Mankato, Minn. – The Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragon wrestling team took off from Fayette, Iowa and headed towards Minnesota State Mankato for an NSIC matchup with the No. 4 ranked Mavericks. The Dragons fought back closer than the score would indicate, losing the dual 25-8.

The Dragons would jump out to an early lead after junior Evan Forde beat Mankato's Matt Nyvold at 133 pounds. Forde scored a quick takedown one minute into the match, then followed up with two near falls just 32 seconds apart, and suddenly Forde was out to a 8-0 lead.

Forde chose down to start the second frame and with in 15 seconds, reversed Nyvold and scored his third three-point near fall of the match and his fourth overall near fall, winning by technical fall 15-0 at the 3:57 mark.

The Mavericks would retake the team lead after a Robby Fisher 8-1 decision over junior Brady Schneeberger. But the Dragons would retake the lead for a second time when junior Derek Bomstad defeated the Maverick's Travis Elg in the highest scoring contest of the night.

Bomstad scored two takedowns with in the first 49 seconds of the match. Elg would tie things up a minute later with a takedown of his own but was quickly reversed by Bomstad and the junior lead 6-4 after on period. Bomstad chose down to start the second period and quickly mastered two escapes fighting through Elg's pesky takedowns and scored a takedown of his own.

As the period ran down Elg escaped but was once again taken down by Bomstad with one second remaining. Elg and Bomstad continued to joust for points, reversing and taking down each other in rapid succession. But Bomstad's late escape and takedown, paired with riding time netted him an 18-11 decision.

The Mavericks would retake the lead and not look back, sealing the win with the No. 1 ranked heavyweight in the nation, Brady Wilson his 19 victory of the season. The Dragons impressed first year head coach Kris Nelson, wrestling much more competitively than the night before. Coach Nelson was also impressed with the MSUM wrestlers who did not win, noting their toughness as a sign of improvement.

The Dragons loss drops to 3-8 on the season (1-3 NSIC). The win brings the Mavericks record up to 6-1 on the season (1-0 NSIC) The Dragons return home to face St. Cloud State Huskies Friday, January 22 at 7 p.m. inside Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse.

MSUM v. #4 Minnesota State Mankato

Weight	Dragons	Mavericks	Result
125	Corey Ulmer	NCAA #4 Andy Forstner	Forstner wins by 9-2 decision
133	Evan Forde	Matt Nyvold	Forde 15-0 tech. fall at 3:57
141	Brady Schneeberger	Robby Fisher	Fisher wins by 8-1 decision
149	Derek Bomstad	Travis Elg	Bomstad wins by 18-11 decision
157	Tallen Wald	Justin Turek	Turek wins by 2-1 decision
165	Tyler Kivel	Tel Todd	Todd wins by 7-5 decision
174	Jacob McLean	NCAA #8 Ben Becker	Becker wins by 8-2 decision
184	Tayler Yliniemi	Aaron Norgren	Norgren wins by 9-4 decision
197	Jon Swart	John Makabe	Makabe wins by 3-1 decision
HWT	Tim Johnson	NCAA #1 Brady Wilson	Wilson wins by 13-3 major decision