JAMESTOWN -- In a season that's been mired by sickness and injury, a total of six Jamestown College wrestlers circled the mat to face Dickinson State on Thursday at the Hansen Center.
The crippled Jimmie lineup left four weight classes unfilled, but that was just the beginning of a dual that Jamestown would surely like to forget.
Lackluster performances from those who were healthy enough to go aided the fourth-ranked Blue Hawks to a 43-3 win over the Jimmies.
"We wrestled terrible," said Jamestown College coach Cisco Cole. "We just didn't wrestle with any heart."
The Jimmies currently have 12 athletes sidelined, which helped the Blue Hawks rack up 24 points via forfeit. DSU's Brad Steele (133 pounds), Stanton Schlecht (165), Shane Bennett (174) and Matt Michaelson (197) all raised their arms in victory without having to break a sweat.
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"I've never seen anything like it as a coach or a competitor," Cole said. "But it's the hand we've been dealt and we have to deal with it and keep going."
DSU coach Thadd O'Donnell sympathized with the Jimmies' current situation.
"They're a quality team, but we met them on a bad week, or month, with guys out injured or sick," O'Donnell said. "Cisco has done a great job and he's got some good kids wrestling.
"We've been in that position before, and we understand where they are at. I've had five guys deep at one weight before, and had all five guys out with injuries."
DSU's Issac Romero started the dual at 125 with a 19-3 technical fall over Daniel Taylor, while both Jordan Ewen (149) and Brett Owen (184) picked up major decisions for Dickinson State.
Dickinson State's Cody Jamtgaard (285) came back from an 8-1 deficit to beat JC's Andrew Hammond 12-9 in the clash of the heavyweights.
Hammond appeared to be in control from the start, after he slammed Jamtgaard to the mat and recorded three near-fall points to take a 5-1 lead after the first period. But trailing 8-3 to start the final period, Jamtgaard recorded a pair of takedowns and was awarded a stalling point to trail only 9-8 with 30 seconds left in the match.
With time winding down, Jamtgaard was able to take control of Hammond and recorded a trio of back points as time expired.
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"When you're playing a team that's down, from a team aspect it can sometimes be kind of hard for the guys to get up. But I thought they guys did a great job." O'Donnell said. "In the heavyweight match, Cody really picked up a good win. To get put on your back and still stay aggressive to get the win says a lot."
The lone bright spot for the Jimmies was a 4-2 decision by Jamestown's Joseph Michel over Edgar Mercado in the 141-pound bout. Tied at 2-2 with 14 seconds remaining in the match, Michel was able to record a two-point takedown to win the low-scoring contest.
"(Michel) did all right. He's pinned him before," Cole said. "A lot of respect needs to be given to Joe. He's proven himself to be a pinner, but (Mercado) didn't give him the opportunity to wrestle tonight. Joe had to go out and take it from him."
The Jamestown Sun and The Dickinson Press are both owned by Forum Communications Co.
125: Issac Romero, DSU, technical fall over Daniel Taylor, 19-3. 133: Brad Steele, DSU, won forfeit. 141: Joseph Michel, JC, dec. Edgar Mercado, 4-2. 149: Jordan Ewen, DSU, major decision over Devin DeMaine, 11-3. 157: Nick Zumwalt, DSU, dec. Marlon Branson, 8-5. 165: Stanton Schlecht, DSU, won by forfeit. 174: Shane Bennett, DSU, won by forfeit. 184: Brett Owen, DSU, major decision over Fernando Pedrazza, 9-0. 197: Matt Michaelson, DSU, won by forfeit. 285: Cody Jamgaard, DSU, dec. Andrew Hammond, 12-9.
