Shane Bennett didn't sweat the fact that Dickinson State trailed Minnesota State Moorhead by six points heading into his 165-pound match.
The DSU freshman went to work on Dragons freshman Dustin Nagel, scoring six takedowns en route to a 19-3 technical fall that swung the dual in the Blue Hawks' favor.
DSU handedly won the next three matches and had an open win at heavyweight to secure a 29-12 victory on Tuesday night at Scott Gymnasium.
"Once we hit about (165), that's where we have our really solid kids," Bennett said. "Everybody had their heads on straight."
Bennett said he would have loved to have had a shot at MSUM senior 165-pounder Nate Baker, last year's NCAA Division II national champion, but he admitted getting the dual win was just as sweet.
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"It would have been a good test for both guys," DSU coach Thadd O'Donnell said. "You can't count Bennett out."
The Dragons are in for a heck of a week. They dual the University of Mary in Bismarck today and travel to Southwest Minnesota State and Augustana on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
"We got some good experience," MSUM coach Kennan Spiess said.
MSUM took a 12-6 lead after Kyle Dukowitz scored a 2-1 decision over DSU senior Frankie Schoonover at 157.
Schoonover was penalized one point for removing Dukowitz's headgear as time ticked off the clock in the third period with the match tied 1-1.
"They're a team where you cannot relax," O'Donnell said. "They're big pinners and they're big scramblers."
However, Bennett's dominate performance in the next match gave the Blue Hawks the momentum boost they needed.
DSU sophomore Stanton Schlecht handled MSUM senior Skip Toops at 174 pounds and came away with a 9-3 decision.
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Blue Hawks senior Matt Michaelson scored all four of his points against MSUM sophomore Matt Nelson in the final 1 minute, 23 seconds of their 184-pound match to earn the shutout decision.
Then returning national champion Justin Schlecht, the NAIA's top-ranked 197-pounder, pinned Quentin Utley in 4:29.
MSUM was open at heavyweight, giving Clay Rodgers the uncontested win.
"We've been getting better and better as we go along," O'Donnell said. "Our pursuit on the mat is real good."
The Blue Hawks are now off until the NAIA North Region Championships, which they host on Feb. 17.
"It gives us a lot of time during practice to work on any mistakes we noticed tonight," Justin Schlecht said.
