Shane KoobSportswriter

The struggles continued Feb. 11 for the SDSU wrestling team, as the Jacks dropped their dual with NDSU, 43-7. That drubbing marked the seventh straight dual loss for SDSU in the Western Wrestling Conference.

“Depth and balance. We just haven’t had that luxury [this season]” head coach Jason Liles said on a night where three defeats came by fall, two by major decision, and a technical fall piled on the points for the Bison. The night also saw two SDSU forfeits at 125 and 133 pounds.

For a team that is lacking in depth, injuries always seem to sting just a bit more. Sophomore Aaron Pickrel sat out the night with an injury.

Liles did have the luxury of witnessing some fine matches from some of the veteran members of the team: 174-pound junior David Michaud and senior heavyweight Kevin Kelly.

Michaud was up against NDSU’s Tyler Wells. After the two exchanged escapes in the second, Michaud had a two-point takedown to put the score at 3-1. Michaud nearly had a pin, but earned a three point near-fall instead, and with an extra point for riding time, Michaud won the match by decision by a final of 7-1. The victory gave the junior an 8-6 record, 2-2 in the WWC.

“I thought that was one of the better matches that Dave’s wrestled this year. He kept his intensity up and put himself in a position to get the big move he was looking for” Liles said.

Kelly, who will wrestle in his last home match at Frost Arena Friday, picked up the only other points for the Jacks as he cruised to a 18-4 major decision. The senior piled up six takedowns, including a three point near-fall in the second period. Kelly was facing NDSU’s Will Johnson and tallied three minutes and 27 seconds worth of riding time in the match.

“We’re working hard. We’re taking it one day at a time and not giving up. Anyone is beatable, we just need to keep our nose to the grindstone and focus on the little things” Kelly said.

SDSU hosts their final home dual of the season when Utah Valley comes to Frost Arena on Feb. 18.

“We want to improve how we’re competing out there. It might not always show up in the score box, but we want it to show up in effort and attempts. Now we need to try to finish the things that we start” Liles said.