MINOT, N.D. – There's been plenty of talk about the new team on campus, and Friday night they make their home debut.
The first-year Minot State women's wrestling program kicks off a busy weekend of action on the mats hosting Chadron State (Neb.) at 5 p.m. at the MSU Dome to start the Beaver Bash Duals which features men's and women's wrestling action for the next two days.
The Beavers and Eagles get things started with a solo dual between their women's teams Friday, then Saturday at 10 a.m. the action turns into side-by-side matches as the Saskatchewan women meet Chadron State in the first women's dual of the day.
Saskatchewan then faces Jamestown at 11 a.m. in women's action, and the Saskatchewan and Jamestown men begin their portion of the Beaver Bash at 11 a.m. on the mat right next to the ladies.
At Noon, Chadron State and Jamestown face off in the women's dual, and at 12:30 p.m., the Minot State men make their home debut as they take on Saskatchewan.
At 1 p.m., the Minot State women are back in action as they meet Saskatchewan, then at 2 p.m. both Minot State teams take to the mats, side-by-side, as they host Jamestown to wrap up nine duals in two days.
Some of the top names to watch for the Minot State women include Annika Gotlieb at 130 pounds, who has the distinction of having the first win in Beaver program history, Nina Sandoval (155), who leads the team with 6 wins this season, and Jazmin Gorder (116), who finished sixth last weekend at the Waldorf Open.
They take on a Chadron State team that was in the same place last year, their first of competition.
Saskatchewan boasts a much richer history in women's wrestling with the Huskies placing in the Top 3 in Canada 3 of the last 5 years.
And as for Jamestown, host of the NAIA National Championships, the Jimmies have more than 30 past All-Americans and a former individual national champion who have pasted through their ranks.
On the men's side, the Beavers were snowed out last weekend giving them just one tournament of action this season where
Oscar Nellis (125) and
Cannon Potts (174) each won their weight-class titles at the Jamestown Jimmie Invitational.
As for the Jamestown men's team, like their women counterparts, the Jimmies are rich in history with more than 40 All-Americans and four former national champions having wrestled at Jamestown.
And North of the Border, the Saskatchewan Huskies men's team dates back to 1969 and in the past three years has twice finished Top 5 in Canada.
