The North Dakota State wrestling team makes its final home appearance of the season this Sunday, Feb. 7, when the Bison (4-2) host Big 12 Conference opponents South Dakota State (4-4) at 11 a.m. and 12th-ranked Iowa State (6-2) at 1 p.m. inside the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex. SDSU and ISU will wrestle at 3 p.m. Live results of all three duals will be on Trackwrestling.com and live video will be on FloWrestling.org. NDSU's duals will be televised statewide on BEK TV.

Tickets

Tickets may be purchased in advance at GoBison.com/tickets or through the Bison Ticket Office in the south lobby of the Sanford Health Athletic Complex. 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.

Series History

North Dakota State has won three straight over South Dakota State to take a 44-21-1 lead in the all-time series including a 21-13 victory in Brookings last month. Iowa State leads the series with NDSU 6-1. The Bison beat the Cyclones 25-16 in the first wrestling match held inside the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex on Nov. 16, 2016.

Battle for the Border Bell

Sunday is the eighth annual Battle for the Border Bell between North Dakota State and South Dakota State. The winner claims the traveling trophy, a 100-pound kettlebell, which was introduced during the 2013-14 season. NDSU won last year's match 19-18 in Brookings to retain the bell for a second straight year. The Bison lead the Border Bell series 4-3.

125—McGwire Midkiff (1-3), Jr., Carter Lake, Iowa

or Ryan Henningson (0-4), Fr., Winona, Minn.

133—#23 Kellyn March (3-3), Fr., Canton, S.D.

or Sam Stuhl (1-2), So., Ellsworth, Wis.

141—#31 Dylan Droegemueller (2-5), So., Champlin, Minn.

or Zach Watts (1-1), Fr., Fresno, Calif.

149—Jaden Van Maanen (4-3), Jr., La Crosse, Wis.

or Michael Weber (0-2), RFr., Forsyth, Mont.

157—#14 Jared Franek (5-1), So., Harwood, N.D.

165—Luke Weber (4-2), Sr., Forsyth, Mont.

or Austin Brenner (4-1), So., St. Cloud, Minn.

174—Riley Habisch (2-1), RFr., Buffalo, Minn.

or Noah Cressell (0-3), So., Wabash, Ind.

184—TJ Pottinger (1-4), So., Hastings, Minn.

or Michael Nelson (1-3), RFr., Dover, Minn.

197—Owen Pentz (2-0), Fr., Morgan, Utah

or Luke Rasmussen (1-1), Fr., Barrington, Ill.

285—#17 Brandon Metz (4-2), Jr., West Fargo, N.D.

#Trackwrestling individual rankings
Head Coach: Roger Kish (10th year)
Assistants: Obenson Blanc, Austin Marsden, Cody Pack

South Dakota State's Probable Lineup

125—#33 Danny Vega (5-4), Sr., Tucson, Ariz.

or Tanner Jordan (6-6), Fr., St. Paris, Ohio

133—#17 Zach Price (5-2), So., Johnston, Iowa

or Trayton Anderson (2-8), RFr., Northfield, Minn.

141—#19 Clay Carlson (7-3), So., Willmar, Minn.

or Rylee Molitor (4-4), Jr., Sartell, Minn.

149—Hunter Marko (4-5), Sr., Amery, Wis.

or Daniel Kimball (2-6), RFr., Buckingham, Iowa

157—#16 Cade DeVos (6-5), RFr., Altoona, Iowa

or Jack Thomsen (5-3), Fr., La Porte City, Iowa

165—Colten Carlson (6-3), Sr., Willmar, Minn.

or Kenny O'Neil (4-4), So., Prior Lake, Minn.

174—Cade King (7-5), So., Owatonna, Minn.

184—Nick Casperson (5-5), So., Beresford, S.D.

or Jacob Schoon (2-6), RFr., Brookings, S.D.

197—#7 Tanner Sloan (10-0), So., Alburnett, Iowa

285—Blake Wolters (3-6), Sr., Pipestone, Minn.

or Bowen McConville (2-1), So., Renton, Wash.

or Spencer Trenary (2-4), RFr., Rolfe, Iowa

Head Coach: Damion Hahn (3rd year)

Assistants: Cam Simaz, Cody Caldwell, Chris Dardanes

Iowa State's Probable Lineup

125—Kysen Terukina (5-2), Fr., Ewa Beach, Hawaii

133—#32 Zach Redding (5-2), Fr., Manorville, N.Y.

141—#7 Ian Parker (7-1), Sr., St. John's Mich.

149—Cam Robinson (3-1), Fr., Churchville, Pa.

or Jarrett Degen (0-0), Sr., Belgrade, Mont.

157—#3 David Carr (8-0), So., Canton, Ohio

165—Isaac Judge (4-3), So., Tama, Iowa

or Grant Stotts (5-1), So., West Des Moines, Iowa

174—#31 Julien Broderson (5-2), RFr., Davenport, Iowa

184—Tate Battani (4-3), So., Huxley, Iowa

or Joel Shapiro (2-0), So., West Des Moines, Iowa

or Sam Colbray (0-0), Sr., Hermiston, Ore.

197—#33 Yonger Bastida (4-3), Fr., Trinidad, Cuba

or Marcus Coleman (1-1), Jr., Ames, Iowa

285—#11 Gannon Gremmel (8-0), Sr., Dubuque, Iowa

Head Coach: Kevin Dresser (4th year at Iowa State; 11 years at Virginia Tech)

Assistants: Derek St. John, Brent Metcalf, Fernando Villascusa

NDSU, SDSU Join Iowa State in Intermat Top 25 Rankings

North Dakota State and South Dakota State both moved into the Intermat Top 25 dual meet rankings this week. NDSU is ranked 22nd and SDSU 23rd while Iowa State remains ranked 11th. The Cyclones are 12th in the NWCA Coaches Top 25 with the Bison and Jackrabbits each receiving votes.

Bison in the National Rankings

North Dakota State has four wrestlers in the latest Division I rankings. Sophomore 157 Jared Franek is 14th in Trackwrestling, 15th in InterMat and 16th in FloWrestling. Junior heavyweight Brandon Metz is 17th in Trackwrestling, 16th in FloWrestling and 18th in InterMat. Freshman 133 Kellyn March checked in 23rd in Trackwrestling and sophomore 141 Dylan Droegemueller ranks 31st in Trackwrestling.

Bison Take Two in California

North Dakota State took a pair of matches on the West Coast on Jan. 30 defeating Fresno State 29-15 and California Baptist 30-6 in Riverside, Calif. Freshman Fresno State transfer Owen Pentz started his career with a bang, making quick work in his first match at 197 pounds with a first-period pin as part of a 2-0 debut with the Bison. NDSU won six of 10 bouts, including another pin by Brandon Metz to close out the match with the Bulldogs. The Bison won eight of 10 bouts against CBU, including two tech falls and two major decisions to rout the Lancers. After falling behind 3-0 to start the match, the Bison charged forward with six straight victories to help seal the victory. Six Bison went 2-0 on the day, with Jaden Van Maanen, Jared Franek, Luke Weber, Riley Habisch, and Metz joining Pentz with undefeated weekends.

NDSU Splits Pair of Big 12 Duals in Brookings 

North Dakota State split a pair of duals against Big 12 Conference opponents Jan. 10 in Brookings, S.D., with a 27-11 loss to 23rd-ranked Northern Iowa before defeating South Dakota State 21-13. Sophomore 157 Jared Franek won both matches, including a 4-2 overtime victory over 20th-ranked Cade DeVos of SDSU to help lead the Bison to victory. With the Bison leading 18-13 after nine bouts, heavyweight Brandon Metz put the match on ice with a 5-4 overtime win in the second tiebreaker round. NDSU 141 Dylan Droegemueller defeated Drew Bennett of UNI by 12-2 major decision in one of three victories against UNI on the day. The Panthers won two bouts by fall en route to victory. 

Bison Open With Home Split

North Dakota State opened the 2020-21 season at home 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

North Dakota State closes out the dual meet schedule next Saturday, Feb. 13, in Brookings, S.D., taking on Utah Valley at 11 a.m. and Air Force at 1 p.m. in a pair of Big 12 Conference matchups.

Big 12 Championship Tickets on Sale

All-session tickets are on sale at BOKcenter.com for the 2021 Big 12 Wrestling Championship scheduled for March 6-7 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. General admission reserved tickets start as low as $49, while reserved seating is $69 and premium seats are available for $89 and $109. All fans will be in pod seating, which increases distancing and minimizes fan crossover when entering and exiting their seats. Fans must purchase all tickets in a selected pod group, available in select section groupings of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 seats.