MOORHEAD, Minn. - Making up for the postponed dual earlier in the season, the University of Mary Wrestling team took on Minnesota State University Moorhead this afternoon in the final conference dual of the regular season.
 
The Marauders (7-12, 2-6 NSIC) had several matches decided by less than three points, but found themselves on the bad end of every close contest as the Dragons (8-7, 3-5 NSIC) took the team win at 23-9.
 
Josh Jensen got the dual started at 125 pounds against Jared Goldsmith and made short work of the Dragon as Jensen recorded the only points of the match through the first six minutes on the heels of two takedowns and a reversal in the second frame. Goldsmith couldn't find the opportunity for back points as his lone point came on an escape as Jensen went fishing for the major decision, but had to settle for a 7-1 decision over the Dragon to get U-Mary on the board right away with a 3-0 lead.
 
Tate Barnhardt faced the tall task of taking on No. 2 Blake Bosch at 133 pounds, but the Dragon proved his national ranking was well deserved as he put on a clinic with three takedowns and a pair of four-point nearfalls for the 15-2 major decision, inching MSU Moorhead up on the scoreboard at 4-3.
 
Rudy Guillen took on Kristian Vasquez at 141 pounds in a rematch of the first-place match at the 45th Annual Bison Open earlier in the season, and Guillen proved his victory in the earlier bout was not a fluke as he went straight to work with a trio of takedowns in the opening period for a 6-3 lead going into the second.
 
Guillen notched another pair of takedowns through the remainder of the match but found himself in the same situation that Jensen faced as Guillen failed to record bonus team points and took away the 11-5 decision over Vasquez, swinging the score back into U-Mary's favor at 6-4.
 
Jakob Weisbrod was up next at 149 pounds against Isaac Novacek with the Marauder looking for his third consecutive pin of the week after his dominant showings against St. John's University and Northern State University. Novacek pushed the pace early in the bout, though, as he took a pair of takedowns and a two-point nearfall for a comfortable 6-2 lead going into the second.
 
Weisbrod went bottom and fought for the fast escape but Novacek came right back with another takedown that Weisbrod eventually escaped. The Marauder went right on the offensive near the end of the frame as he seemingly had the momentum with a takedown of his own to cut the lead down to 8-6, but the Dragon proved more resilient as Novacek scored the reversal and two-point nearfall in the final frame for the 12-6 decision, moving the team score back into MSU Moorhead's favor at 7-6.
 
Dane Fischer got the bill at 157 pounds against Garrett Hoffner, yet the Marauder found himself in an early hole as Hoffner recorded a takedown and four-point nearfall in the opening period for a commanding 6-0 lead.
 
Fischer went neutral in the second period and scored a takedown of his own late in the frame, and kept the pressure up as he took another takedown in the third period and was awarded two penalty points with Hoffner flagged for stalling. Fischer nearly had another takedown late in the final period, but ran out of time as Hoffner held on for the 9-6 decision to put the team score at 10-6.
 
Paul Michaelson went next at 165 pounds against Adam Blees, and both grapplers were evenly matched after the first period as Blees scored the takedown and Michaelson followed up with a reversal for the 2-2 score. Michaelson briefly held the advantage in the second frame after escaping from bottom, but Blees matched it with an escape of his own in the third.
 
With riding time no longer a factor in the bout, the victor would be determined by whoever recorded the final takedown, though sudden victory seemed likely as both wrestlers put a stop to several takedown attempts in the bout. Unfortunately, Blees ended up with the final takedown of the bout in the waning seconds of the match to steal a 5-3 decision from Michaelson to put the team score at 13-6.
 
Riley Nagel took on Brayden Kuntz at 174 pounds and the Marauder held the advantage late in the bout with a pair of takedowns, an escape and riding time for a 6-1 lead. Kuntz fired off several takedown attempts throughout the match, but Nagel put a stop to each one as he eventually clinched the decision and kept U-Mary in the dual at 13-9.
 
Jacob Green went next at 184 pounds against Austin May as Green pushed the pace early on with several feints and takedown attempts, but it was May who scored first with a takedown of his own early on for a 2-1 lead going into the second.
 
Green fought back from the 3-1 deficit to narrow the score at 3-2 after his escape in the final frame, but once again had several takedown attempts stuffed by May as the Dragon held on for the decision and setting the team score at 16-9 with two matches remaining.
 
Jonathan Pelach faced Michael Urban at 197 pounds and pushed the pace as well, but the Dragon would simply overwhelm the Marauder freshman for the eventual 8-0 decision to seal in the team win at 19-9.
 
Travis Smith rounded out the dual with his bout against Nader Abdullatif at 285 pounds in another evenly-matched bout with both wrestlers scoring their points on escaped midway through the third period. Abdullatif held the riding time advantage, which forced Smith onto the offensive and the Marauder appeared to have a takedown recorded in the final minute, but came out of the circle that resulted in a restart and couldn't fire off another attempt as Abdullatif took the decision at 2-1, cementing the team score at 23-9.
 
The Marauders will begin their postseason play this coming weekend as they travel to Sioux Falls, S.D., on Saturday, February 27, to compete in the NCAA Super Regional 3 Tournament hosted by Augustana University.
 
FINAL RESULTS
 
125: Josh Jensen (MARY) over Jared Goldsmith (MSM) (Dec 7-1)
133: Blake Bosch (MSM) over Tate Barnhardt (MARY) (MD 15-2)
141: Rudy Guillen (MARY) over Kristian Vazquez (MSM) (Dec 11-5)
149: Isaac Novacek (MSM) over Jakob Weisbrod (MARY) (Dec 12-6)
157: Garrett Hoffner (MSM) over Dane Fischer (MARY) (Dec 9-6)
165: Adam  Blees (MSM) over Paul Michaelson (MARY) (Dec 5-3)
174: Riley Nagel (MARY) over Brayden Kuntz (MSM) (Dec 6-1)
184: Austin May (MSM) over Jacob Green (MARY) (Dec 3-2)
197: Michael Urban (MSM) over Jonathan Pelach (MARY) (MD 8-0)
285: Nader Abdullatif (MSM) over Travis Smith (MARY) (Dec 2-1)
 
Team Score: U-Mary 9, MSU Moorhead 23
 
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