Bison now 2-0 after beating Binghamton 18-13

The North Dakota State University wrestling team opened the home portion of the schedule with a win over the Binghamton Bearcats 18-13 on Friday night at Scheels Center. The Bison (2-0) won six of the ten matches wrestled. Those six wins came in the first seven matches and put the Bison ahead to stay heading into the final four matches.

Barreto wins first collegiate match –

            Fernando Barreto, a true freshman from Pomona, Calif., won his first collegiate match by defeating the Bearkats’ Anthony Sobotker 3-1 in the 133lb matchup. Sobotker led Barreto 1-0 heading into the 3^rd period before Barreto made his move. “We wore them down while trying to figure them out,” Barreto said. “The third period came, and I found that open shot…the guy wasn’t really looking to score. I just used my techniques, my hands and took that shot and got my takedown.”

Sax gets late takedown/near fall to put the Bison ahead to stay –

            NDSU’s Gaven Sax stunned Binghamton’s Brevin Cassella with a late takedown and a four-point near fall to pull out a late 7-2 win. Sax, now 4-2 this year, took Cassella down with 13 seconds left in the final stanza and collected four points with a near fall to finish the match. Sax, who was down 2-1 heading into the third period, was boosted by the coaching staff before the period started. “Having those coaches at my back…Kish (head coach Roger Kish), Cam (volunteer assistant coach Cam Sykora), Obey (associate head coach Obenson Blanc), Marsden (assistant coach Austin Marsden)…even my teammates like Droegemueller (Dylan) can step out there,” Sax explained. “They say ‘you gotta do this’ and ‘you gotta go’ and ‘you gotta fight.’”

            “I felt the cradle, I knew it was there and I locked it up,” Sax said. “As soon as I got it, I knew I could turn him, and I felt him break.”

Freshman phenom Caliendo stays undefeated –

            165-pounder Michael Caliendo, the 15th-ranked wrestler in the class, beat Binghamton’s Will Ebert 5-2. Caliendo, now 5-0, is a redshirt freshman on the NDSU roster. Caliendo used two takedowns and accumulated riding points for the win. He is the only undefeated wrestler left for the Bison this season.

            The Bison’s highest-ranked wrestler, #8 Jared Franek, won his match over Conner Decker 11-4in the 157-pound match. The other two wins for NDSU were collected by Carlos Negrete Jr. at 125 pounds and at 141 pounds, where Dylan Droegemueller, ranked 9^th in the class, won.

Next up for the Herd –

            Next for the Bison is the Daktronics Open in Brookings, S.D., on Sunday. The Herd will be back at Scheels Center on December 9^th when they host the Minnesota Golden Gophers of the Big 10 conference. The first match is scheduled for 7 p.m. Student tickets are available at gobison.com/students.