to get their feet wet.
Only Kelly has seen dual action among the listed challengers, and that was at 149. Nate Johnson, Adam's older brother, is 10-8, Gonshorowski is 3-5 at NDSU after transferring from the University of Iowa program, and Bemboom is 7-12 in three years.
Chilson was 3-5 as a redshirt last year for NDSU, DuChene was a three-time placewinner in the Minnesota state high school tournament, and Mergen won four conference titles at four weights during his prep campaign.
165 POUNDS: Fiedler is the top wrestler here with certainly able competition behind him.
Junior THAD PIKE (Hayfield, MN) is two wins over .500 entering his third year of action and is a strong competitor. NATE PESTA will try to crack the lineup in January after working an internship in the fall. A senior from Long Prairie, MN, Pesta has recorded a 12-15 record and has wrestled between 157 and 174 in his career.
Two freshmen, ROSS MALIKOWSKI (St. Joseph, MN) and BEN LARSON (Corcoran, MN), give the Bison extra firepower at 165. Malikowski is coming off a 36-6 senior year and has been especially tough in fall workouts. Larson was a Class 3A section champion.
174 POUNDS: The experienced Pike is also a probable starter here after the departure of three-time national champ Todd Fuller. Junior JASON PERALA (Crookston, MN) is another contender and redshirt freshman ADAM DAHLSTROM (Oakes, ND) could push for action.
Dahlstrom is the favorite after an impressive redshirt year. He finished 10-9 in opens. Perala is 9-6 in one year of action.
184 POUNDS: Perala could also see time here, but the leading candidate is true freshman MATT HERMANN from Burnsville, MN. The Herd should be strong here with an experienced sophomore, TONY VITTETOE, ready to step in.
Vittetoe saw considerable action his first year in the program out of Wadena, MN. He charted a 5-10 overall record with two pins at 197. Hermann lacks collegiate experience but showed his exceptional ability with second-, third- and fourth-place finishes at the Minnesota state tournament during his prep career.
197 POUNDS: Kraemer is the top prospect for regular starting duty here, and Vittetoe could be a nice complement.
The Bison welcome a pair of true freshmen to the heavy side of the lineup. BRENT WUNDERLICH (Velva, ND) and DAN FLATAU (Perham, MN) will provide excellent depth in their first year with the program. Wunderlich won a state prep title at 215 pounds last season and Flatau was a two-time conference champion in high school.
HEAVYWEIGHT: This cupboard's not completely dry after the departure of two-time NCAA champ Nick Severson.
Sophomore JOE BRYCE could see a majority of the work after filling in for Severson during the first half of the 2001-02 season. A native of Glenwood, MN, Bryce was 15-12 last year with 11 pins.
Junior NICK BRUELS (Hastings, MN) is 6-11 with two pins in two years of work for the Bison. Redshirt freshman DUSTIN BENZ (Virginia, MN) was 3-3 in unattached action last year at NDSU.
North Dakota State will have plenty of options with the addition of sophomore TIM KRAEMER (Cold Spring, MN) and junior CHRIS TUCHSCHERER (Bowman, ND).
Kraemer, the younger brother of 197-pounder Brian, was a state champ and a four-time conference champion at 189 during his prep career before arriving at NDSU in 2001 to play football. Tuchscherer graduated from high school in 1994 with a phenomenal 125-7 overall record and back-to-back region and state titles.
North Dakota State will send a small squad to the Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open on Saturday, Nov. 9, to open the season in Brookings, SD.
The 33rd annual Bison Open will be the true season opener for NDSU on Saturday, Nov. 16, at the Bison Sports Arena.
Action begins at 9 a.m. at both events and will continue all day.
Monday, November 02
Monday, November 02
Sunday, February 01
Friday, January 30
