MARSHALL, Minn. – The No. 20 Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons wrestling team started the final road trip of the season with a conference dual against Southwest Minnesota State. The Mustangs strong start was too much for the Dragons to overcome as the Mustangs won by a final of 18-16.

The Dragons and Mustangs took a draw and began the night at 165 pounds, matching the Dragons' Tyler Kivel against the Mustangs' William Fate. Fate gained an early takedown but Kivel controled the rest of the match.

Kivel escaped in the first period to bring himself with in one at 2-1. After a scoreless second, Kivel reversed Fate in the third, finishing the match with 2:29 of riding time to secure a 4-2 win.

The Mustangs responded with major decision wins at 174, 184 and 197 pound matches to stetch their lead to 12-3. The Dragons bounced back in true Swart fashion as senior heavyweight Jon Swart took on Brian Rodas. Both Swart and Rodas earned one-point escapes in the second and third periods, respectively.

After both heavyweights failed to earn a decisive takedown in the final seconds of regulation, the match headed to sudden victory overtime. In overtime, Rodas was given his final stall warning of the match for fleeing the mat, which gave Swart the victory by a final of 2-1.

Corey Ulmer kept the momentum on the side of the Dragons as he took on Travis Borchert at 125 pounds. Ulmer took a 2-0 lead into the second period where he began alternating takedowns with Borchert's escapes. With 29 seconds remaining in the second, Ulmer gained a two-point nearfall to lead 8-2 by period's end.

Ulmer gained a quick reversal in the third while Borchert escaped halfway through, but Ulmer's 4:05 of riding time gave him enough points to gain a major decision win by a final of 11-3. Tyler Steinwand brought the Dragons closer when he took on Demond Carter at 149 pounds.

Steinwand gave up an early takedown but reversed Carter at the 1:13 mark of the period but trailed when Carter gained an escape. After Steinwand reversed in the third, the match was tied at 3-3. In the third, Steinwand fought back after Carter escaped to gain a match-winning takedown to win 5-4.

Senior Tallen Wald finished off the night for the Dragons at 157 pounds as he took on Casey Field. Wald took a 1-0 lead into the third following a second period escape. A takedown midway through the third gave Wald the shutout win 3-0. But the losses at 133 and 141 pounds proved to be too much as the Mustangs held on 18-16.

The Dragons drop to 4-8 and see their conference record fall to 1-4. The Mustangs get their first conference win of the season (1-3) and move to 5-3-1 overall. The Dragons move on to their final road dual of the season against another future NSIC foe in Minot State (N.D.). The Dragons dual at Minot State will start at 7 p.m. 

FULL RESULTS