The Northwestern College wrestling team finished unbeaten in three home duals held today at the Bultman Center. The Raiders defeated Concordia 28-12 in the opener, earning their first win over the Bulldogs since the 2011-12 season. Northwestern followed with a 53-6 victory against Waldorf and then closed with an impressive showing against Dickinson State, defeating the Blue Hawks 38-4. 

    Jan.16 Raider Duals Home Page / Results 

    "I was proud of they way our guys battled today," said Northwestern head coach Rik Dahl. "Every team there was shorthanded, but that is the nature of our sport. In times like that, it is important for young men to see the opportunity and rise up. Our guys did that in a big way. Trey Schuck continues to impress with his potent offense and tenacity. Trey went 4-0 today if you count the exhibition at the end of the day including a fall over the #20 ranked wrestler in the country against DSU." 

    "As a team we did the little things well and those little things allowed us to do the big things when the opportunity arose," stated Dahl. "For the day, we were 23-4 with nine falls, one tech fall and four major decisions. In addition, we outscored the competition 146-77 in match points, 38-18 in takedowns and 12-3 in NFs. We keep telling these guys they have the talent and gifts to wrestle at a high level. We hope a day like this will help get them to a place where they begin to really push into that truth."
 
vs Concordia, 28-12 win

With Northwestern leading 15-9 through six weight classes, the Raiders picked up three wins in the final four matches to secure their victory against Concordia. Austin Hendrickson edged Tim Huber 5-3 in a thriller at 174 to move ahead 18-9. Luke Jenness followed with a 12-4 major decision win at 184 and Bennett Sikkink closed with a pin against Mason Garcia at the 3:40 mark. 

    Said Head Coach Dah, "We have been close to beating Concordia several times but they always seem to do just a little better at the little things. Today was different and it was a blessing for the guys to see what happens when they wrestle with confidence. John Seth stood out for us as the young man earned his first college wins today and won a key match up for us against Concordia. We knew his match and Hendrickson's match at 174 were keys for us to pull out the win."
 
    125 - open
    133 - Trey Schuck won by forfeit
    141 - John Seth def. Jeaven Scdoris, 6-5
    149 - Breckin Sperling won by forfeit
    157 - Chase Peterson lost to Issiah Burks by fall, 3:40
    165 - Blake Pomajzl lost to Gabriel Crawford, 11-5
    174 - Austin Hendrickson def. Timothy Huber, 5-3
    184 - Luke Jenness def. Cyrus Marshall, 12-2 major
    197 - Bennett Sikkink def. Mason Garcis by fall, 3:40
    285 - Chris Van Der Brink lost to #8 Jacob Telles, 4-2

    vs Waldorf, 53-6 win

Northwestern won its final nine matches in a dominating 53-6 win against Waldorf in its second match of the day (four Raiders picked up wins by forfeit as Waldorf did not have a wrestler at 141, 165, 174 or 197). Breckin Sperling, Blake Pomajzl, Luke Jenness and Chris Van Der Brink picked up wins by fall and Trey Schuck earned a technical fall in his 16-0 win at 133. 

    125 - Arie Reyes (Waldorf) won by forfeit
    133 - Trey Schuck def. Alfredo Moreno by tech. fall, 16-0
    141 - John Seth won by forfeit
    149 - Breckin Sperling def. Itai Hod-Tuszynski by fall, :34
    157 - Blake Pomajzl def. Anthony Salvo by fall, :36
    165 - Edward Punzalan won by forfeit
    174 - Austin Hendrickson won by forfeit
    184 - Luke Jenness def. Christian Martinez by fall, 1:25
    197 - Bennett Sikkink won by forfeit
    285 - Chris Van Der Brink def. Donte Wodd by fall, 2:30

    vs (RV) Dickinson State, 38-4

Head Coach Rik Dahl's squad was equally impressive in their final win, a decisive 38-4 victory over Dickinson State, a team earning votes in the NAIA Coaches' poll. The Raiders earned victories in eight of nine matches, four pins, two major's and two by decision.  Sikkink and Chris Van Der Brink closed the day with back-to-back pins at 197 and 285, respectively. 

    Said Dahl, "This was the first time we have beaten Dickinson State during my time as head coach at Northwestern. They are a strong program with a rich wrestling history, so to beat them in the manner that we did was outstanding."

    125 - Open
    133 - Trey Schuck def. #20 Clay Gerhardt by fall, 5:46
    141 - John Seth def. Caleb Nielsen by major, 18-7
    149 - Chase Peterson def. Dante Venema, 15-8
    157 - Breckin Sperling def. Grayson Hicks by fall, :40
    165 - Blake Pomajzl def. Tate Nordby by major, 14-2
    174 - Austin Hendrickson lost to Caden Haugen by major, 11-2
    184 - Luke Jenness def. Christian Martinez, 8-5
    197 - Bennett Sikkink def. Rusty Dan by fall, 1:01
    285 - Chris Van Der Brink def. Ethan Goss-Dickie by fall, 1:27