NDSU to Wrestle Northern Iowa, South Dakota State Sunday in Brookings

Sunday, January 10

Brookings, S.D.

4 p.m.

North Dakota State

Northern Iowa

Photo by: Zachary Lucy

NDSU to Wrestle Northern Iowa, South Dakota State Sunday in Brookings

1/8/2021 9:35:00 AM | Wrestling

NDSU Notes Live Video Live Results

This Week
North Dakota State (1-1) is scheduled to wrestle a pair of dual meets against Big 12 Conference opponents Northern Iowa (0-0) and South Dakota State (1-1) this Sunday, Jan. 10, in Brookings, S.D. NDSU faces UNI at 4 p.m. and SDSU at 6 p.m. in Frost Arena. The event begins at 2 p.m. with South Dakota State hosting Northern Iowa.

Series History
This is the 26th meeting between North Dakota State and Northern Iowa. UNI leads the series 21-3-1 including a 21-19 victory in the teams' last meeting Nov. 19, 2017, in Cedar Falls. ... This is the 66th meeting between North Dakota State and South Dakota State. NDSU has a 43-21-1 advantage in the all-time series. The Bison have won two straight including last year's 19-18 victory in Brookings. The teams will wrestle again Feb. 7 in Fargo in the annual Border Bell match.

The Lineup
125—Ryan Henningson (0-2), Fr., Winona, Minn.
        or McGwire Midkiff (0-0), Jr., Carter Lake, Iowa
133—#18 Kellyn March (2-0), Fr., Canton, S.D.
141—#20 Dylan Droegemueller (0-2), So., Champlin, Minn.
149—#31 Jaden Van Maanen (1-1), Jr., La Crosse, Wis.
157—#13 Jared Franek (1-1), So., Harwood, N.D.
165—#33 Luke Weber (1-1), Sr., Forsyth, Mont.
174—Noah Cressell (0-2), So., Wabash, Ind.
        or Austin Brenner (1-1), So., St. Cloud, Minn.
184—TJ Pottinger (0-1), So., Hastings, Minn.
        or Gary Wokojance (0-2), RFr., Barberton, Ohio
197—Michael Nelson (0-2), RFr., Dover, Minn.
        or Cole Witzig (0-1), Sr., Troy, Ill.
285—#16 Brandon Metz (1-1), Jr., West Fargo, N.D.
#Trackwrestling individual rankings

Bison in the National Rankings
North Dakota State has six wrestlers in the latest Division I rankings. Sophomore 157 Jared Franek is 13th in Trackwrestling, 14th in InterMat and 15th in FloWrestling. Junior heavyweight Brandon Metz is 16th in Trackwrestling and 15th in both InterMat and FloWrestling. Freshman 133 Kellyn March debuted at 18th in the Trackwrestling and InterMat rankings after winning his first two collegiate matches. Three others in the Trackwrestling rankings are sophomore 141 Dylan Droegemueller (20th), junior 149 Jaden Van Maanen (31st) and senior 165 Luke Weber (33rd).

Bison Split Opening Duals
North Dakota State opened the 2020-21 season at home last Sunday with a 19-15 victory over Oregon State and a 38-3 loss to 12th-ranked Missouri. Heavyweight Brandon Metz's 9-7 overtime victory secured the Bison victory after OSU rallied back from a 16-6 deficit winning three straight decisions in the upper weights. Freshman 133 Kellyn March won his first two collegiate matches including a 14-5 major decision over seventh-ranked Devan Turner of Oregon State in the opener. March picked up NDSU's only win against Missouri with a 7-4 decision against Trey Crawford. The Tigers won three bouts by major decision plus one technical fall and two pins.

Who's Back
North Dakota State returns three NCAA qualifiers and six starters from last year's team that went 10-4 overall in duals and placed fifth at the Big 12 tournament before cancellation of the NCAA tournament. Sophomore 141 Dylan Droegemueller (15-10), sophomore 157 Jared Franek (27-7) and junior heavyweight Brandon Metz (22-10) each qualified for the NCAA tournament last year. Other returning starters include junior 149 Jaden Van Maanen (12-17), senior 174 Luke Weber (15-13) and sophomore 184 Noah Cressell (10-12).

Coming Up
Following this weekend's action in Brookings, North Dakota State will be off for one week before returning to action Sunday, Jan. 24, at Cal Poly in another multi-team dual event. The Bison are scheduled to wrestle Fresno State, California Baptist, Cal Poly and Little Rock.

Tickets Available
Tickets are on sale at GoBison.com/tickets for North Dakota State's final two home duals of the season Sunday, Feb. 7, in the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex. The Bison face South Dakota State in the annual Border Bell match at 11 a.m. followed by Iowa State at 1 p.m. The Jackrabbits and Cyclones will go head-to-head at 3 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth ages 3-17. One ticket is good for admission all day. All seating will be general admission in designated, physically distanced areas and face coverings are required.