MARSHALL, Minn. – Despite Kody Marschner breaking his losing streak with a major decision win, the MSU Mavericks, who are ranked No. 17 in the Open Mat team dual rankings, recorded five bonus-point victories to down the Mustang wrestling team 37-4 in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference dual on Friday night in the SMSU PE Gym.

SMSU is now 3-9 in duals and 0-6 in NSIC duals. MSU moves to 7-3 on the season in duals and 4-2 in NSIC competition.

The dual began with the 125-pound match between Preston Xayachak and Jacob Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick controlled the first period to lead 9-2 before Xayachak secured a huge takedown to cut the deficit to 9-6 with three minutes to wrestle. Fitzpatrick bounced back from the takedown by capturing the next seven points to hold the lead going into the final period.

Xayachak's comeback would stall in the final two minutes, as MSU picked up a 23-7 tech fall.

At 133 pounds, MSU's Chase Beckett made quick work of Chase Hanson to secure a pin in the second period and give MSU an 11-0 lead.

141 pounds saw Dylan Louwagie fall to Colton Hush by a 15-8 decision.

Jake Messner battled in the 149-pound match, keeping the battle within a 3-point margin through the first two periods. Messner could not get the offense going, as every shot was blocked by MSU's Isaiah Mlsna to lead to an eventual MSU win by a 5-1 decision.

Sean Howk, ranked No. 20 at 157 pounds in this week's Open Mat rankings, wrestled No. 14/16 Caleb Meunier. After a stalemate first period with no scores, Meunier picked up an escape late in the second period to lead 1-0.

After starting in the down position, Howk secured an escape 30 seconds into the third period to even the match and held on to force an overtime period. 

The two battled in the opening seconds of the overtime period before Meunier took the opportunity to go for a takedown and locked it in, earning a sudden victory and giving MSU the 20-0 lead heading to the five-minute intermission.

Following the intermission the Mavericks would pick up a win at 165 by major decision.

At 174 pounds, Elijah Sterner battled No. 5-ranked Drake Hayward and fought a hard battle at that. Sterner applied the pressure early and pushed Hayward to the final second. 

Sterner would trail 3-1 after the first period but come back to shrink the margin to one point heading into the final two minutes. A quick escape for Hayward to start the period gave him a 5-3 lead before Sterner countered with an escape of his own to bring it back to 5-4.

Sterner held all momentum in the final moments of the bout, nearly dropping Hayward for a takedown but couldn't pull it off, ending in a 5-4 decision win for MSU.

The 184-pound match saw Adam Sylvester suffer a 14-5 major decision loss to Evan Farley.

197 pounds featured Kody Marschner taking on Grant Cook. Marschner was a man on a mission looking to grab SMSU's first win of the match. He would take over in the first period and never look back in earning a 16-3 major decision win to put SMSU on the board.

The dual ended with a forfeit by SMSU in the 285-pound weight class match.

The Mustangs are back in action this Sunday, Feb. 2, hitting the road for a dual at (RV) Northern State starting at 3 p.m.

"Electric atmosphere tonight! Rave night was truly a party," said SMSU head coach Chayse Jackson. "The music was bumping, the crowd was loud, and there was a lot of good wrestling. We had great moments in matches but struggled to chain them together leading to losses and ultimately a lost dual. The little things are so important. It is back to the basics for a quick reset before we head to Northern State. Love the PE Gym and can't wait for one more home dual!"

MSU 37, SMSU 4
125 (presented by Mustang Wrestling Club) – Jacob Fitzpatrick (MSU) over Preston Xayachak (SMSU) (TF 23-7 6:53)
133 (presented by Fort Pierre Livestock Auction) – Chase Beckett (MSU) over Chase Hanson (SMSU) (Fall 4:40)
141 (presented by Tahnee Mara Concrete and Petroleum) – Colton Hush (MSU) over Dylan Louwagie (SMSU) (Dec 15-8)
149 (presented by Lierman Excavating Co.) – Isaiah Mlsna (MSU) over Jake Messner (SMSU) (Dec 5-1)
157 (presented by Wendinger Travel) – No. 14 Caleb Meunier (MSU) over No. 20 Sean Howk (SMSU) (SV-1 4-1)
165 (presented by Kibble Equipment) – No. 15 Kole Marko (MSU) over Caden Young (SMSU) (MD 12-2)
174 (presented by Cottonwood Oil Co-op) - No. 5 Drake Hayward (MSU) over Elijah Sterner (SMSU) (Dec 5-4)
184 (presented by Marshall Army National Guard) - Evan Farley (MSU) over Adam Sylvester (SMSU) (MD 14-5)
197 (presented by Borch's Sporting Goods) - Kody Marschner (SMSU) over Grant Cook (MSU) (MD 16-3)
285 (presented by Countryside Golf Course) - Tanner Gaffey (MSU) over SMSU (For.)