Wrestling

It was a split weekend for the Bison at the Virginia Duels, going 2-2 in the meet, with both losses coming to ranked opponents.

The opening two duals last Friday went the Bison’s way, taking down No. 24 Virginia and The Citadel.

From the offset, the Bison held the advantage over Virginia. Josh Rodriguez, the No. 4 ranked 125-pound wrestler in the nation, took the decision 7-2 over No. 7 ranked Jack Mueller. It lead the Bison to win five of the first six matches. The one set back for the Bison was Taylor Nein falling to No. 7 ranked George DiCamillo at 141. The Bison took a 27-13 win over the Caviliers.

The Citadel proved to be the easiest test for the Bison on the weekend. The Bison won the dual 36-9 thanks to a trio of tech falls. Andrew Fogarty, Dylan Urbach and Tyler McNutt each recorded a tech fall late in the dual to seal it for the Bison.

Saturday proved to be another beast, with No. 5 Virginia Tech and No. 19 Arizona State on the schedule.

The headliner in the semifinal match-up with Virginia Tech was the opening match at 125. Joey Dance met with No. 4 Rodriguez. Dance escaped with a 5-3 decision.

NDSU made headway into the match, with Nein registering a fall and Cam Sykora, Clay Ream and Fogarty all claiming decisions. The Hokies unleashed five more ranked wrestlers to take the match 22-15.

In the third place dual, the Bison once again got off to a hot start with Rodriguez, Sykora and Nein all gaining points for the Bison. The start was not enough for the Bison, as they fell by a single point, 20-19.

Track and field

The second indoor meet for the Bison ended with records broken all around.

For the women, weight throw record holder Katelyn Weimerskirch got off to a hot start. Her winning throw of 66-02.25 ranked her No. 9 in the NCAA. She was followed closely by Courtney Pasiowitz, Bailey Retzlaff and Maddy Nilles. All four now rank in the top-eight all-time for the Bison.

Pasiowitz went one better in the shot put, recording a throw of 50-10.75 to win and go to No. 6 all-time.

On the track, a 13-year-old record was broken. Amy Andrushko broke the school record in the 1000m. Her time of 2:52.45 broke Kinsey Cole’s record.

For the men, the throwers picked up right from where they left off last season. Alex Renner added to his own shot put record, throwing 63-00.25. That throw puts him at No. 3 in the nation.

Payton Otterdahl was up to a similar task in the weight throw. He set the new school record at 68-06.50, shattering the record by three feet. Former record holder Conrad Schwarzkopf improved his personal best to take second.

The Bison also swept the 200m dash, with Landon Jochim pacing J.T. Bulter and Karter Gorney.

Men’s basketball

The Bison’s winning streak was snapped at four, suffering their first loss in the Summit League in Denver, 79-55. The defense of the Bison was present, but the offense was missing from the start. NDSU caused 11 turnovers, eight off steals, but could only convert those to 13 points.

The Pioneers defended the boards well, out rebounding the Bison 49-27 and taking an 18-4 edge in second chance points.

Poor shooting attributed to the Bison loss, shooting a low 29 percent in the first half and 31.7 percent in the game. A.J. Jacobson and Paul Miller both shot 4-11, and were the only double-digit scorers with 13 and 12.

Women’s basketball

The Bison women got points on the board, but Western Illinois shot 49 percent to defeat the Bison 110-89.

The high scoring affair saw the Bison on the back foot early, with the Leathernecks streaking to a 32-20 lead after the first quarter.

The Bison lost the game in two places. WIU outscored the Bison 24-0 on points off turnovers, and by a 24-2 margin on the break. NDSU turned the ball over 13 times.

Sarah Jacobson led the Bison with 18 points and eight assists, with Rylee Nudell getting a career-high 15 points.