Las Vegas, NV - The Northern State wrestling team (5-2, 1-1 NSIC) traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada to compete in a long day of wrestling. The Wolves won two of their three duals, defeating No. 21 UNC Pembroke 22-18 and Simon Fraser University 34-11, but falling to Wartburg College 31-6.
 
The first dual of the day against No. 21 UNC Pembroke started about as bad as it could for the Wolves when Nick Daggett defeated Landen Fischer by Fall. However, Northern immediately turned it around with a hard fought 5-2 decision by Dayne Morton and two major decisions from Kenny Jones and Caden Moore.
 
The rest of the dual was a back and forth struggle. Walker Carr suffered an Injury at 157 giving UNCP back the lead, but Billy Holton got a 5-1 decision to get it right back. Tanner Weise was next at 174, but he lost in a nail biter to Garrett Hill, bringing the lead to 15-14 in favor of UNCP.
 
Just when Northern needed it, Marcus Placide and Diego Gallegos came up clutch. Each scored shut out major decision wins at 184 and 197 respectively. Though Caleb Lefferdink would be defeated in a 7-4 decision at 285, the lead was insurmountable for the Bravehawks. Northern walked away from their first dual with a 22-18 win.
 
Northern's next dual against Simon Fraser University got off to a much better start as Landen Fischer and Dayne Morton each picked up forfeit victories at 125 and 133. Kenny Jones then came in for a 9-1 major decision over Randy McDonald to give Northern a 16-0 lead three matches in.
 
However, SFU refused to go down without a fight as Chase Tebbits got a 14-0 major decision over Adam DeBoer at 149. Followed by Taber Spray who took a hard fought 9-6 decision over Garret Thompson at 157, cutting Northern's lead in half.
 
Billy Holton got Northern back on track with a 21-7 major decision at 165, but Tanner Wiese lost a close 3-1 decision for Northern soon after. The Wolves finished the dual with two straight technical falls from Marcus Placide and Diego Gallegos, followed by a 16-3 major decision by Caleb Lefferdink to secure a 34-11 win.
 
Northern once again got off to a slow start in their third dual of the day against Wartburg College. This time it was Landen Fischer who took a major decision defeat at 125, quickly followed by Dayne Morton and Kenny Jones who lost a 2-1 decision at 133 and an 8-5 decision at 141 respectively.
 
Caden Moore was able to put Northern on the board with a close 5-4 Decision. However, each of the next five matchups were losses. Including a technical fall over Garret Thompson at 157 and a fall over Marcus Placide at 184.
 
Rounding out a long day of wrestling was Caleb Lefferdink who managed a 13-7 decision over Omar Begic, bringing the final score to 31-6 in favor of Warburg.
 
The Wolves compiled 195 total team points off of four decisions, seven major decisions, two technical falls and two forfeits.
 
The Wolves' next dual is on the road at Augustana University on January 9. Wrestling is set to begin at 8:00 p.m. from the Elmen Center in Sioux Falls.