Jan. 31, 2004
Wrestling Goes 1-1 on Minnesota Trip
The Truman wrestling team went 1-1 in dual action on Saturday on its road trip to Mankato, Minn. The Bulldogs defeated St. Olaf by a 36-19 score, but fell to nationally-ranked Minnesota State, Mankato by a 39-3 margin.
Truman trailed St. Olaf by a 13-12 score after the first five bouts of their match. The Bulldogs then recorded three straight wins by falls, plus another by forfeit, to pull away for the easy win. Tom Tajkowski got the streak started by pinning his opponent at 165-pounds. Gordon Harrison and Gregg Nurrenbern each followed up with pins of their own.
Against No. 15 Minnesota State, Mankato, the Bulldogs won just one match. Nurrenbern, at 184-pounds, defeated Jon Dierks, who came into the match ranked seventh in the country. Nurrenbern scored on a reversal and got three points for a near fall in the second period. That was the difference in the match as Nurrenbern won an 8-5 decision.
The Bulldogs were wrestling over the weekend without their top wrestler, Merrick Meyer. Earlier in the week, in the latest national rankings, Meyer moved up one spot to be the top-ranked NCAA Division II wrestler at 141-pounds. Truman was also without several other regulars in the two duals, including Allen Stokes and Kelley Latting.
Truman will be in action at Pershing Arena for just the second time this season on Friday night. The Bulldogs will host Simpson (Iowa) in a 7:30 p.m. match.