Five to Represent North Dakota State at NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships

Thursday, March 16

St. Louis, Mo.

11 a.m.

North Dakota State

NCAA Championships

Photo by: Mike Smith/MatShots

Five to Represent North Dakota State at NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships

3/13/2017 1:52:00 PM | Wrestling

NDSU Wrestling Release.pdf
NCAA Wrestling Brackets.pdf

North Dakota State will send five wrestlers -- 125 Josh Rodriguez, 133 Cam Sykora, 157 Clay Ream, 165 Andrew Fogarty and 285 Ben Tynan -- to compete at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Thursday, March 16 through Saturday, March 18, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. ... Rodriguez and Ream both make their third straight appearance, while Sykora, Fogarty and Tynan each make their first trip to the NCAA tournament ... First round action gets underway at 11 a.m. Thursday, March 16 ... The finals are scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, March 18 ... The schedule:

NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Scottrade Center / St. Louis, Mo.
Thursday, March 16
11 a.m. Session I - First Round / Watch Live | Live Results
6 p.m. Session II - Second Round / Watch Live | Live Results
Friday March 17
10 a.m. Session III - Quarterfinals / Watch Live | Live Results
7 p.m. Session IV - Semifinals / Watch Live | Live Results
Saturday March 18
10 a.m. Session V - Medal Round / Watch Live | Live Results
7-10 p.m. Session VI - Championship Finals / Watch Live | Live Results

NDSU's NCAA First Round Match-ups
125 -- #9 Josh Rodriguez (23-2) vs. Johnny Jimenez, Wisconsin (15-10)
133 -- Cam Sykora (25-6) vs. #16 Kenny Devol, Drexel (20-7)
157 -- #6 Clay Ream (24-4) vs. Paul Fox, Stanford (25-13)
165 -- Andrew Fogarty (22-11) vs. #9 Chandler Rogers, Oklahoma (20-6)
285 -- Ben Tynan (18-6, 13-4) vs. #3 Ty Walz, Virginia Tech (22-2)
# NCAA Championships Seed (March 8)

Coverage
Live results will be provided by Track Wrestling ... Live video for each mat will available through the WatchESPN / ESPN3 apps ... ESPNU will broadcast from the morning sessions Thursday, March 17, Friday, March 18, and Saturday, March 18 ... ESPN will provide the nightly coverage on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, including the championship finals at 7 p.m. CT.

Bison at the 2016 NCAA Championships
North Dakota State 125 Josh Rodriguez lost in the consolation bracket fourth round, 184 Hayden Zillmer dropped an overtime decision in the third round and 149 Clay Ream dropped a major decision in the second round ... North Dakota State tied for 44th in the team standings with 5.5 points ... Best NCAA Division I team finish came in 2014 when the Bison were 21st with 20.5 points.

NDSU and Division I All-Americans
North Dakota State looks to add a name or two an elite Division I All-American group that includes Bill Demaray (1977, 7th 177 pounds), Lee Petersen (1973, 4th 142; 1974, 7th 142), Brad Rheingans (1975, 4th 190), Mike Langlais (1984, 6th 150), Pat Johannes (1988, 7th 177), Trent Sprenkle (2013, 5th 125), Steven Monk (2014, 3rd 165), Kurtis Julson (2015, 8th, 174) and Hayden Zillmer (2015, 8th, 184) ... Nine different athletes have earned 10 Division I All-America honors ... North Dakota State has 162 All-Americans overall include 30 Division II national champions.

NDSU at the 2017 Big 12 Championships
     North Dakota State 125 Josh Rodriguez and 157 Clay Ream both placed second at the Big 12 Wrestling Championships on March 5 in the BOK Center ... NDSU 133 Cam Sykora placed third, 285 Ben Tynan finished fourth, and 165 Andrew Fogarty, 184 Tyler McNutt and 197 Cordell Eaton all placed sixth ... North Dakota State finished fourth in the team standings with 82.5 points ... All 10 Bison wrestlers won at least one match during the tournament.

Academically Speaking
     North Dakota State placed five student-athletes on the 2017 Academic All-Big 12 Wrestling team released Thursday, March 2, by the conference office ... Forty-four members comprise the first team, including North Dakota State 157-pound redshirt junior Clay Ream, who was nominated with a 4.0 grade point average, while 18 selections make up the second team ... Joining Ream on the Academic All-Big 12 Wrestling first team are 149-pound redshirt junior Mitch Friedman and 197-pound redshirt freshman Cordell Eaton ... NDSU 125-pound redshirt senior Josh Rodriguez and 184-pound redshirt freshman Tyler McNutt were on the second team ... Ream, Friedman and McNutt are repeat selections.

Bison Finish With Most Dual Wins in Division I Era, Third Best All-Time
     North Dakota State's 14 duals wins this season are the most during the Division I era and third best all-time ... The previous Division I high was 11 wins achieved twice in 2007-08 (11-9) and 2013-14 (11-7) ... The program record is 16 wins (16-0) achieved during the 1991-92 season, while the 1971-72 team went 15-1.

Rodriguez Hits Century Mark
   North Dakota State returns a pair of two-time NCAA qualifiers in 125-pounder Josh Rodriguez and 157-pounder Clay Ream ... Ream moves from 149 to 157 this season ... Rodriguez, a redshirt senior from Guadalupe, Calif. (Righetti H.S.), has compiled a 23-2 record this season including 18-1 in duals with nine tech falls and six pins ... His updated record (thru March 5) is 101-35 including 46-14 in duals with 16 pins ... Rodriguez ranks No. 10 all-time at NDSU with 101 wins in a career ... Rodriguez placed second at the Big 12 Championships ... He is 5-4 in two NCAA appearances ... Rodriguez was named to the Academic All-Big 12 Wrestling Second Team ... Ream, a redshirt junior from Wentzville, Mo. (Holt H.S.), was the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Elite 90 Award winner ... Ream has grinded to a 24-4 record including 17-1 in duals with five pins and eight major decisions ... His updated record (thru Feb. 19) is 71-36 overall, 31-10 in duals with 15 pins ... Ream placed second at the Big 12 Championships ... Ream has a 3-4 record in two NCAA appearances ... He was also named to Academic All-Big 12 Conference Wrestling First Team for the second straight year.

Rodriguez, Ream & Tynan Earn Big 12 Conference Wrestler of the Week Honors
   North Dakota State 285-pounder Ben Tynan was named Big 12 Conference Wrestler of the Week on Jan. 30 ... He earned the honor for the first time in his career ... North Dakota State 157-pounder Clay Ream was named Big 12 Conference Co-Wrestler of the Week on Jan. 16 ... He earned the honor for the first time in his career ... North Dakota State 125-pounder Josh Rodriguez was named Big 12 Conference Co-Wrestler of the Week on Dec. 12 ... He earned the honor for the first time in his career.

Bison in the Rankings
   Individually, in the NCAA wrestling coaches panel rankings (March 5), redshirt senior Josh Rodriguez (23-2 overall, 18-1 duals) is No. 7 at 125 pounds; redshirt freshman Cam Sykora (25-6, 12-0) is No. 22 at 133 pounds; redshirt junior Clay Ream (24-4, 17-1) is No. 8 at 157 pounds; redshirt freshman Andrew Fogarty (22-11, 12-5) is No. 21 at 165 pounds, and senior Ben Tynan (18-6, 13-4) is No. 26 at 285 pounds ... Three Bison were in the NCAA RPI (March 5) Rodriguez No. 11 at 125, Sykora No. 19 at 133, Ream No. 16 at 157 and Tynan No. 26 at 285 …
   In the InterMat.com (March 7) rankings, Josh Rodriguez is No. 7 at 125 pounds, Cam Sykora is No. 20 at 133 pounds and Clay Ream is No. 8 at 157 pounds ... In TheOpenMat.com (March 7) rankings, Josh Rodriguez was No. 9 at 125 pounds and Clay Ream is No. 6 at 157 pounds ... In the Asics/Flowrestling rankings (March 6), Josh Rodriguez is No. 9 at 125 pounds and Clay Ream is No. 11 at 157 pounds ... In the Track Wrestling (March 7) rankings, Josh Rodriguez is No. 6 at 125 pounds, Clay Ream is No. 8 at 157 pounds, and Andrew Fogarty is No. 21 at 165 pounds ... In the Amateur Wrestling News (March 7) rankings, Josh Rodriguez is No. 9 at 125 pounds, Clay Ream is No. 7 at 157 pounds, and Andrew Fogarty is No. 16 at 165 pounds ... And, in the WIN Wrestling Magazine (March 6) rankings, Josh Rodriguez is No. 7 at 125 pounds and Clay Ream is No. 8 at 157 pounds.