Aberdeen, S.D. – The (RV) Northern State University wrestling team handled the University of Mary Thursday evening from Wachs Arena. The 20-point victory by the Wolves sealed their first NSIC Championship since 2002, going a perfect 5-0 in league action. NSU earned the NSIC Title alongside Co-Championships and the No. 1 team in the country, St. Cloud State. The Wolves won eight of the ten matches and added four extra match victories.
 
THE QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: NSU 26, MARY 6
Records: NSU 5-0, MARY 2-3
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Northern got rolling early and did not look back, sweeping the first six weight classes
• Michael Bigler kicked off the evening with a 5-4, comeback win over Jeremy Leintz, sealing the match with a late third period takedown and riding time point
• Returning to the mat for the second time this year, No. 7 Dayne Morton defeated Laken Boese in a 6-2 decision
• The decision wins rolled on as No. 10 Kolton Roth defeated Devin Steigler with a score of 9-3
• Wyatt Turnquist added his fourth win of the season, defeating Chandler Mooney in a 7-1 decision
• No. 12 Caden Moore quickly got to work in the 157-pound bout, scoring 4-points in the first period in his 7-4 decision win over Anthony Velazquez
• James Burks added to the Wolves win streak, notching his first victory by fall of the year
• Burks pinned No. 9 Braydon Huber at 4:29 in the match, giving the Wolves a 21-0 lead
• Cole Huss battled the No. 9 wrestler in the country at 174-pounds, ultimately falling in a 4-0 decision
• Northern bounced back in the following bout, with Marcus Placide nothing his first win of the 2021 season
• Placide defeated Grant Litke in a 5-1 decision
• Adding to his stellar true freshman campaign, Treyton Cacek tallied a 4-1 decision victory over Matt Kaylore, scoring the Wolves final three team points
• Ali'i Loyola was the third Wolf of the evening to match-up against a ninth ranked Marauder, battling Dom Tudor in a 7-5 decision loss

 
BURKETT'S TAKE
"We went into intermission before 165 and it was, okay we've won five matches, but we have five left. One or two matches could seal this and James went out there and got that pin. These guys have really been battling since last September to work through the COVID and they haven't strayed from their goals and what their mission was. It is pretty satisfying to see them go out and win a conference championship as a team."
 
DUAL SCORING MATCH RESULTS
125: Michael Bigler (Northern State) over Jeremy Leintz (Mary) (Dec 5-4)
133: #7 Dayne Morton (Northern State) over Laken Boese (Mary) (Dec 6-2)
141: #10 Kolton Roth (Northern State) over Devin Steidler (Mary) (Dec 9-3)
149: Wyatt Turnquist (Northern State) over Chandler Mooney (Mary) (Dec 7-1)
157: #12 Caden Moore (Northern State) over Anthony Velazquez (Mary) (Dec 7-4)
165: James Burks (Northern State) over #9 Braydon Huber (Mary) (Fall 4:29)
174:#9  Max Bruss (Mary) over Cole Huss (Northern State) (Dec 4-0)
184: Marcus Placide (Northern State) over Grant Litke (Mary) (Dec 5-1)
197: Treyton Cacek (Northern State) over Matt Kaylor (Mary) (Dec 4-1)
285: #9 Dominic Tudor (Mary) over Michael Loyola (Northern State) (Dec 7-5)
 
ADDITIONAL MATCH RESULTS
125 Extra: Jaden Verhagen (Mary) over Landen Fischer (Northern State) (Fall 1:32)
125 Extra: Brenden Salfrank (Northern State) over Karsen Mosbrucker (Mary) (Dec 10-4)
149 Extra: Jacob Morgan (Mary) over Brandon Sharkey (Northern State) (Dec 6-3)
165 Extra: Billy Holtan (Northern State) over Riley Mitchell (Mary) (MD 14-1)
197 Extra: Joshua Trumble (Northern State) over Gabe Anderson (Mary) (Dec 4-0)
285 Extra: Gerardo Jaime (Mary) over Caleb Lefferdink (Northern State) (Dec 8-2)
285 Extra: Diego Gallegos (Northern State) over Emmitt Brooks (Mary) (Dec 4-1)
 
UP NEXT
Northern now looks to the post season and the NCAA Super Region 5 Tournament. NSU will host the tournament from Wachs Arena on February 27. Full super region information, including live links are available at nsuwolves.com/wr/super5.