LARAMIE, Wyo. — No. 25-ranked North Dakota State won five straight bouts including Cordell Eaton's pin at 197 pounds as the Bison defeated the University of Wyoming 24-16 in a Big 12 Conference dual on Sunday, Feb. 12. NDSU won six overall including three bonus point victories.
 
North Dakota State (14-4, 4-2 #Big12WR) is awaiting word about the NWCA National Duals on Friday, Feb. 17, and will close out the regular season at No. 16 South Dakota State at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19 in Brookings.
 
Wyoming took a short lived 3-0 lead with Kyle Pope securing a 10-5 decision over Dylan Urbach at 174 pounds. However, NDSU 184-pounder Tyler McNutt picked up his second win of the weekend with a convincing 11-5 decision over Chaz Polson to start the Bison rally. McNutt's now 12-11 and 9-9.
 
Enter Eaton, a redshirt freshman from Long Grove, Iowa. Eaton had a 2-0 lead entering the second period against Wyoming's Nate Shaw. He had the top position and turned over Smith for his first pin of the season at 3:06. That fall put the Bison ahead 9-3 after three matches. Eaton improved to 13-11 overall and 9-9 in duals.
 
North Dakota State 285-pound senior Ben Tynan (15-4, 12-4) rumbled to an exhausting 2-1 decision over the Cowboys' Brandon Tribble to help the Bison extend the lead to 12-3.
 
In the first of two battles between nationally-ranked wrestlers, No. 4-ranked 125-pound senior Josh Rodriguez became the third NDSU wrestler to reach 20 wins this season with a 14-5 major decision over No. 15-ranked Drew Tempelman.  Rodriguez stands at 20-1 overall, 17-1 in duals.
 
The advantage grew to 21-3 as North Dakota State 133-pound redshirt freshman Cam Sykora recorded a 16-0 tech fall at 4:48 over Gunnar Woodburn. Sykora notched his sixth tech fall since the break to improve to 13-2 overall and 11-0 in duals.
 
Wyoming cut the deficit to 21-13 over the next two matches. The Cowboys' No. 8-ranked 141 Bryce Meredith pinned Taylor Nein at 1:42, while Cole Mendenhall claimed a 13-4 major decision over Mitch Friedman.
 
North Dakota State's No. 7-ranked 157-pounder Clay Ream stopped the run with an 8-3 decision over No. 19 Archie Colgan. Ream used a pair of first period takedowns to go ahead 4-1. He improved to 21-3 overall and 16-1 in duals.
 
Wyoming claimed the final bout at 165 as No. 16-ranked Branson Ashworth defeated Andrew Fogarty 6-2.
 
#25 North Dakota State 24, Wyoming 16
Big 12 Conference Dual
Laramie, Wyo.
Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017
*Dual started at 174 pounds
174 – Kyle Pope (WYO) dec Dylan Urbach (NDSU), 10-5 / Cowboys 3-0
184 – Tyler McNutt (NDSU) dec Chaz Polson (WYO), 11-5 / Tied 3-3
197 – Cordell Eaton (NDSU) fall Nate Shaw (WYO), Fall, 3:06 / Bison 9-3
285 – Ben Tynan (NDSU) dec Brandon Tribble (WYO), 2-1 / Bison 12-3
125 – #4 Josh Rodriguez (NDSU) major dec #15 Drew Templeman (WYO), MD 14-5 / Bison 16-3
133 – Cam Sykora (NDSU) tech fall Gunnar Woodburn (WYO), TF 16-0, 4:48 / Bison 21-3
141 – #8 Bryce Meredith (WYO) fall Taylor Nein (NDSU), Fall, 1:42 / Bison 21-9
149 – Cole Mendenhall (WYO) major dec Mitch Friedman (NDSU), MD 13-4 / Bison 21-13
157 – #7 Clay Ream (NDSU) dec #19 Archie Colgan (WYO), 8-3 / Bison 24-13
165 – #16 Branson Ashworth (WYO) dec Andrew Fogarty (NDSU), 6-2 / Bison 24-16

North Dakota State now 14-4 overall, 4-2 #Big12WR
Wyoming now 6-8, 3-4 #Big12WR