No. 25 Morningside tops Northwestern at home

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — The Morningside men's wrestling team started off the second half of its season with a 24-15 win over Northwestern on Friday in Allee Gymnasium.

The 25th-ranked Mustangs won six matches, including five that went into the third period.

"We got the job done and got some good spots to build off of," said head coach Rulin Pederson. "We need to trust our offense and trust our training and I thought some guys competed well tonight."

Here's a look at the six victorious matches over the Red Raiders:

133 pounds: Noah Thorsen earned a 2-0 decision. Thorsen scored both points on escapes, once in the second period, then the other in the third. This was his first match wrestling at 133 after spending all of the first semester at 125.

"He wrestled a tough opponent, but controlled the match," Pederson said. "I was happy with the way that he looked at a new weight class."

149: Caden Eggleston — ranked 10th in the NAIA — earned a 15-6 major decision. He led 7-0 after the first period.

165: Third-ranked Zander Ernst won by technical fall 22-6, and did so in 5 minutes, 36 seconds. Ernst scored nine points during the second on three takedowns.

"He has a super high motor, and he just gets after guys," Pederson said. "Those points come really, really fast from all the hard work that he does. He looked great, and he looks like he has an edge."

174: Braedyn Rakes won by forfeit, which was the only open meet of the night.

184: An early takedown helped Joseph Monge earn a 11-7 victory.

285: Megaeska Kalskett's late takedown in the third period sealed not only a win for himself, but helped stave off the Red Raiders in the dual.

The Mustangs' next dual is Jan. 27 at Dakota Wesleyan.