Wrestling Heads North For Duals With NDSU, SDSU

COMPLETE RELEASE: at North Dakota State, at South Dakota State

Conference Tilts
Northern Colorado continues Western Wrestling Conference action this weekend with a pair of road matches. The Bears have a rematch with North Dakota State on Saturday at 7:30 p.m., then face South Dakota State on Sunday afternoon. NC is currently 0-1 in the WWC after a loss to Northern Iowa, while both the Bison and Jackrabbits are beginning play this week.

All Tied Up
In the first meeting this season between Northern Colorado and North Dakota State, the teams tied 19-19 at the Northern Duals in Rochester, Minn. Last season the two teams split meetings with the Bison winning at the Northern Duals and the Bears winning the WWC match, 21-18 in Greeley. The two teams are extremely familiar with each other as NC head coach Jack Maughan is the son of NDSU coach Bucky Maughan. All time, NC is 3-28-2 against NDSU, with a 2-20-2 record with Maughan at the helm.

Against The Jacks
This will be the 26th meeting between Northern Colorado and South Dakota State with the Jackrabbits owning a 17-8 advantage in the all-time series. The Bears have won the last four matches dating back to the 2002-03 season and are a perfect 2-0 in Western Wrestling Conference action. SDSU won the first eight duals between 1979-80 and 1989-90 before the Bears recorded a 19-17 victory in 1991.

Home Duals Recap
The Bears split a pair of home matches over the weekend, falling to #23 Northern Iowa 28-13 before defeating Stanford 25-7. Junior Tony Mustari, freshman Casey Cruz and freshman Mitchell Polkowske each won both of their matches, while junior Kenny Hashimoto, sophomore Justin Gaethje, freshman Brandon Kammerzell, senior Ryan Johnson and junior Justin Tuell each went 1-1. The split gave the Bears a 2-9-1 record in dual action this season. The Bears took an early 13-3 lead against the Panthers, but UNI won the final six weight classes for the victory, while NC built a 16-0 lead in winning the first five weights and went on to win 25-7.

First To 20
Freshman 149-pounder Mitchell Polkowske became the first Bear to reach 20 victories this season and is now 22-5 after winning both matches over the weekend. His 20 wins are the most for a true freshman since transitioning to Division I, as both juniors Kenny Hashimoto and Tony Mustari won 19 bouts in their freshman years and former wrestler Alex Joseph posted 19 wins in 2003-04, the first year of the transition. Polkowske also has the longest current winning streak on the team at five matches.

Victory 60
Junior Tony Mustari won the 60th match of his career in his first bout of the UNK Loper Open. Mustari is now 67-20 in his career with the Bears with a record of 17-5 so far this season.

Tony Times Four
In all four of the publications that release national rankings, junior 125-pounder Tony Mustari is ranked. He is 15th by Amateur Wrestling News, is 18th in the Intermat/NWCA Coaches Poll, 19th in W.I.N. Magazine and is 23rd according to the Wrestling Report. Mustari is currently 17-5 on the season and his last three losses are to nationally ranked grapplers.

Overtime Period
After every home event, please join the Northern Colorado coaches and members of the wrestling community at Old Chicago's, season sponsor of Northern Colorado wrestling, to break down that evening's match.

Back In The Blue & Gold
After taking last season off to train in the sport of Judo, Kenny Hashimoto returns to the Northern Colorado roster for his junior season. He wrestled for the first time against Northern Iowa and now has a 1-1 record on the season, improving his career tally at Northern Colorado to 40-8.

Playing Hosts
Northern Colorado earned the distinct honor of hosting the NCAA West Regional in Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion on March 7. Tickets are available by calling the Northern Colorado ticket office at 970.491.4TIX or going online at www.uncbears.com. Winners of the NCAA West Regional automatically qualify for the NCAA Championship in St. Louis, Mo. The NCAA West Regional also serves as the Western Wrestling Conference Championships, where last season the Bears finished fourth overall.

Probable Starters