The 4 Herdsmen

The Forum, Fargo, North Dakota

By Jeff Kolpack jkolpack@forumcomm.com
Sports - 01/14/2004

Once Paul Carlson got to bat for North Dakota State, it was all over for Minnesota State-Mankato Tuesday night. There was no getting by NDSU’s wrestling version of Murders’ Row.

It’s an imposing upper-weight four: Carlson is ranked first in NCAA Division II at 157, Mike Fiedler second at 165, Thad Pike No. 1 at 174 and Brian Kraemer first at 197. Although not all four were at their best, the North Central Conference home opener for NDSU -- a 27-7 victory before 659 fans at the Bison Sports Arena -- showed the rest of the league that getting by those four will not be easy.

They’re experienced -- all four are seniors -- and all are mat smart.

“They’re proven guys,” said Mankato head coach Jim Makovsky.

The marquee matchup was supposed to be Carlson against No. 8 George Lynaugh. But Lynaugh and starting 197-pounder Josh Janousek, a junior college national champion, were sidelined with the flu. Predictably, Carlson and Kraemer mopped up on the understudies.

Carlson had 11 first-period points against John Radabaugh and won by technical fall, 19-3, before the second period was a minute old.

“I would have liked to have seen him before we got to conference,” Carlson said of Lynaugh.

Kraemer, in the last match of the night, gave the Bison fans something to talk about with two impressive throws on Ben Janike in a 15-3 win.

For NDSU head coach Bucky Maughan, it was one of the few bright spots.

“I wasn’t real happy with my team,” he said. “We weren’t as aggressive as I thought we should have been. Maybe Mankato is pretty good, I don’t know. Overall, I didn’t think we were very sharp.”

It took Pike, for instance, overtime before defeating freshman Travis Krinkie 3-1.

“Pike let him control the match,” Maughan said.

Counting a shutout of St. Cloud State on Sunday, the Bison won 13 straight individual NCC matches before Mathias Bitz lost to Jason Rhoten at 141 pounds. The point for NDSU, however, is clear: the Bison have a head start for regional seedings later in the year.

Seven Bison are ranked nationally. Two that aren’t, Eric Sanders at 125 and Nick Magee at 133, helped their case with wins. Magee, a junior, improved to 6-2.

The win is NDSU’s 18th straight in the NCC and 13th straight at home.

The Mavericks’ schedule can only get easier from here. They’ve wrestled Iowa State, the University of Iowa and Boston University in their 0-5 start.

This NDSU team, if eligible for Division I right now, could be ranked in the top 20. The Bison finished ahead of several Division I teams at the Las Vegas Invitational before Christmas.

“Everybody has different styles,” Makovsky said. “We’re familiar with the NDSU guys. They’re a solid, hard-fundamental type of team. In the matches we were outmanned, we tried to change up their style.”

Makovsky, in his 11th year, then put an overall touch on the match. With NDSU going Division I next season, it was the their last NCC matchup.

“I’m sorry to see them go,” he said. “They set the standard.” Hwt--Joe Bryce, NDSU, dec. Mike Engelmann, 9-4. 125--Eric Sanders, NDSU, dec. Bryce Bahe, 6-4. 133--Nick Magee, NDSU, dec. Tait Thompson, 6-0. 141--Jason Rhoten, MSUM, dec. Mathias Bitz, 4-1. 149--Zach Stevens, NDSU, dec. Sam Donner, 9-3. 157--Paul Carlson, NDSU, tech. fall over John Radabaugh, 19-3. 165--Mike Fiedler, NDSU, dec. Matt Perrizo, 14-7. 174--Thad Pike, NDSU, dec. Travis Krinkie, 3-1 (ot). 184--Jon Dierks, MSUM, dec. Matt Hermann, 12-3. 197--Brian Kraemer, NDSU, dec. Ben Janike 15-3. A--659.

Readers can reach Forum reporter Jeff Kolpack at (701) 241-5546