The Red Raiders knocked off the 17th ranked Briar Cliff Chargers 19-17 in their first GPAC dual Thursday night. The Brawl at the Bultman started off slow for the Raiders as NWC lost its first three matches. Sam Klarenbeek lost 6-1, Cole Mills was pinned in the first period, and Eli Dahl was beaten by tech fall putting the Raiders down 14-0 and in a deep hole.

Dante Preciado got the Raiders on the board with a challenging 2-0 win followed by back to back 11-6 wins by Daniel Zeleny and Andrew Null putting NWC down by only five points, 9-14. Brandon Shuler then gutted out a 3-2 win over Nathan Garcia to put the Raiders within one win for the lead. D'rell Gist would battle hard and was 10 seconds away from a major decision for the Raiders when he got reversed but the Raiders took the lead 15-14.

Nicholas Null would then take it to Austin Coppinger for Briar Cliff putting him on his back early and gaining an early 6-0 lead that he would not relinquish. Null would eventually earn a 11-1 major decision that would put the Raiders ahead 19-14. The only way the Raiders would be beat is if Matthew Wilke would pin Skyler Bonestroo.

The heavyweight matchup was fast and furious, seeing both wrestling start off aggressive and keep that aggressive pace the whole match. Bonestroo started off behind in the match 4-1 and at one point, was on his side and close to being rolled for a near fall count. He battled strong and was able to prevent the roll, keeping the match close but also saving the Raiders from the only way they could lose, a pin. Bonestroo would eventually go down 7-3 but would battle back after a reversal and two takedowns to get even at 9-9. Wilke would escape early in the 3rd period to get the lead back and even though Bonestroo's efforts in the waning seconds were strong, he was not able to beat Wilke. Skyler's performance, albeit a loss, earned the win for the Raiders.

"That took a lot of guts to beat a team like that," commented Head Coach Rik Dahl. "They are a great team and our guys all had to play their part to get the win tonight and they did so. There were a lot of tough matches but Drew was able to make a huge comeback that seemed to spark the rest of our guys. We fed off that energy and battled hard throughout to get the exciting win."

The Raiders will hit mat Saturday at the BVU Open where NCAA II, NCAA III, NAIA, and NJCAA wrestlers will compete. 

Match By Match Results:

Weight	Wrestlers	Result	Team Score
125 *	Sam Klarenbeek (Northwestern (Iowa)) vs. Isiah Lysius (Briar Cliff)	1-6	0-3
133	Cole Mills (Northwestern (Iowa)) vs. Michael Andreano (Briar Cliff)	Fall 2:21	0-9
141	Eli Dahl (Northwestern (Iowa)) vs. Nathan Ryan (Briar Cliff)	Tech Fall 4:13	0-14
149	Dante Preciado (Northwestern (Iowa)) vs.Zach Funderburk (Briar Cliff)	2-0 decision	3-14
157	Daniel Zeleny (Northwestern (Iowa)) vs. Brandon Meyer (Briar Cliff)	11-6 decsion	6-14
165	Andrew Null (Northwestern (Iowa)) vs. Zach Davis (Briar Cliff	11-6 decision	9-14
174	Brandon Shuler (Northwestern (Iowa)) vs. Nathan Garcia (Briar Cliff)	3-2 decision	12-14
184	D'Rell Gist (Northwestern (Iowa)) vs. Jeremiah Glise (Briar Cliff)	13-7 decision	15-14
197	Nicholas Null (Northwestern (Iowa)) vs. Austin Coppinger (Briar Cliff)	11-1 major deciiosn	19-14
285	Skyler Bonestroo (Northwestern (Iowa)) vs. Matthew Wilke (Briar Cliff)	9-11 decsion	19-17
* Denotes Starting Weight of the Dual

Match By Match Summary:

125: Klarenbeek started out with an aggressive attitude but was not able to get the first points as Lysius was able to hold onto a leg and eventually take down Klarenbeek. Lysius would earn some riding time after that takedown but Klarenbeek was able to escape and get the score to 2-1. Lysius would again grab a leg and not let go to end the first period 4-1. The second period started off well for Klarenbeek but again Lysius was able to get a takedown to extend the lead to 6-1. The remaining portion of the period was riding time for Lysius. Klarenbeek started out the third looking to escape quick and earn some points but Lysius was thwarting every chance Klarenbeek took.
Team Score: 0-3

133: Mills started off the match trying to gauge his spots to shoot and had a good chance that was very close to a takedown but was not awarded. Andreano was able to catch Mills and get a takedown to grab the early lead 2-0. Mills was able to escape but Andreano was able to score another takedown into a good move to earn the fall for Briar Cliff with 38 seconds left in first period.
Team Score: 0-9

141: Dahl faced a buzz saw in Nathan Ryan as Ryan started off early and did not let up. Dahl was put under and taken down early in the first and Ryan was then able to score two successive 4-point near falls to put the score at 10-0 after the first period. The score quickly went to 13-0 after Dahl was trying to get points and cut Ryan for an escape but was quickly taken down by Ryan. Ryan would then earn another near fall to Tech Fall Dahl.
Team Score: 0-14

149: Preciado started off the match avoiding many shot attempts from Funderburk but was not able to counter them to score any points. Preciado was then able to shoot after a near takedown to grab an early 2-0 lead.  The first period would end 2-0 in favor of Preciado. The second period would start off the same as the first with minimal chances to score for both wrestlers and the score would remain the same heading into the third. The tight match saw Dante go into defense mode hoping to get the win for the Raiders. He thwarted many shot attempts by Funderburk and would keep him off the board for the 2-0 win.
Team Score: 3-14

157: Meyer was able to get an early lead on Zeleny with an early two legged takedown. Zeleny was able to escape about halfway through the first to cut the lead in half to 2-1. Zeleny was able to grab the left leg of Meyer near the edge of the mat and swing him back into the middle for a takedown. Meyer was able to escape and the score would be 3-3 at the end of the first period. Zeleny started on top in the second period and saw Meyer escape but Zeleny was able to get another takedown near the edge of the mat to go up 5-4. A long injury timeout after the takedown stalled Zelany's point streak but was able to get another takedown to go up 7-5 and then 7-6 after he cut loose Meyer. The score would be 7-6 going into the 3^rd period. Meyer would start on top and would cut loose Zeleny fairly early in the 3^rd and Daniel was able to get another two points to go up 10-6. Zeleny would ride out the rest of the 3^rd for the win for NWC.
Team Score 6-14

165: Andrew Null started off the first period in control in many ways but got caught up a bit and was taken down by Davis. Null easily escaped and cut the score in half. Davis was able to score another takedown to get the tally to 4-1. Null almost reversed Davis and was close to getting him in a near fall position but Davis held on and was able to keep control. The period would end 4-1 in favor of Davis. Null would start on the bottom in the second period and would earn a reverse and a takedown that would see the score go to 5-4 in favor of Null. Andrew would take the 1 point lead going into the third period and would start on top and would find himself in a battle to stay in control of Davis. Null would eventually cut loose Davis and the score would knot up at 5-5 seeing both wrestlers strive to get the final points in the match.  Null would seal the deal with 15 seconds left in the match earning a hard takedown and turning it into 4 near fall points as well for an 11-5 victory and another 3 team points for NWC.
Team Score: 9-14

174: Brandon Shuler would start off the match with a good amount of hand fighting. Garcia and Shuler would end the first period 0-0. Shuler would get an early escape in the second period for a 1-0 lead. Shuler would make a nice move to shove Garcia one way and grab onto his leg on the way down. He eventually was able to sweep is standing leg out from under him to earn a 3-0 lead. Garcia would be cut loose by Shuler for the score to go to 3-1. The third period would start with Shuler cutting loose Garcia and attempting to go for another two-for-one but struggled to do so for quite some time. The 3-2 was tough to hold on to as Garcia tried numerous times to get Shuler to the mat. Garcia would get close with a few seconds left but Shuler was able to roll out and hold on for the win.
Team Score 12-14

184: Gist was quick to start and was able to gain a quick takedown for an early 2-1 lead. Gist would again get a takedown and cut loose Glise for a 4-2 lead. Another takedown for Gist near the edge of the mat garnered another 2 points for a 6-2 lead. Another escape for Glise would put the score to 6-3 and it would end that way in the first. Gist would start off strong again in the second period earning another takedown and cutting Glise for an 8-4 lead. Gist would get another takedown with seconds left in the second period for a 10-4 lead going into the third. Glise would escape early in the third to cut the lead to 10-5. The third would be a tight battle for a few points as Gist was going for the major decision but was reversed after a takedown to eventually win 12-7 and put the Raiders in the lead.
Team Score: 15-14

197: Nicholas Null would start off with a bang getting a quick takedown and turning it into a 4 point near fall for a quick 6-0 lead. Null would then ride Coppinger for the majority of the first period not letting the Charger break away. Null would start the second with a reversal and get an important 8-0 lead. Once again, Null would ride Coppinger for the majority of the period and not relinquish control. Null would reverse again to start the third and get a 10-0 lead. Null had a handful of moments to turn for a fall in the third with a tired Coppinger but could not ever get enough leverage to do so. Coppinger was able to on the board in the third with an escape with a minute left but was not able to do anything else.
Team Score: 19-14

285: Bonestroo would start off with a few shot attempts but it was Wilke that was able to score first with a takedown. Bonestroo was able to escape though to cut the lead to 2-1. Wilke was able to score another takedown extending the lead to 4-1 halfway through the first period. Bonestroo was close to escaping a second time in the first period but was not able to do so. After a quick injury timeout, Wilke would escape and stretch the lead to 5-1 going into the second period. Bonestroo would escape at the beginning of the second period to cut the lead to 5-2. Wilke will see another chance and take it moments later for a takedown and a 7-2 lead. Wilke would cut lose Bonestroo for a score change of 3-7. Bonestroo would get a reversal and get within a two point score but Wilke would escape to make the score 8-5 for BCU. Bonestroo would get another early takedown and cut Wilke again and within seconds get another takedown making it 9-9. Wilke would escape to get the lead back 10-9 with 50 seconds left in the match. Skyler was so close to getting a takedown for the win with 15 seconds left but Wilke held onto a leg to ride out the match for the BCU win.

Team Score: 19-17 NWC Wins