FARGO, N.D. – Eleven NDSU wrestlers are competing at the 2021 United World Wrestling Junior and Senior Nationals scheduled for April 30-May 2 at the Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. Coverage of the event will be provided by Flowrestling.org.
The UWW separates all eligible wrestlers into Junior and Senior divisions based on age. From there, wrestlers must register as a Greco-Roman or Freestyle wrestler.
Three Bison wrestlers will be competing in Greco-Roman. Junior Brandon Metz, redshirt freshmen Kellyn March and Michael Weber will wrestle in the Greco-Roman and Freestyle divisions. Metz will wrestle in the Senior division at 130 kg (286.6 lbs). March at 60kg (132.3 lbs) and Weber at 72 kg (158.7 lbs) will be competing in the Junior division.
Eleven Bison wrestlers will be competing in Freestyle. Freshmen Riley Habisch at 79kg (174.2 lbs), Ryan Henningson at 57kg (125.7 lbs), March at 61kg (134.5 lbs), Gaven Sax at 70kg (154.3 lbs), Zach Watts at 65kg (143.3 lbs), and Michael Weber at 74kg (163.1 lbs) will be wrestling in the Junior division. Sophomores Austin Brenner at 79kg (174.2 lbs), Dylan Droegemueller at 65kg (143.3 lbs), Jared Franek at 74kg (163.1 lbs), and Metz at 125kg (275.6 lbs) will be wrestling in the Senior division.
The winner in the Greco-Roman and Freestyle Junior divisions will head to Ufa, Russia, to represent Team USA at the UWW Junior World Championships on August 16-22. The UWW Junior National wrestlers may qualify for the Pan-American Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the Pan-American Games in Cali, Colombia.
The top five winners in each weight class and wrestling style at the UWW Senior Nationals will be an automatic qualifier for the 2021 Senior World Team Trials. The UWW Senior Nationals may also have implications for the Pan-American Championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
