MARSHALL, Minn. – No. 3 St. Cloud State University defeated Southwest Minnesota State 32-8 in the NSIC opener for the Mustangs. The Huskies were coming off a 19-18 upset win over No. 1 Nebraska-Omaha on Friday night. The Mustangs are now 4-1-1 overall and 0-1 in the NSIC while the Huskies improve to 14-1.

SMSU's CD Johnson looked inspired when jumping on to the mat for his bout against No. 5 ranked Mic Berg at 184 pounds. Johnson was aggressive from the start earning a 15-0 technical fall putting the Mustangs on the board for the first time of the night.

Travis Borchert started out the dual for the Mustangs at 125 pounds with a strong performance against SCSU's Dylan Wright. Wright scored early with a takedown before Borchert would tie the bout with a takedown of his own. Borchert's takedown forced the bout into an overtime period. The freshman almost came away with a win before being taken down by Wright for a 4-2 decision giving the Huskies a 3-0 lead.

St. Cloud State picked up wins in the next two bouts at 133 pounds and 141 pounds when Westy Hanson defeated Justin Reinsma by a 4-1 decision and #7 ranked Gabe Suarez earned a 14-5 major decision over Ethan Hildebrandt to give SCSU a 10-0 lead.

At the 149-pound weight class St. Cloud State's Jacob R. Horn defeated SMSU's Kyle Anderson in a 9-6 decision giving the Huskies a 13-0 lead. The Huskies would stretch the lead to 23-0 after Josh Jorniman defeated Mustang wrestler Casey Field by major decision 10-0 and SMSU's forfeit by SMSU at 165 pounds.

The Huskies' Shamus O'Grady who is ranked sixth nationally at 174 pounds defeated SMSU's Billy Fate by fall at 4:23 stretching SCSU's lead to 29-0.

The Mustangs would get on the board after senior CD Johnson defeated the fifth ranked wrestler in the nation at 184 pounds by technical fall earning a 15-0 decision. The Huskies lead the dual 29-5 heading into the 197-pound bout.

SMSU's Martin Hagen dropped a 5-2 decision at 197 pounds to Luke Munkelwitz which gave the Huskies a 32-5 lead in the dual. Senior heavyweight Brian Rodas earned a 5-1 decision over SCSU's Chris Brassell at 285 pounds to make the final score 32-8 in favor of the Huskies.

Southwest Minnesota State will continue NSIC action next Friday, Jan. 28 when they host Upper Iowa at 7 p.m. in the PE Gym.

SCSU 32 SMSU 8
125 – Dylan Wright (SCSU) def. Travis Borchert 4-2 decision OT (SCSU leads 3-0)
133 – Westy Hanson (SCSU) def. Justin Reinsma 4-1 decision (SCSU leads 6-0)
141 – #7 Gabe Suarez def. Ethan Hildebrandt 14-5 major decision (SCSU leads 10-0)
149 – Jacob R. Horn def. Kyle Anderson 9-6 decision (SCSU leads 13-0)
157 – Josh Jorniman def. Casey Field 10-0 major decision (SCSU leads 17-0)
165 – #2 Tad Merritt by forfeit (SCSU leads 23-0)
174 – #6 Shamus O'Grady def. Billy Fate by fall at 4:23 (SCSU leads 29-0)
184 – CD Johnson def. #5 Mic Berg by technical fall 15-0 (SCSU leads 29-5)
197 – Luke Munkelwitz def. Martin Hagen 5-2 decision (SCSU leads 32-5)
285 – Brian Rodas def. Chris Brassell 5-1 decision (SCSU leads 32-8)