11/7/2008 6:00:00 AM | Wrestling
FARGO, N.D. - The 2007-08 Bison wrestling team finished with a winning record for the 40th straight year, going 11-9 overall and 4-2 in the Western Wrestling Conference. The 2008-09 squad will look to continue that success.
The 2008-09 squad is young; there are 13 true freshmen on the team and four redshirt freshmen. Head coach Bucky Maughan said, “We have more Division I caliber wrestlers this year, but it hurts that they are all so young. We are going to have to work hard to bring them along quickly.”
The Bison lost two-time NCAA qualifiers Eric Hoffman and Jacob Bryce as well as starter Eric Sanders to graduation.
North Dakota State struggled with injury problems last year, and Maughan hopes to avoid those same pitfalls this year. “If we can remain healthy,” he said, “I expect that we will have a better season than last.”
There will also be a change in how wrestlers qualify for the NCAA championships in St. Louis. Grapplers will be ranked in a power index that ranks how the number of ranked wrestlers performed against as well as the results of those matches. The conference champion will still get an automatic bid to nationals, but after that, it all depends on the power index. Maughan said, “No one really knows how this new system will work out. All the teams are essentially going into this season blind in terms of qualification.”
The Bison will be facing another tough Division I schedule this year. Although not competing in as many duals as last year, NDSU will still face tough opponents. Early in the season, the team heads to the Northern Quad and faces off against Minnesota, ranked No. 12 in the preseason NWCA poll, along with Northern Colorado and Portland State. A new addition to this year's schedule will be the Las Vegas Invitational, an individual tournament that features some of the nation's top wrestlers. In the last meet before winter break, the Bison take on Dickinson State and preseason No. 2 Iowa State in a double dual meet.
Returning from winter break, the Bison head to the Virginia Duals, where they could face any of seven WIN preseason ranked teams. After a dual with Augsburg, the Bison begin Western Wrestling Conference action by hosting Northern Colorado on Jan. 24. A trip to Air Force and Wyoming on Jan. 30 and 31, respectively is followed by a double dual with Minnesota State Moorhead and Utah Valley on Feb. 7. NDSU travels to South Dakota State on Feb. 20 and returns home to face reigning conference champion and preseason No. 24 Northern Iowa on Feb. 22.
“It's a very competitive conference,” said Maughan. “Northern Iowa has won the title every year and they are still the favorite, but other teams are starting to come on strong and present more of a challenge.”
125 pounds
With two-time NCAA qualifier Eric Hoffman lost to graduation, the Bison will be looking at two true freshmen, Justin Solberg and Trent Sprenkle, to fill the void. Maughan expects a close contest between the two.
Solberg was a four-time North Dakota state champion at Wahpeton High School and finished his high school career with a record of 192-5.
Sprenkle hails from Billings, Mont. where he was a four-time all-state and all-conference slection. He comes to NDSU after a two-year LDS mission.
133 pounds
Four-year starter Eric Sanders graduated, so the Bison will again look for young wrestlers to step up. The youth movement at this position will be led by redshirt freshmen Kirk Anderson and Tyler Steinwand and true freshman Brian Ham. Anderson went 9-7 as an unattached wrestler last season and finished second at the Dragon Open. Steinwand competed in three open tournaments as an unattached wrestler and went 9-6. He had his best finish of the year at the Jimmie Open where he came in third.
Ham was a two-time state champion at Flathead High School in Montana and finished his high school career with a 148-17 record, including a 42-2 mark as a senior.
Fellow redshirt freshman Jesse Morritt along with true freshman T.J. Renz will also challenge at this position.
141 pounds
Senior Gabriel Mooney returns for his final season as a Bison. Last year, Mooney was 22-11 and 21-6 in dual meets. He captured the Dragon Open and also had two streaks of five-straight victories. Also named to the Western Wrestling Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll for academics, he was named the WWC wrestler of the week after going 2-0 at the Northwestern Duals.
Redshirt sophomores Geoff Martin and Brady Schneeberger will also contend for action. Martin went 4-8 last season and competed in the last dual meet against Northern Iowa. Schneeberger went 12-8 and pinned one opponent en route to a third place finish at the Bison Open.
149 pounds
Two-time NCAA qualifier Ryan Adams returns for his junior season. Adams went 11-5 last year with a 2-2 record in duals. He finished second at the NCAA West Regional to qualify for the NCAA Championships for the second straight year. At the championships, Adams lost twice to nationally ranked opponents.
Redshirt-sophomore Andrey Patselov will challenge Adams after Patselov wrestled eight duals at 149, going 5-3.
157 pounds
With senior Adam Aho moving up to 165, there will be several contenders for the 157 spot. Senior Mike Quamme, a starter at 165 last year, will move down a weight class this season. Quamme went 10-13 last season and 4-11 in dual meets.
He will be challenged by redshirt sophomore Vince Salminen, who competed at both 149 and 165 for the Bison last season. Salminen finished the year with a 12-15 mark overall and a 4-10 dual record. He also competed at the NCAA West Regional.
A duo of talented freshmen will also be challenging for the 157 spot. Tyler Johnson, a three-time North Dakota state champion from Bismarck High School, posted a career record of 175-15 including an unblemished 50-0 mark as a senior.
Tyler Wells is a three-time state qualifier from Kalispell, Mont. and captured the Montana state title as senior. He finished his Flathead High School career with a 127-27 record and helped lead Flathead to three consecutive state championships.
165 pounds
At 157 last year, Aho was 24-8 and 15-5 in duals. He was one of three Bison wrestlers to win over 20 matches. Aho captured both the Bison Open and the Dragon Open titles and finished fourth at the NCAA West Regional.
Backing up Aho will be senior Curt Thoreson. Thoreson only participated in the Bison Open last year. Both Thoreson and Aho were named to the WWC Commissioner's Honor Roll.
174 pounds
Sophomore Shannon Fettig gets the early nod as the starter at this position for the Bison. Fettig closed out the 2007-08 season starting the last eight duals. He went 10-12 overall with a 2-6 record in duals. He also participated in the NCAA West Regional.
Redshirt freshman Trent Sovde looks to be Fettig's closest competition. As an unattached wrestler last season, Sovde went 9-7 and finished third at the Dragon Open.
Three freshmen will also compete for time at the 174 spot. Will Johnson is a three-time Minnesota state qualifier out of Hibbing High School and holds Hibbing records for most career victories (185), most career pins (99) and most career team points (841).
Mac Stoll, a six-year letterwinner out of Perham High School, will also compete for time. Stoll helped lead Perham to four straight section titles and two straight Minnesota state runner-up finishes. He also holds the school records for takedowns in a season.
184 pounds
Sophomore Kenny Moenkedick will be the only contender at the 184 position. Last season, Moenkedick spent the first half of the season at 174 pounds and notched four dual meet victories. In the second part of the season, after an injury to Matt Wetterling, he moved up to 184 and tallied five wins in nine duals.
With so many wrestlers at 174, Maughan said it is possible that one or more of them could move up to 184 to back up Moenkedick.
197 pounds
With two-time NCAA qualifier Jacob Bryce gone, the Bison will again turn to true freshmen to fill the void at 197. Kriss McCleary is a four-time North Dakota State champion who ended his career on a 105-match winning streak, including a 40-0 mark as a senior.
Competing with McCleary will be fellow freshman Drew Ross, who went 39-0 as a senior en route to capturing the Minnesota state title at 189 pounds.
Heavyweight
Sophomore Tyler Hemmesch is the lone Bison competing at heavyweight after Evan Hacker was ruled out of wrestling by continuing injuries. Hemmesch went 18-16 last year and 7-7 in dual meets. He led the team in pins with 10 and also competed at the NCAA West Regional.
