The Northern State wrestling team had a successful season debut, walking away with nine top 3 finishes, including a champion, at the Jimmie Open in Jamestown, N.D. last weekend.

The Wolves rested a couple of their older wrestlers to help keep them fresh for later in the year.

“We took a lot of young guys there, we need to rest some of our older guys. Just kind of preserving them. It gets to be a long season from here till March. Some of those guys, Wyatt Turnquist, Brayden Mogle, they came with but didn’t wrestle, but it was good overall,” said Wolves coach Rocky Burkett. “Overall, I love the fight that our guys have, we got a really young group of guys that are really hungry to compete, and that was good.”

At the 174-pound weight class, Mason Fey took home gold by winning four straight matches. In his first match, he defeated Harrson Grad of Bismarck State College by fall. In the following two rounds, he defeated Anthony Sykora of MSU Moorhead by bonus points, and Alex Kowalchyk of NDSU by a score of 16-0. To secure gold, Fey defeated Mason Gode of MSU Moorhead by a 16-2 major decision.

“Mason Fey definitely competed really well throughout the day. He didn’t even go to college to wrestle, he went to South Dakota State for the first semester,” said Burkett. “He’s a guy that kind of paid his dues. He comes in all summer long and works out with us all summer long. It’s just awesome to see him get to the top. … For him to kind of finally punch through and win one is cool for him.”

Second place finishers included Karstyn Lhotak, a true freshman from Wagner, at the 141-pound weight class, redshirt sophomore Cater Ban at 149, and junior transfer Damen Pape at 184.

The Wolves had five third place finishes kicked off by senior Tegan Block at 133. Cole Holien, a junior transfer, took third at 149, the second of two Wolves to place in that division. Griffin Lundeen, a true freshman, took third at 157. Redshirt Junior Tyson Lien took bronze at 197, with senior heavyweight Nathan Schauer rounding off the nine podium finishes with his third-place finish.

The women’s swim and dive team was also in Jamestown for the Jamestown Invite, a two-day event. The Wolves took home third place, with 18 top 3 finishes and Jacie Flockhart winning both events at the one meter dive. Haley Osbourne took home first in the 500 free and the 200 free.

Women’s soccer kicked off its final home weekend of the regular season with a 2-0 loss to Augustana. The Vikings found the net both times in the second half, at the 53rd minute and the 63rd minute. The Wolves outshot the Vikings with nine shots on goal, compared to four, with Chloe Voss and Lauren Youngquist leading the way with two each.

The Wolves did bounce back on Senior Night, with a dominant 4-0 win over Southwest Minnesota State, outshooting the Mustangs with 15 shots on goal, compared to two. The Wolves split their goals, scoring two in the first half, and two in the second.

Lauren Carpenter recorded the first goal of her career nearing the 13th minute, assisted by Chloe Voss. Voss found the goal herself shortly after in the 16th minute assisted by Megan Fastenau. Voss scored for the second time on the night, assisted by Fastenau again in the 45th minute, right after halftime. Jaylee Hofer closed out the night for the Wolves with a final score coming in the 79th minute.

The Wolves football team closed out its final home game, and Senior Night with a 24-14 loss to 22nd-ranked Minnesota State. It was a quiet first quarter, despite the first two drives for the Wolves going inside the Minnesota State 10-yard line. The Mavericks found the endzone first with 7:38 remaining, and again with 4:04 left in the half.

Wyatt Block crossed the goal line on a 22-yard run with 2:38 remaining in the half to get the Wolves back in the game, 14-7. Mankato scored once again before half ended with 30 seconds on the clock.

The Wolves defense only allowed a field goal in the second half, the coming with 11:19 remaining in the game. Daniel Britt found Tanner Branson to answer back on the following drive, with a 10-yard pass with 9:01 remaining. Unfortunately, that was the last score of the game as the Wolves had their five-game winning streak snapped.

Britt went 15-26 for 182 yards passing, while also rushing for 41 yards. Block was the leading rusher on the day, with 16 carries for 74 yards. Jacob Van Landingham brought in 3 catches for 58 yards, including a long of 48. Collin Fritton stepped in with 6 catches for 54 yards. Defensively, Jake Adams racked up another 19 tackles, bringing his total to 136 on the year, leading all of Division II. Luke Gunderson, Cody Smidt, and Max Van Landingham each had a tackle for loss.

The women’s volleyball team swept the weekend, with wins over Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston. The Wolves opened the weekend with a 25-16, 25-15, 25-14 win over Bemidji. Hanna Thompson tallied 13 kills, followed by Morissen Samuels with nine, and Natalia Szybinksa with seven. Mia Hinsz, Victoria Persha, and Sara Moberg each collected an ace serve, and Persha also finished with five blocks.

The Wolves defeated Crookston by scores of 25-17, 25-14, and 25-21. This time, it was Samuels who led the day in kills with 12, followed by Szybinska with 10, and Thompson with nine. Keri Walker and Abby Meister both had two aces, and Abby Brooks contributed three blocks.

This weekend the Wolves have a Sports Equinox of their own, with all sports competing, except for the Swim and Dive team. The soccer team will open the week Equinox on Thursday with its final game of the regular season at Mary, with playoff implications on the line. On Friday, the women’s basketball squad will have its first game at Wachs Arena against Pittsburg State at noon. The men’s squad will travel to Missouri Western State. The volleyball squad will finish the day at the University of Sioux Falls.

On Saturday, the cross country teams will compete in the NCAA Central Region Championships in Joplin, Mo. The wrestling team will compete at the DWU Open in Mitchell. The football team will conclude its season at Wayne State. The volleyball team will also play at Wayne State. The women’s basketball team will host Nebraska Kearney at 4 p.m. at Wachs Arena. Men’s basketball will take on Emporia State in St. Joseph, Mo.