Wrestling Heads to North Carolina for Fighting Camel Duals

Tuesday, December 19

Buies Creek, N.C.

12 p.m.

North Dakota State

Campbell

Photo by: Zachary Lucy

Wrestling Heads to North Carolina for Fighting Camel Duals

12/18/2023 7:17:00 PM | Wrestling

NDSU Notes

North Dakota State will wrap up the 2023 calendar year at the Fighting Camel Duals on December 19 in Buies Creek, North Carolina. The Bison will take on host Campbell (12 p.m.), Purdue (2 p.m.) and #19 Stanford (4 p.m.) in a quadrangular at Gore Arena.

Event Coverage
The duals against Campbell, Purdue and Stanford will be streamed live on UFC Fight Pass and will also have live results through StatBroadcast, with links for coverage available on GoBison.com.

Ranked Bison
Four Bison are ranked in this week's edition FloWrestling and InterMat rankings. Senior 149 pounder Kellyn March sits at No. 9 overall in InterMat and No. 10 in Flo, while junior 174 pounder Gaven Sax sits at No. 19 in InterMat and No. 21 in the Flo rankings. Redshirt freshman 141 pounder Gavin Drexler sits at No. 28 in both Flo and InterMat. True freshman 184 pounder Adam Cherne joined the rankings two weeks ago and sits at No. 31 in the Flo rankings.

Series History
NDSU has met each of the three opponents at the Fighting Camel Duals twice in program history. The Bison are 2-0 against Campbell and Stanford, while NDSU is 0-2 against Purdue. NDSU most recently met Stanford, claiming an 18-17 win last season in Palo Alto and a 28-13 win over the #21 Cardinal in February of 2020. The Bison lost to #25 Purdue 22-12 in November of 2019 in Fargo and 26-6 to the #24 Boilermakers in January of 2018 in West Lafayette. NDSU has won neutral site matches over Campbell, 20-9 most recently in January of 2013, and 49-6 in the first-ever meeting in January of 2011.

Sax Records Highest Ranked Win
Gaven Sax set another personal milestone last time out at Minnesota, claiming his highest ranked win in three seasons with the Bison. Sax scored an 8-0 major decision on #15 Andrew Sparks, his first bonus-point victory against ranked opposition, and his highest ranked win, surpassing a mark set earlier this season with a win of #20 Elise Brown Ton of Nebraska in the season-opening dual.

Quick Pins
- True freshman Adam Cherne recorded an 18-6 major decision over #19 Guiseppe Hoose at Oklahoma in his dual debut. He then secured a pin in his Scheels Center dual debut against Virginia.
- Redshirt freshman Brendan Howes recorded his first dual victory against Virginia. Howes, wrestling in his third career dual at the time, secured an early takedown and secured a pin fall at 2:06.
- Carlos Negrete Jr. and Spencer Mooberry claimed their first dual wins of the season against Virginia. Negrete beat Kyle Montaperto 8-2, while Mooberry came from behind to win 12-9 over Colden Dorfman.
- Redshirt freshman Landen Johnson (157) scored his first dual and Big 12 victory with a 7-3 decision against Oklahoma's Jared Hill on Nov. 19.
- Redshirt freshmen Gavin Drexler (141) and Max Petersen (149) claimed Bison Open titles in mid November. Drexler claimed his title by defeating No. 24 Vance Vombaur of Minnesota by a 6-4 decision. Petersen scored a 10-8 decision over No. #17 Drew Roberts of Minnesota in his championship match.

Petersen Named Second Big 12 Wrestler of the Week
Max Petersen was named the Big 12 Wrestler of the Week following the Bison Open. Petersen earned the award after an individual title at the Bison Open that included defeating Minnesota's then No. 17 Drew Roberts by a 10-8 decision in the championship match.

Sax Scoops First Big 12 Wrestler of the Week
Gaven Sax was named the Big 12 Co-Wrestler of the Week following the opening week of the season. Sax earned the award after he took down then-No. 20 Elise Brown Ton of Nebraska in the opening dual.

The Beginning of the Blanc Era
With the departure of Roger Kish after 12 seasons in Fargo, top assistant Obenson Blanc has taken over the reins of the Herd. Since Blanc's arrival in Fargo, Blanc has guided NDSU wrestlers to all three of NDSU's individual Big 12 Championships, as well as two All-American honors last season.

Bison Reach New Program High
Last year, NDSU reached No. 15 in the NWCA Coaches Poll, the highest official ranking in the program's Division I history. Prior to 2022-23, the Bison had never been ranked higher than 19. The Bison also reached as high as No. 12 in the InterMat rankings, the highest in any poll in the Division I era.

Young Herd
Of the 30 Bison suiting up in the NDSU singlet this season, just four are upperclassmen, including one junior college transfer. The Bison have two returning seniors led by 149-pound NCAA qualifier #11 Kellyn March, and one returning junior, two-time Big 12 Championship participant Gaven Sax at 174.

The Bison have seven sophomores, with just two (Carlos Negrete Jr., 125, and Spencer Mooberry, 197) having dual experience entering the year. The Bison have 10 redshirt freshmen and nine true freshmen, both classes ranking in the top 25 recruiting rankings, that look to fight for starting spots this season. 13 of the 19 were ranked in the last two top recruiting big boards.

Strong Dual Schedule Awaits
The 2023-24 schedule includes 15 duals with eight match ups against Power 5 programs, including Nebraska, Oklahoma, Virginia, Minnesota, Stanford, Purdue, Oregon State, and Missouri, along with traditional mid-major powers Campbell, Northern Colorado, Wyoming and South Dakota State.

TV Time
Four of the Bison's six home duals this season have been selected as television games for WDAY Xtra. NDSU's match ups against Virginia, California Baptist, Air Force and Missouri will be televised live and broadcast across the state of North Dakota, Eastern Montana and Western Minnesota on WDAY Xtra. Check GoBison.com for full channel listings and coverage areas.

NCAA D1 Qualifiers
The Bison have had 64 NCAA Div. I qualifiers in 15 years of postseason eligibility, including 21 over the last four seasons. Rich in wrestling history, the Bison sent 26 to NCAA Div. I Championships from 1971 to 1991, bringing the total to 90. The Bison have 12 All-Americans 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, while Jared Franek and Michael Caliendo earned All-American honors last season.

Up Next
North Dakota State will be off until the new year, when the Bison ring in 2024 at the Southern Scuffle on January 1-2. The Bison will be making their fourth trip to the Southern Scuffle, with the two-day event taking place inside the McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tennessee.