MARSHALL, Minn. - A fast start gave the University of Mary Wrestling team an early advantage this afternoon as they picked up right where they left off the conference schedule against Southwest Minnesota State University.
 
The Marauders (5-9, 1-3 NSIC) took three of the first four bouts of the dual, but the Mustangs (5-7, 1-1 NSIC) took five of the last six to take a heavily contested dual at 24-15.
 
Josh Jensen made short work of Taylor Curtis in the opening match at 125 pounds as the Marauder put together a handful of takedowns through the first two periods to claim a five-point lead. Curtis couldn't capitalize on any momentum his way as Jensen took home the 9-3 decision.
 
Tate Barnhardt followed that up with a strong showing against Antonio Meikel as Barnhardt fired off a string of takedowns in the opening period, and wouldn't allow the Mustang any semblance of rest as the Marauder scored the pin at 4:05 to keep Southwest Minnesota State scoreless on the board. Barnhardt currently leads the team with 12 pins on the year and a 21-7 record.
 
Reed Cronin got the bill at 141 pounds against Cortez Arredondo and the Mustang appeared to have a decided advantage through the first two periods of the bout. Arredondo went on the defensive in the final frame as he held a 6-4 lead, but a penalty point was awarded to Cronin who took ahold of the momentum and fired off a quick takedown to swing the lead in his favor at 7-6. Yet with seconds remaining on the clock, Cronin needed to prevent an escape as the Mustang still held a riding time point, but the Marauder couldn't close out the match and Arredondo came away with an 8-7 win.
 
Jakob Weisbrod got U-Mary back in the winning column as he took on Paul Norgren at 149 pounds, and the redshirt freshman from Clark, S.D., dominated the mat in a convincing 6-1 decision to put the team score at 12-3 in favor of the Marauders.
 
Unfortunately, the tide turned against U-Mary starting with the 157-pound matchup as Patrick Kelley took away a 7-2 decision against Dane Fischer, Kegen Fingalsen pinned Paul Michaelson at the 4:56 mark of the 165-pound bout, Kyle Begin scored a 16-0 tech fall over Riley Nagel at 174 pounds, and Brody Goens capped off the run with an 11-2 major decision over Jacob Green at 184 pounds.
 
Tom DeVito broke the run as he secured a hard-fought 8-4 decision over Ashton Bartlett as the Marauder leveraged his experience to stuff a slew of takedown attempts from the Mustang. Yet the final say of the dual went in favor of Southwest Minnesota State as Cole Wilson and Travis Smith had a constant back-and-forth for three periods at the heavyweight bout. The Mustang came away with the lone point of the matchup as he scored a riding time point in the final frame to send U-Mary back on the road with a 24-15 final team score.
 
The Marauders will head out on the road right away as they take on Augustana University tomorrow afternoon starting at 2:00 PM.
 
125: Josh Jensen (MARY) over Taylor Curtis (SMS) (Dec 9-3) 
133: Tate Barnhardt (MARY) over Antonio Meikel (SMS) (Fall 4:05) 
141: Cortez Arredondo (SMS) over Reed Cronin (MARY) (Dec 8-7) 
149: Jakob Weisbrod (MARY) over Paul Norgren (SMS) (Dec 6-1) 
157: Patrick Kelley (SMS) over Dane Fischer (MARY) (Dec 7-2) 
165: Kegen Fingalsen (SMS) over Paul Michaelson (MARY) (Fall 4:56) 
174: Kyle Begin (SMS) over Riley Nagel (MARY) (TF 16-0 4:36) 
184: Broderick Goens (SMS) over Jacob Green (MARY) (MD 11-2) 
197: Tom DeVito (MARY) over Ashton Bartlett (SMS) (Dec 8-4) 
285: Cole Wilson (SMS) over Travis Smith (MARY) (Dec 1-0)   
 
Team Score: U-Mary 15, SMSU 24
 
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