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A LOOK AT THE WEEK: After nearly a month off from competition, the Minot State wrestling team will be back in action this weekend with a pair of dual meets against Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference foes. The Beavers begin the weekend in Mankato, Minn. taking on the Minnesota State Mavericks at 7 p.m. The following day, Minot State travels to Aberdeen, S.D. for a dual against Northern State at 7 p.m.

RECORDS: Minot State dropped their final dual of 2014 in a non-conference match-up with rival U-Mary on Dec. 18 pushing the Beavers' record to 3-4 overall. The Beavers are 1-0 in the NSIC. Minnesota State is 0-0 this season as the team has competed in solely open tournaments thus far. Northern State comes into the weekend with an 0-1 record. Their loss came to Chadron State back on Dec. 11.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State head coach Robin Ersland is in his fifth season at the front of the Beaver wrestling program. Ersland, a 2010 inductee into the NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame, has a career record of 220-285-7 in 31 seasons as a head coach. He has coached ninety-nine NCAA Division II National Qualifiers and forty-seven Division II All-Americans. At Minot State, Ersland has compiled an overall record of 13-35. Jim Makovsky is in his 22nd year as the head wrestling coach of Minnesota State. Makovsky boasts a 238-100-4 record during his time with the Mavericks and he's also coached 10 individual national champions. Pat Timm leads Northern State in his 14th year with the program and has coached two national champions along with 10 All-Americans. Timm has also coached 30 wrestlers to All-Conference honors.

RANKINGS: Neither Minot State. Minnesota State nor Northern State appeared in the latest national rankings released by the NCAA on Jan. 2. Minnesota State comes in as the No. 10 team in Super Region II, while Northern State is ranked No. 12 and Minot State is ranked No. 13.

NOTING THE BEAVERS: In the final dual before the holiday break, Minot State fell to rival U-Mary in a non-conference match-up after defeating the Marauders on Dec. 11 in the opening NSIC dual of the season. Heading into the final four matches of the final dual of 2014, the Beavers held a 15-9 advantage over the Marauders but Jon Wilson (Sr., 174, Colorado Springs, Colo.) was pinned in the 174 weight class and the Beavers lost the next two matches by major decision, clinching a win for U-Mary before the heavyweight match even happened. Mitchell Eull's (So., HWT, Buffalo, Minn.) win in the heavyweight division served as a nice consolation to end the dual, but the Beavers fell to their rival by a team score of 23-17.

NOTING THE MAVERICKS: Minnesota State has yet to square-off in a dual meet so far, but they've traveled to five different open tournaments already this season preparing themselves for their NSIC opener. Four different Maverick wrestlers have finished first in their respective weight classes in one or more of the open tournaments so far this season. Leading the way for Minnesota State this season is Da'Wayne Robertson with an overall record of 21-7. Robertson took first at the Yellowjacket Open back on Nov. 1 and he also took first at the Adidas Open on Nov. 22. Malcolm Allen is the only other Maverick wrestler with 20+ wins this season.

NOTING THE WOLVES: After beginning the season with three straight open tournaments in 2014, Northern State competed in their first dual meet of the season when they fell to Chadron State back on Dec. 11. Sean Havlovic and Joe Gomez were the only Wolves to win matches in the meet against Chadron State. Gomez, who is one of the most dynamic and consistent wrestlers for Northern State, won the 197 weight class in the team's most recent open tournament, the Minnesota State Moorhead Dragon Open.

TEACH ME HOW TO DOUGIE: Despite having just a 3-5 overall record, Joshua Douglas (Sr., 133, Kissimmee, Fla.) is ranked No. 7 in Super Region II for the 133 weight class. One of four captains on the Minot State roster, Douglas ended 2014 on a high note when he defeated Hunter Menendez of U-Mary by major decision in the team's NSIC opener. Douglas did not participate in the following week's dual against U-Mary to rest a hand injury.

HOMETOWN KID: After redshirting during the 2013-14 season, Minot, N.D. native Cody Haugen (R-Fr., 149) is making his presence felt on the mat so far this year. Haugen has the second-most wins on the team this year with 11 and he also has the second-most takedowns for the Beavers with 21. His five falls are tied for most this season.

CRACKING THE TOP 10: Recording 19 wins before 2015 has worked in Mitchell Eull's (So., HWt, Buffalo, Minn.) favor as he came in ranked as the No. 10 wrestler for Super Region II in the heavyweight weight class. Eull's 27 team points are the most on the team this season and his five wins by fall are tied for most on the team.

BY THE NUMBERS

1: Mitchell Eull is just one win away from tying the most wins for the Beavers in the 2013-14 season. Tiger Paasch went 20-18 last year.
3: Last season only two wrestlers recorded more than three wins by fall for the Beavers. This year three Minot State wrestlers have already surpassed three falls.
5: Five of the next six days of competition for Minot State will be on the road. Their lone home dual in that stretch is a non-conference match-up against the University of Regina on Jan. 22.