Northern State held its own against one of the top teams in the country before dropping a 22-12 wrestling decision to sixth-rated Wisconsin Parkside Saturday night at Wachs Arena.

The Wolves won nearly half of the matches during the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference dual.

NSU coach Josh Nolan was proud of his team’s effort from start to finish.

“I thought we battled really hard; 10 guys went out and left it all out there,” Nolan said. “We were punch for punch with one of the best teams in the country.”

Several matches featured back-and-forth action, especially for younger Northern wrestlers who are still getting used to competing at home. Nolan pointed out that experience played a role in the team’s progress.

“There was a couple that went back and forth,” Nolan said. “Some of these guys, it’s only their second time wrestling in front of our crowd, and I thought they did a better job this time.”

One of the highlights of the night came from Brady Westall, who battled through a tight match that came down to the final seconds.

Westall scored a three-point takedown at 1:21 in the first period to set the tone early. The third period featured several momentum swings, with Westall earning an escape before his Parkside opponent answered with a takedown with 53 seconds left. Westall responded with another escape with seconds 17 remaining, and despite a late reversal as time expired, the NSU wrestler held on for an 8-7 win.

“I got that slide by in the first period,” Westall said, “and offensively in the third period I got scored on and I hit a double on him, and that was the moment of the night.”

When asked about staying composed and his mindset during the third period, Westall kept it simple. “It’s all about having fun and thinking about the next point,” he said.

Westall also reflected on his pace during the match.

“I was a little bit slower, a lot of fakes, not as many shots,” he said.

Looking ahead, he believes the match will help him improve.

“Learning what I can do better looking back at the replay, and I will probably see him at regionals,” Westall said, “so I can learn from this match and get to my offense more.”

Krayle Stormer also won by decision for the Wolves at 141 pounds. Stormer wasted no time making an impact. He came out aggressive, earning a three-point takedown just 20 seconds into the match. He later added a reversal at 1:01 in the third period, securing a 5-2 victory.

“I like to fight and scratch,” Stormer said. “I unloaded a shot and I wasn’t sure who got the points initially, but the ref called it my way, which was awesome.”

Stormer credited his conditioning for his offensive success.

“Honestly, my best offense was just getting him tired,” he said. “I was making him fight tooth and nail for everything, and I felt him getting weaker and weaker.”

During a long and demanding second period, Stormer leaned on his preparation.

“In practice we drilled tons of situations,” Stormer said. “I knew when I got that situation with the boot, I knew I would fight it.”

Following the match, Stormer kept his focus on growth rather than results.

“No matter how the fight turns out, nothing changes for me,” Stormer said. “The value of who I am doesn’t come from a hand raised, but being able to choose to be a dawg and fight while leaving it in God’s hands.”

The Wolves also received wins from Sloan Johannsen at 125 pounds, and Ryan Hirschkorn at 197.

While pleased with the overall performance, Nolan also noted areas the team can improve on moving forward.

“We just got to make sure we are finishing leg attacks and things like that,” Nolan said, “especially when we are playing teams like that.”

NSU has a road dual against Southwest Minnesota State on Friday.

125 – Sloan Johannsen, NSU, def. Dylan Duvernay, 6-2.

133 – Elon Rodriquez, WP, def. Teagan Block, 8-2.

141 – Krayle Stormer, NSU, def. Troy Dolphin, 5-2.

149 – Jalen Spuhler, def. Rudy Lopez, 8-4.

157 – Easton Worachek, WP, def. Griffin Lundeen, 11-1.

165 – Brady Hemauer, WP, technical fall over Izaak Hunsley, 19-3.

174 – Dajun Johnson, WP, def. Mason Fey, 12-3.

184 – Brady Westall, NSU, def. Brady Schuh, 8-7.

197 – Ryan Hirschkorn, NSU, def. Jordan Blanchard, 8-1.

285 – Cooper Caraway, WP, def. Ayden Viox, 5-0.