1/30/07

Wrestlers Win Three, Lose One at Tracy Borah Duals

Mavericks finish weekend with upset loss to Western State

by Tyler Buckentine
Issue date: 1/30/07
Section: Mens Sports

The Minnesota State wrestling team rolled into Gunnison, Colo. with plans to win its final 10 dual meets, starting with four on Saturday at the Tracy Borah Duals.

But after trouncing their first three opponents of the day by an average margin of 39 points, the Mavericks dropped a nail-biter to No. 9 Western State 19-17.

"It was disappointing after that loss to Western," MSU 149-pounder Jason Rhoten said. "We really expected to win the dual but it just didn't turn out the way we wanted it to."

The Mavericks (10-3 in duals) were again hurt by the absence of No. 2 Nick Smith at 125-pounds who is nursing an ankle injury. Western State got six automatic forfeit points to start off the dual.

"We gave up some points right off the bat. It hurts, but upsets like that happen in sports," Rhoten said. "There were some upsets at different weights and that kind of stuff happens throughout the season. It's better it happened Saturday than a month from now at nationals."

The Mountaineers led 9-3 after the first three matches, but Rhoten and Brandon Girtz won back-to-back matches to put MSU on top 10-9. Western State countered with three wins of their own to go ahead for good. Ben Janike and Brady Wilson's wins weren't enough as the Mavericks rally came up two points short.

"We didn't wrestle our best against Western State," Mavericks coach Jim Makovsky said. "This is going to sting everyone for a while so we're going to use it as motivation."

"Fatigue didn't have much to do with it. Western had to wrestle the same amount of duals as we did," Rhoten said. "It seemed like they were a little more fired up."

Rhoten finished the day 4-0 including a pair of major decisions, a technical fall and a pin over Kirk Piatt of Mesa State. Pfaffinger, Janike, and Wilson also finished the day undefeated.

Mavericks blanked New Mexico Highlands 49-0, then beat Colorado School of Mines 37-2, and beat up on Mesa State 48-6.

"We had some ups and downs. We got some really good performances," Makovsky said. "One big thing is that we came away with three wins and we got to see some good competition.

"We need to get our guys more dynamic with what they're doing technique-wise. When we travel more, we get to see more schools and see their techniques and how we match up. We need to get more multi-dimensional."

Up next for MSU is No. 7 Upper Iowa at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Taylor Center. The Mavericks will wrestle on their own mat for the first time since Nov. 15 when they beat St. John's 36-3 at the Taylor Center.

Tyler Buckentine is the Reporter Assistant Sports Editor