THIS WEEK: The University of Mary Wrestling team returns to the mat for the start of the new year with a Northern Sun Conference Dual against Minot State University on Thursday, January 7, starting at 7:00 PM CDT in the McDowell Activity Center

HISTORY: U-Mary fell in the first meeting between the teams earlier in the season as the Marauders took on the Beavers for the Battle of the Barrel. Tate Barnhardt, Paul Michaelson, Riley Nagel, and Dylan Mitzel all earned decisions over their opponents in the matchup to go with a major decision from Rudy Guillen for a commanding 16-9 lead heading into the 197-pound matchup. Unfortunately, experience won out as Tiger Paasch pinned Jonathan Pelach in the first minute of the match and Mitchell Eull took a sudden victory over Travis Smith to pull the rug out from under the Marauders in an 18-16 win.

LAST YEAR: The Marauders closed out the calendar year with their annual Santa Claus Dual against Minnesota State University back on December 17. U-Mary had the momentum in the early goings as Jensen and Barnhardt both secure victories as Jensen earned a 9-3 decision over Trevor Schultz and Barnhardt took an 11-2 major decision over Paul Selman. Alas, Guillen could not continue the streak as Alphonso Vruno leveraged his experience in a 13-4 major decision, kick-starting seven straight wins for the Mavericks with four coming by technical fall, one pin, and a decision from Matt Mincey over Michaelson. Smith ended the dual on a high note for the Marauders as he took a narrow 7-6 decision over Malcolm Allen that featured Smith stuffing one final takedown attempt from Allen in the waning seconds of the match to secure the win.

BARNCAT TOUGH: Travis Smith was named Barncat Tough Wrestler of the Week for his impressive performance against Malcolm Allen to wrap up the Santa Claus Dual against Minnesota State University. The bout proved to be the closest of the night as Allen scored the first points with a takedown in the first frame followed by Smith countering with an escape and takedown of his own. Allen eventually squirmed out of the hold to force a 3-3 tie heading into the second period. Smith took bottom in the frame and earned a fast escape and a last-second takedown for a 6-3 advantage going into the final period, but Allen kept it close after choosing bottom and coupled an escape with a takedown to tie it up. Smith got away with an escape to prevent the riding time point and squelched one final takedown attempt to secure the 7-6 win, capping off the final dual of the calendar year.

NEXT WEEK: The Marauders will make another trip down to Kearney, Neb., this time for the annual Midwest Duals. U-Mary will take on Colorado School of Mines, New Mexico Highlands University, Chadron State College, and Newman University in the premier event.

For more information, check out the full PDF release here.

#marauders#