MOORHEAD, Minn. (MSUM Athletics) — By virtue of a tiebreaker, the Minnesota State University Moorhead wrestling team edged Minot State, 19-18 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action Thursday night at Nemzek Fieldhouse in Moorhead.
MSUM is now 1-2 on the year while Minot State fell to 0-5. The dual was tied at 18-18 with each team winning five matches but MSUM won by the third tiebreaker, which was total points won in the match to win the dual.
Bonus Points
Juniors Cole Jones and Braydon Ortloff and freshman Gage Roaldson each earned crucial bonus points in their wins on Thursday for MSUM.
Jones and Oscar Nellis were tied at 3-3 after one period but Jones took control after that. He scored eight points in the second period alone to take an 11-3 lead, and added another takedown in the third to extend the lead on his way to a 13-3 major decision win.
Ortloff was aggressive from the start, nearly recording a fall at 165 in building a big lead after the first period. He moved to 3-0 on the year with the 19-6 major decision win over Nathan Baca.
Roaldson, a freshman making his first dual start, established control in the second period and built a 9-0 lead on his way to a 13-2 in over Noah Gallardo at 174. Including exhibition matches Roaldson is now 4-0 on the season.
Third period magic
A pair of matches were tied heading into the third period and MSUM prevailed.
An escape in the third period proved to be the difference as freshman Angel Rios picked up a 3-2 win at 149 for MSUM. The match was tied at 2-2 heading into the final period.
Senior Steven Abbott broke a 1-1 deadlock in the third period with a takedown to give him a 3-1 win over Dustin Swisher at 197.
“Angel Rios and Steven Abbott dug deep and won some close matches,” MSUM assistant coach Jake Lords said. “The grit and heart they showed helped us pull off a tight win. Overall it was a good night.”
Coach Kris Nelson:
“The dual was a lot closer than we anticipated but I felt Cole Jones, Gage Roaldson and Braydon Ortloff did a great job in their matches. They wrestled aggressively and put a lot of points on the board.”
Up Next
MSUM wraps up the regular season on Feb. 11 at Augustana (S.D.).
MSUM 19, Minot State 18
125-Cole Jones (MSUM) maj. dec. Oscar Nellis, 13-3
133-Logen Fischer (Minot) maj. dec. Joey Nerdahl, 17-4
141-Lincoln Stormer (Minot) dec. Mason Schulz, 7-6
149-Angel Rios (MSUM) dec. Gabriel Ojeda, 3-2
157-Nathan Baca (Minot) tech. fall Tell Ward, 17-2
165-Braydon Ortloff (MSUM) dec. Brody Mohr, 19-6
174-Gage Roaldson (MSUM) maj. dec. Noah Gallardo, 13-2
184-Keegan Berry (Minot) dec. Evan Foster, 5-1
197-Steven Abbott (MSUM) dec. Dustin Swisher, 3-1
285-Jordan Will (Minot) dec. Sam Erckenbrack, 3-0
(MSUM wins by the third tiebreaker by virtue of total points score in the match)
