Wrestling fails to stop five-meet losing streak

By Zack Thompson

The Huskies can’t shake their losing streak.

Wrestling lost 27-6 to the South Dakota State Jackrabbits Friday at Frost Arena in Brookings, S.D. They dropped their fifth consecutive dual and need to turn things around in their final dual next week before heading into tournament play.

The Huskies (6-11, 1-6 MAC) won two of the first three matches against the Jackrabbits (5-7) before dropping the final seven matches.

Redshirt freshman Shawn Scott (197) dropped the first match of the dual 8-5, but redshirt senior Jared Torrence (285) and redshirt sophomore Nick Harrison (125) both won their individual matches to give the Huskies a 6-3 lead.

Torrence won in exciting fashion, winning in overtime against South Dakota State’s J.J. Everard. Torrence and Everard were tied 1-1 after the third period and tied 2-2 after the first overtime, before Torrence scored a takedown in the second overtime to beat Everard for the third time this season.

The lead didn’t last long, as the Huskies lost the final seven matches in the dual. Head coach Ryan Ludwig believes the Huskies’ scoring failures was ultimately why they lost the dual.

“We struggled to create scoring opportunities,” Ludwig said. “We talked about that all week, but [we] weren’t able to go out and convert.”

Momentum shifted quickly after the Huskies took a 6-3 lead, when junior Derek Elmore (133) was pinned in the second period by Brance Simms. This gave the Jackrabbits a 9-6 lead and they were in control for the rest of the dual.

Redshirt senior Kevin Fanta (141) suffered a 7-5 loss against Eric Orozco, followed by senior Rob Jillard’s 8-4 loss to Alex Kocer.

After sophomore Andrew Morse (157) lost to No. 17 Cody Pack, 7-2, the Huskies trailed 18-6 and were unable to put another point on the board.

“We have to bring a little more intensity this week,” Ludwig said.

Ludwig said his team needs to move on and not dwell on the loss in order to prepare for this week against Buffalo and the MAC tournament. The Huskies will look to end their skid next week in their final dual of the season.