FARGO, N.D. - The No. 15 North Dakota State wrestling program heads to Arkansas and then Missouri for a pair of duals. The Bison will take on Little Rock on Sunday evening at 6 p.m. inside the Jack Stephens Center. The Bison will then open up the Big 12 season with a trip to Columbia to face #10 Missouri Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. inside the Hearnes Center.
 
Dual Coverage
Both duals will be available for live streaming, with Sunday's dual available on Little Rock All-Access. Tuesday's dual will be streamed on FloWrestling. The duals will also have live results through TrackWrestling. Links for coverage will be available on GoBison.com.
 
100 for Kish
With the Bison picking up a convincing 30-6 victory over Buffalo Sunday afternoon, North Dakota State head coach Roger Kish scooped up his 100th career dual victory. Kish improved to 100-67 in his 12th season as the leader of the Herd.
 
Big 12 Wrestler of the Week
Jared Franek didn't allow any points aside from escapes in two matches, which included a pair of ranked wins and an upset over #4 Brayton Lee (Minnesota). Franek is the first Bison to claim Big 12 Wrestler of the Week honors this season and the first since Owen Pentz won the award on January 18, 2022 last season. He is the sixth Bison overall to win Big 12 Wrestler of the Week.
 
Franek Notches Highest Ranked Win
Franek's win against #4 Brayton Lee was also the highest ranked win for the senior in his career. His previous highest ranked win was twice against the #9 ranked wrestler; Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) in a dual last season and Kendall Coleman (Purdue) at the 2021 NCAA Championships. Franek has a 24-18 record against ranked competition and the victory over Lee snapped an 0-14 streak against wrestlers in the top eight and an 0-12 streak against the top five.
 
Highest Ranking in Program History
After receiving votes in the preseason poll, the Bison vaulted into the top 25 at No. 19 after a week one upset of then-No. 8 Nebraska. The Bison moved to No. 18 before the dual against Binghamton and reached a new program high after the win, climbing to No. 15 in the NWCA Coaches Poll, where they have held firm heading into this week. Prior to this season, the Bison had never been ranked higher than 19 in the Division I poll.
 
March Nearly Matches Own NDSU Pin Record
Kellyn March picked up pin of the season for the Bison on Sunday with a quick takedown and pin of Kaleb Burgess in just 13 seconds. The pin came one second shy of March's fastest career pin and the NDSU Division I record pin of 12 seconds, which he set last season in a dual against Clayton Bashor of Edinboro.
 
The Bison at Home
NDSU holds a 283-121-8 (.697) record at home over the course of the program's 65-year history. Since January of 2019, the Bison are 17-6 (.739) with five of the six losses coming against ranked opposition.
 
Freshman Making Early Statement
Redshirt freshmen Michael Caliendo (165) burst onto the scene last year with a pair of ranked wins to claim the Daktronics Open as an unattached wrestler. He started this season ranked and has gone 7-0 with victories in the duals against Nebraska, Binghamton, Minnesota, and Buffalo, as well as a Bison Open title after a 3-0 weekend that included victory over Andrew Sparks (Minnesota) in the title match. Caliendo is 2-0 against ranked opposition, with both wins coming against Sparks (#25/#19).
 
The Series - Little Rock
This is just the second meeting in the series, with the Bison claiming a 30-9 victory over the Trojans on February 11, 2022 in a dual last season in Fargo. The Bison claimed seven wins in the dual, including four bonus point victories and falls from Kellyn March and Owen Pentz.
 
The Series - Missouri
This is the sixth meeting between NDSU and Missouri, with the Bison still looking for their first win against the Tigers. Missouri has won all five matches, including two in the Big 12 era. North Dakota State is 0-1 all-time in Columbia, having lost 37-7 to the No. 7 Tigers on January 19, 2013 in the only other trip to Missouri.
 
NCAA D1 Qualifiers
The Bison have 58 NCAA Div. I qualifiers in 14 years of postseason eligibility since moving to Div. I in the 2004-05 season, including 15 over the last three seasons. Rich in wrestling history, the Bison sent 26 wrestlers to NCAA Div. I Championships from 1971 to 1991, bringing the total to 84 in program history. The Bison have 10 placing finishers at the Div. I Championships, including a best finish of 3rd by Steven Monk at 165 in 2014. In 2015, Kurtis Julson and Hayden Zillmer both placed in the top 8.
 
Head Coach Roger Kish
Roger Kish is in his 12th season at the helm of NDSU wrestling, taking over the program in 2011-12 after he spent two years as an assistant coach under the legendary Bucky Maughan.
 
Under his tenure, the Bison have had seven All-Americans. Steven Monk (134) and Trent Sprenkle (109) are two of the top three win leaders in a storied Bison wrestling history. Since the move to the Big 12, Kish has also guided Cam Sykora (133 in 2020) and Luke Weber (165 in 2021) to Big 12 Individual Championships.
 
Kish was a two-time All-American and two-time NCAA runner-up for Minnesota at 184 pounds with a career record of 117-27 for the Gophers. He then spent two seasons on staff at Minnesota as a graduate assistant.
 
Up Next
The Bison will be off over the holiday break before returning to action to ring in the New Year in Chattanooga, Tennessee for the Southern Scuffle. North Dakota State will compete in the two-day event hosted on January 1-2 by the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.