Worthington, Minn. - 

The Northland men's wrestling team improved its post-holiday break dual meet record to 3-0 with a pair of wins over Minnesota West and Ridgewater Saturday in Worthington. 

The Pioneers opened the day against triangular host Minnesota West. The Pioneers open Saturday's triangular with a 30-24 win over host Minnesota West Blue Jays. The dual started a 184 pounds by mutual agreement from coaches. The Blue Jays led 18-0 early in the dual with a win by fall from Aidyn Wolfe over Qilee Jackson at 184, a win by forfeit by Alex Schmitz at 197, and a win by injury default from Powis Mensah over Northland's Lucas Urness at 285 pounds. 

The Pioneers quickly tied the dual with wins by forfeit from Josiah Crandall at 125, Gabe Michels at 133 and Ethan Horn at 141. Kale Geiser gave the Pioneers their first lead of the dual with a win by fall over Garnett Osborne at 149. The Pioneers needed one more win to clinch the dual and when Minnesota West forfeited 157, Northland Head Coach Brandon Ballard made the decision to bump 157-pounder Mitchell Christen to 165 with the dual on the line. Christen pinned Treveon Owens to give the Pioneers a 30-18 lead with one match remaining. 

Minnesota West's Sam Rock accepted a forfeit at 174 to conclude the scoring. 

The Pioneers went 2-1 in exhibition matches against the Blue Jays. Qilee Jackson pinned Alex Schmitz and at 184, and Ethan Horn pinned Garnett Osborn at 149. Avant Jackson, who is descending to 197, faced Minnesota West's 197-pound starter Brody Knapp and lost by fall. 

Following a 10-minute intermission, the Pioneers were back in action against the 16th-ranked (No. 2 Division III) Ridgewater Warriors. The Warriors' ranking is based more on tournament scoring than dual meets. It's lineup was missing a few pieces and the Pioneers took advantage with a 24-14 win. 

The Pioneers took a 6-0 lead with a win by forfeit from Crandall at 125. 

The Warriors battled back and took a lead of their own with wins by the Shirk brothers, Tegan and Kyler. Tegan Shirk defeated Michels, who bumped up from 125 to 133 to fill the weight, 21-6. At 149, Kyler Shirk avenged a major decision loss to Horn with a 4-1 win on Saturday. The score was tied 1-1 when Kyler Shirk secured the winning takedown with under 30 seconds remaining in the match. 

The Pioneers regained the lead, 12-8, with a win by forfeit from Geiser at 149. The Warriors were also open at 157, and Much like they did in the first dual, the Pioneers chose to double forfeit at 157 to lock-up the dual at 165. With the dual on the line, Christen came through again, this time pinning James Morgan, to put the Pioneers up 18-8. 

Both teams were open at 174. At 184, Qilee Jackson accepted a forfeit that pushed the Pioneers' lead to 24-8. 

Following a double forfeit at 197, the Warriors added to their total with a win by fall from Marcos Hahn over Avant Jackson. 

The Pioneers are now 3-3 dual meets and 3-1 against MCAC foes. 

Northland 30, Minnesota West 24
184: Aidyn Wolfe (MWC&) over Qilee Jackson (NC&T) (Fall)
197: Alex Schmitz (MWC&) over (NC&T) (For.)
285: Powis Mensah (MWC&) over lucas urness (NC&T) (Injury default)
125: Josiah Crandall (NC&T) over (MWC&) (For.)
133: Gabriel Michel (NC&T) over (MWC&) (For.)
141: Ethan Horn (NC&T) over (MWC&) (For.)
149: Kale Geiser (NC&T) over Garnett Osborne (MWC&) (Fall)
157: Double Forfeit
165: Mitchell Christen (NC&T) over Treveon Owens (MWC&) (Fall)
174: Sam Rock (MWC&) over (NC&T) (For.)
184 Extra: Qilee Jackson (NC&T) over Alex Schmitz (MWC&) (Fall)
197 Extra: Brody Knapp (MWC&) over Avant Jackson (NC&T) (Fall)
149: Extra: Ethan Horn (NC&T) over Garnett Osborne (MWC&) (Fall)

Northland 24, Ridgewater 14
125: Josiah Crandall (NC&T) over (RICO) (For.)
133: Tegan Sherk (RICO) over Gabriel Michel (NC&T) (TF 21-6 0:00)
141: Kyler Sherk (RICO) over Ethan Horn (NC&T) (Dec 4-1)
149: Kale Geiser (NC&T) over (RICO) (For.)
157: Double Forfeit
165: Mitchell Christen (NC&T) over James Morgan (RICO) (Fall 0:00)
174: Double Forfeit
184: qilee jackson (NC&T) over (RICO) (For.)
197: Double Forfeit
285: Marcos Hahn (RICO) over Avant Jackson (NC&T) (Fall 0:00)