Aberdeen, S.D. - The (RV) Northern State University wrestling team (3-0, 1-0 NSIC) kicked off conference competition with a convincing 29-7 win over (RV) MSU Moorhead (0-1, 0-1 NSIC), giving the Wolves their best start to the season since 2012.
 
The Wolves got off to a hot start with James Burks and Billy Holton both delivering major decisions at 157 and 165 respectively, giving Northern an 8-0 lead to start the dual. Burks took down Brayden Ortloff, 14-6, while Holtan defeated Justin Dravis, 8-0.
 
MSU Moorhead was quick to slow down Northern's fast start however, as the Dragons' Evan Foster took down Tanner Wiese in a 10-4 decision at 174.
 
Marcus Placide and Diego Gallegos put the Wolves back on track with a hard fought 6-4 decision at 184 (Mitchell Kotschevar), and a strong 12-5 decision at 197 (Cory Schmidt) respectively, giving Northern a 15-3 lead at the intermission.
 
Caleb Lefferdink continued the Wolves momentum at 285 with a thrilling match against No. 11 Jordan Magnuson. No points were scored until just under a minute into the second period, but that was all Lefferdink needed as he held out for a 2-1 decision to secure the upset and get the crowd on their feet.
 
Landen Fischer kept the ball rolling for the Wolves with a 10-2 major decision victory over Cameron Williams at 125 pounds. That was quickly followed by No. 8 Dayne Morton, who delivered Northern's only technical fall of the night at 133. Morton defeated Joey Nerdahl at 5:59 in the match with a score of 23-4.
 
At 141, the Dragons were able to put more points on the board with a major decision from Mason Shulz.
 
No. 8 Caden Moore got Northern back on track and rounded out the night at 149 with a convincing 8-2 decision win over Zach Scott, bringing the final score to 29-7.
 
Northern garnered four decisions, four major decisions, and one technical fall as they continue their blazing start to the season. In their first three duals, Northern has out-scored their opponents by a total of 70 points, their highest total over the first three duals in at least a decade. In addition, the win over the Dragons is the Wolves first versus MSUM since the 2011-12 season.
 
Up next for NSU is a home dual against No. 1 St. Cloud State on December 13. Wrestling is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. from Wachs Arena.