Thursday, March 20
Oklahoma City, Okla.
All Day
North Dakota State
vs
NCAA Championships
Photo by: Linsey Craig
Four NDSU Wrestlers Qualify for NCAA Championships
3/17/2014 12:00:00 PM | Wrestling
NCAA Wrestling Championships Website | Brackets
Live Video | Live Stats | Tickets
Complete Championship Notes (PDF)
Social Media: @NDSUwrestling | @NDSUathletics | @NCAAwrestling
Setting the Scene
Four North Dakota State wrestlers will compete at the NCAA Wrestling Championships March 20-22 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Senior Steven Monk (165), juniors Evan Knutson (285) and Kurtis Julson (184) and sophomore Hayden Zillmer (174) will represent the Bison in Oklahoma City.
NCAA Championships Coverage
For the first time ever, all six sessions of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will be aired live on ESPN3. ESPN will televise the semifinals and championship finals while ESPNU will air the preliminary sessions and medal round. The ENTIRE tournament will be available for viewing on WatchESPN.
New to this year's tournament coverage, ESPNU will broadcast the first and second sessions. ESPN3's individual mat feeds will allow fans to watch every match, including the wrestle-back bracket, accompanied by live commentary throughout the tournament. Additionally, for computer users, ESPN3 will once again offer multi-mat simultaneous viewing which enables fans to watch up to four different mats at one time.
Last Season
The Bison finished 30th as a team at the 2013 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, with 15.5 points – an improvement of six spots over their 2012 finish. Trent Sprenkle became the first All-American for NDSU in the Division-I era and seventh in school history after placing fifth in the 125-pound bracket. He went an impressive 6-2. Steven Monk went 3-2 in the championships, falling in the Round of 12, while Evan Knutson went 1-2 and Mac Stoll went 0-2.
Monk's Dominance
Entering his third straight NCAA Wrestling Championships, Steven Monk sits in second on the wrestling wins list for the Bison with 129 career victories on the mat. Monk entered the season with 98 wins and his 22-match winning streak was capped off with a flawless 18-0 dual record. His last loss was a 6-4 decision to Northern Iowa's Cooper Moore Nov. 16, 2013. Monk trails Mike Langlais (1980-84) on the all-time wins list. Laglais won 151 matches during his career at 142 pounds.
NCAA West Regional Champs
NDSU wrestling won the first NCAA West Regional team championship in school history Saturday, March 8, inside the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University. The Bison claimed three individual titles on the way to the team title, defeating defending champion Wyoming by a score of 74-66.
Steven Monk (165), Hayden Zillmer (174) and Evan Knutson (285) each won their respective weight classes.
Analyzing the Seeds
Steven Monk (31-1) will be the four seed in the 165-pound bracket and open against unseeded Casey Kent (19-7) of Penn. Hayden Zillmer (27-6) was awarded the 13 seed in the 174-pound bracket and will battle unseeded Mike Dessino (28-8) of Bloomington in round one.
Kurtis Julson will begin the NCAA Championships against tenth-seeded Kenny Courts (29-7) of Ohio State at 184 pounds while Evan Knutson will face-off in the 285-pound bracket against sixth-seeded Michael McMullan (13-4) of Northwestern.
How They Got Here
Steven Monk, Hayden Zillmer and Evan Knutson qualified automatically for the NCAA Championships by virtue of winning their respective weight classes at the NCAA West Regional conducted March 8. Kurtis Julson received an at-large bid to the championships from the NCAA Division I Wrestling Selection Committee, announced Wednesday, March 12.
A Look at the Numbers
A Top 25 Ranking to Close Out the Regular Season
The NDSU wrestling team finished the season with a No. 21 ranking in the final Intermat poll of the regular season. The Bison reached all-time highs in the national rankings this season, ranking 18th in the Intermat team dual rankings and 19th in the USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll on Feb. 19, 2014, following NDSU's 1-2 showing at the NWCA National Duals in Columbus, Ohio.
Eight Ranked Opponents Again
For the second consecutive season, NDSU faced off against eight-ranked opponents in dual action. The Bison picked up two ranked victories this season, defeating No. 20 Oregon State 19-17 in their first matchup in Corvallis, and earning a 28-10 win over No. 19 Chattanooga in the opener of the NWCA National Duals in Columbus. NDSU lost in duals to No. 1 Minnesota, No. 13 Missouri, No. 15 Wisconsin, No. 17 Iowa State, No. 17 Northern Iowa, and a rematch to No. 25 Oregon State.
Bison in the Top 10
NDSU's Steven Monk is ranked third in the nation at 165 pounds in the latest Intermat individual rankings and was third in the final Amateur Wrestling News rankings.
Head Coach Roger Kish
Roger Kish is in his third season as head coach of the North Dakota State wrestling team. He is the fourth head coach in the 55-year history of the Bison wrestling program.
He spent two years as an assistant wrestling coach at NDSU prior to taking the head coaching position for the 2011-12 season.
Kish led the Bison to the Western Wrestling Conference regular season title with 5-0 conference dual meet record in 2013. He claimed the league's Coach of the Year award after directing NDSU to a 10-8 overall record with three wins over nationally ranked teams. Senior 125-pounder Trent Sprenkle earned All-American honors with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships
Kish joined the NDSU program after a successful wrestling career at the University of Minnesota.
Kish was a graduate assistant for the Gophers in 2008-09. A Lapeer, Mich. native, he was a two-time All-American and two-time NCAA runner-up for the Gophers at 184 pounds.
He had a career record of 117-27 for the Gophers. As a sophomore, he went 35-7 en route to a Big Ten title and an NCAA runner-up finish. In his junior season, Kish was 37-3 and was the Big Ten and national runner-up. He was also a team captain.
Kish graduated from Minnesota in May 2008 with a bachelor's degree in business and marketing education.
He was also a two-time cadet national champion and also captured a USA Wrestling junior national title.
At Lapeer West High School, he was a four-time Michigan state champion. Kish is the son of Roger and Brenda Kish. His older brother, James, wrestled at North Carolina.
Live Video | Live Stats | Tickets
Complete Championship Notes (PDF)
Social Media: @NDSUwrestling | @NDSUathletics | @NCAAwrestling
Setting the Scene
Four North Dakota State wrestlers will compete at the NCAA Wrestling Championships March 20-22 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Senior Steven Monk (165), juniors Evan Knutson (285) and Kurtis Julson (184) and sophomore Hayden Zillmer (174) will represent the Bison in Oklahoma City.
NCAA Championships Coverage
For the first time ever, all six sessions of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will be aired live on ESPN3. ESPN will televise the semifinals and championship finals while ESPNU will air the preliminary sessions and medal round. The ENTIRE tournament will be available for viewing on WatchESPN.
New to this year's tournament coverage, ESPNU will broadcast the first and second sessions. ESPN3's individual mat feeds will allow fans to watch every match, including the wrestle-back bracket, accompanied by live commentary throughout the tournament. Additionally, for computer users, ESPN3 will once again offer multi-mat simultaneous viewing which enables fans to watch up to four different mats at one time.
Last Season
The Bison finished 30th as a team at the 2013 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, with 15.5 points – an improvement of six spots over their 2012 finish. Trent Sprenkle became the first All-American for NDSU in the Division-I era and seventh in school history after placing fifth in the 125-pound bracket. He went an impressive 6-2. Steven Monk went 3-2 in the championships, falling in the Round of 12, while Evan Knutson went 1-2 and Mac Stoll went 0-2.
Monk's Dominance
Entering his third straight NCAA Wrestling Championships, Steven Monk sits in second on the wrestling wins list for the Bison with 129 career victories on the mat. Monk entered the season with 98 wins and his 22-match winning streak was capped off with a flawless 18-0 dual record. His last loss was a 6-4 decision to Northern Iowa's Cooper Moore Nov. 16, 2013. Monk trails Mike Langlais (1980-84) on the all-time wins list. Laglais won 151 matches during his career at 142 pounds.
NCAA West Regional Champs
NDSU wrestling won the first NCAA West Regional team championship in school history Saturday, March 8, inside the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University. The Bison claimed three individual titles on the way to the team title, defeating defending champion Wyoming by a score of 74-66.
Steven Monk (165), Hayden Zillmer (174) and Evan Knutson (285) each won their respective weight classes.
Analyzing the Seeds
Steven Monk (31-1) will be the four seed in the 165-pound bracket and open against unseeded Casey Kent (19-7) of Penn. Hayden Zillmer (27-6) was awarded the 13 seed in the 174-pound bracket and will battle unseeded Mike Dessino (28-8) of Bloomington in round one.
Kurtis Julson will begin the NCAA Championships against tenth-seeded Kenny Courts (29-7) of Ohio State at 184 pounds while Evan Knutson will face-off in the 285-pound bracket against sixth-seeded Michael McMullan (13-4) of Northwestern.
How They Got Here
Steven Monk, Hayden Zillmer and Evan Knutson qualified automatically for the NCAA Championships by virtue of winning their respective weight classes at the NCAA West Regional conducted March 8. Kurtis Julson received an at-large bid to the championships from the NCAA Division I Wrestling Selection Committee, announced Wednesday, March 12.
A Look at the Numbers
- 165 pounds – Steven Monk – 31-1 overall record, 11 pins, 6-4 record in NCAA Championships (2011-12, 2012-13)
- 174 pounds – Hayden Zillmer – 27-6 overall record, 1 pin, first appearance in NCAA Championships
- 184 pounds – Kurtis Julson – 21-11 overall record, 2 pins, first appearance in NCAA Championships
- 285 pounds – Evan Knutson – 17-10 overall record, 5 pins, 1-2 record in NCAA Championships (2012-13)
A Top 25 Ranking to Close Out the Regular Season
The NDSU wrestling team finished the season with a No. 21 ranking in the final Intermat poll of the regular season. The Bison reached all-time highs in the national rankings this season, ranking 18th in the Intermat team dual rankings and 19th in the USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll on Feb. 19, 2014, following NDSU's 1-2 showing at the NWCA National Duals in Columbus, Ohio.
Eight Ranked Opponents Again
For the second consecutive season, NDSU faced off against eight-ranked opponents in dual action. The Bison picked up two ranked victories this season, defeating No. 20 Oregon State 19-17 in their first matchup in Corvallis, and earning a 28-10 win over No. 19 Chattanooga in the opener of the NWCA National Duals in Columbus. NDSU lost in duals to No. 1 Minnesota, No. 13 Missouri, No. 15 Wisconsin, No. 17 Iowa State, No. 17 Northern Iowa, and a rematch to No. 25 Oregon State.
Bison in the Top 10
NDSU's Steven Monk is ranked third in the nation at 165 pounds in the latest Intermat individual rankings and was third in the final Amateur Wrestling News rankings.
Head Coach Roger Kish
Roger Kish is in his third season as head coach of the North Dakota State wrestling team. He is the fourth head coach in the 55-year history of the Bison wrestling program.
He spent two years as an assistant wrestling coach at NDSU prior to taking the head coaching position for the 2011-12 season.
Kish led the Bison to the Western Wrestling Conference regular season title with 5-0 conference dual meet record in 2013. He claimed the league's Coach of the Year award after directing NDSU to a 10-8 overall record with three wins over nationally ranked teams. Senior 125-pounder Trent Sprenkle earned All-American honors with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships
Kish joined the NDSU program after a successful wrestling career at the University of Minnesota.
Kish was a graduate assistant for the Gophers in 2008-09. A Lapeer, Mich. native, he was a two-time All-American and two-time NCAA runner-up for the Gophers at 184 pounds.
He had a career record of 117-27 for the Gophers. As a sophomore, he went 35-7 en route to a Big Ten title and an NCAA runner-up finish. In his junior season, Kish was 37-3 and was the Big Ten and national runner-up. He was also a team captain.
Kish graduated from Minnesota in May 2008 with a bachelor's degree in business and marketing education.
He was also a two-time cadet national champion and also captured a USA Wrestling junior national title.
At Lapeer West High School, he was a four-time Michigan state champion. Kish is the son of Roger and Brenda Kish. His older brother, James, wrestled at North Carolina.
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