Kearney, Neb. – The third-ranked Nebraska-Kearney wrestling team closed out the first semester with a 30-15 win over 15th-ranked Augustana Friday afternoon in Sioux Falls.

The Lopers improve to 3-1 while the Vikings fall to 1-3. UNK is now off until Jan. 6-7 when it competes in the National Duals in Louisville, Ky. The bracket will be announced in the coming weeks.

South Carolina senior Hayden Prince (197 lbs.) secured the dual win thanks to a fall at 3:43. He trailed 4-0 early on but used two reversals to tie things up before recording his second straight and third fall of the young season. That made the team score 27-15.

In the dual's key bout, eighth-ranked Lee Herrington (Kearney H.S.) beat third-ranked Steve Hajas Jr., 7-4. To avenge a loss to Hajas Jr. in the 2021 NCAA Championships, Herrington used two first-period takedowns and a third-period reversal. Hajars Jr. was unable to get off the mat at the end of the match; he landed hard a couple of times after being thrown by Herrington.

UNK erased an early 5-0 hole thanks to tech falls from eighth-ranked Nick James (141 lbs.), second-ranked Matt Malcom (165 lbs.) and fifth-ranked Austin Eldredge (184 lbs.). For added measure, top-ranked Sam Turner (149 lbs.) had a fall in 3:26. The three tech falls came by a combined score of 46-0 with Turner's match being scoreless until his first fall of the winter.

This year the mandatory Division II winter moratorium runs from Dec. 21-27 (no practice or games) so UNK won't hit the mats again until Dec. 28.