The varsity squads went head-to-head in a dual match in the Dickinson gymnasium, but it would be the visiting team that would come out victorious with the score finalized at 45-36.
It was all tied until the final two matches that would both result in falls favoring the Eagles. Out of the 14 varsity matches, six of Dickinson’s wrestlers were pinned and head coach Travis Conrad felt that was their ultimate downfall in losing the match.
“You invite a team like Sidney Montana, four time defending state champs and you do it for a reason,” Conrad said. “You gotta beat the best to be the best and it was a good opportunity for our kids. We had some close matches, but we gave up a lot of pins and the lesson learned is that if you don't give up pins, the dual outcome might be a little different.”
The Midgets also battled with two senior players out due to injury, including Class A state champion Troy Berg. Berg was out with an ankle injury and Trenton Gillen was out due to a sprained ankle.
“Missing two senior leaders and knowing that Sidney is coming to town doesn't usually add up to a lot of excitement for a duel,” Conrad said. “But the guys who stepped in, James Bozovsky at 160 did really well and Dawson Richter wrestled another match at 132. it didn't count in terms of the dual score, but he did really good going 2-and-0 tonight.”
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The first match was the 138 weight class that saw Richter pin Aaron See at 2:35 in the second period. But before the Midgets could celebrate their early lead, Sidney would win the next four matches. Their first was a sudden victory won by Zander Dean against Houston Crimmins at 145, followed by three falls to make the score 21-6.
Dickinson would rally to tie it back up and take the lead once more with Wyatt Raines, 182 and Jaskson Melvin, 195, pinning their opponents and Luke Mavity winning a decisive score of 7-2 against Caleb Kleinke.
It was tied at 33-33 with the 126 and 132 weight class matches to go which would both be won by the Eagles.
Despite the night ending with a loss, it proved to be a warm up for the next two days of competition at the Bismarck Rotary wrestling tournament. Next Thursday they will be hosting Jamestown for a regional dual.
“It will be another important duel.” Conrad said. “We have to come out aggressive and relentless and win the matches that we are not supposed to.”
Match Summary
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138: Dawson Richter (DIC) over Aaron See (SIFA) (Fall 2:35); 145: Zander Dean (SIFA) over Houston Crimmins (DIC) (SV-1 10-8); 152: Zander Burnison (SIFA) over Kaden Selle (DIC) (Fall 2:38); 160: Aden Graves (SIFA) over James Bozovsky (DIC) (Fall 3:46); 170: Grady Nelson (SIFA) over Zach Booth (DIC) (Fall 1:38); 182: Wyatt Raines (DIC) over Hunter Moore (SIFA) (Fall 1:24); 195: Jackson Melvin (DIC) over Nathan Romo (SIFA) (Fall 2:41); 220: Luke Mavity (DIC) over Caleb Kleinke (SIFA) (Dec 7-2); 285: Landon Fichter (DIC) over (SIFA) (For.); 106: Gordon Knapp (SIFA) over Aidan Dahmus (DIC) (Fall 3:13); 113: Reece Graves (SIFA) over Gage Glaser (DIC) (Fall 2:57); 120: Gavin Morel (DIC) over Beau Rindahl (SIFA) (Fall 5:26); 126: Owen Lonski (SIFA) over Colton King (DIC) (Fall 3:43); 132: Kaden Wise (SIFA) over (DIC) (For.)
