Forfeits help DHS wrestling team get past St. Mary's

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BISMARCK — The Dickinson High wrestling team used a string of seven consecutive wins, including four straight forfeits, to secure another West Region dual win.

The Midgets’ seven straight wins helped them to a 45-30 win over Bismarck St. Mary’s on Thursday.

“We started at a good spot for Bismarck St. Mary’s,” Dickinson co-head coach Pete Dobitz said. “They set the tone with a pin right away, then a decision and then a pin. That gave them momentum right away. Jacob Shypkowski came out for us and said, ‘Let’s get things going.’”

Dickinson 170-pound senior captain Shypkowski pinned Austin Legenfelder in 1 minute, 25 seconds to set off a chain of seven straight wins.

St. Mary’s quickly put Dickinson in a 15-0 hole, but after the Shypkowski pin the Midgets benefitted from four forfeits to give them a 30-15 lead in a blink of the eye.

“St. Mary’s had some injures from football, so we got four forfeits in a row and seeing the numbers change on the scoreboard got us excited,” Dobitz said.

Dickinson eighth-grader Caden Hagen, who is ranked No. 6 in Class A at 106 pounds, took a 7-3 decision over Matthew Schaffner, ranked No. 4 in the weight class. Dickinson freshman Jaret Lee pinned Casey Loeks in 32 seconds at 113 pounds.

“Caden had a very good match,” Dobtiz said. “When you have a lower ranked kid getting after a higher ranked kid kept us going.”

Dickinson junior captain Devin Berger wrapped up the team’s scoring with a 44-second pin of Collin Grumann at 132.

“Devin stepped up and disposed of the kid at 132 pounds pretty quickly,” Dobitz said. “That’s something you expect out of one of your team captains.”

Aaron Bernal (182), Justin Meiser (195), Chris Sickler (220) and Ashton Schatz (heavyweight) all won by forfeit.

Dobitz said the two-day Mandan Lions Tournament that starts at 2:30 p.m. today is going to be a true test of character early on in the season.

“There’s a big difference between dual wrestling and individual wrestling,” Dobitz said. “We are going to find out a little bit more about the heart the boys have on the individual side.”

106: Caden Hagen, D, dec. Matthew Schaffner, 7-3. 113: Jaret Lee, D, pinned Casey Loeks, 0:32. 120: Tate Barnhardt, SM, pinned Austin Hutzenbiler, 3:22. 126: Austin Huck, SM, pinned David Davis, 3:35. 132: Devin Berger, D, pinned Collin Grumann, :44. 138: Matthew Richter, SM, dec. Matt Berg, 5-4. 145: Dane Fischer, SM, pinned Clayton Tangen, 1:31. 152: Robert Richter, SM, dec. Michael Dobitz, 10-7. 160: Trey Grumann, SM, pinned Michael Cherwinski, 3:35. 170: Jacob Shypkowski, D, pinned Austin Legenfelder, 1:25. 182: Aaron Bernal, D, won by forfeit. 195: Justin Meiser, D, won by forfeit. 220: Chris Sickler, D, won by forfeit. HWT: Ashton Schatz, D, won by forfeit.

Tags: dickinson midgets, st. marys saints, sports, wrestling, midgets, preps