MINOT, N.D – The Minot State wrestling teams each hit the road for a pair of duals to wrap up the first half of their season this weekend.
The Beaver men's team will compete on back-to-back days against in-state rivals as Minot State visits Dickinson State on Saturday, then competes against NSIC foe the University of Mary in a non-conference dual Sunday.
As for the Minot State women's team, they will take on Hastings and Chadron State on Saturday in a tri-dual that will be the first home event hosted by the second-year Eagles program.
The Minot State men head into the weekend rolling as they are 2-0 in duals and have been racking up tournament titles, including weight-class wins by
Brendan Barnes,
Jake Swirple,
Cannon Potts, and
Cayden White last weekend at the Dragon Open hosted by Minnesota State Moorhead.
Barnes (165), Swirple (285), and Potts (174) all remained unbeaten with their tournament title victories, while White (184) improved to 9-1 on the season.
They take on a Dickinson State team that is 1-4 in duals this season and that fell 46-0 to the Beavers at the MSU Dome back in February.
As for Sunday's match-up, it will definitely test the Beavers as UMary is 3-0 in duals this season and have won 12 of the last 13 duals with their in-state, NSIC rival, Minot State.
While the Minot State men are busy battling in-state foes, the Beaver women take on a pair of Nebraska schools in Hastings and Chadron State, who the Beavers battled in their own dual tournament in mid-November.
Hastings is 1-0 in duals while Chadron State is 3-1, which includes a 42-5 win over Minot State. The lone win for Minot State in that dual came from
Jazmin Gorder who recorded a pin at 123 pounds.
Gorder heads into the weekend with a 5-6 record and is one of the first-year program's team leaders, as is 155-pounder
Nina Sandoval, who leads the Beavers with a 10-6 overall record this season.
Also heading into the weekend wrestling well is 191-pound
Madison Parsons who picked up her second collegiate pin in a dual at Jamestown last weekend.
