NDSU Wrestling Heads Chattanooga for Southern Scuffle

Monday, January 1

Chattanooga, Tenn.

10 a.m.

North Dakota State

Southern Scuffle

Photo by: Zachary Lucy

NDSU Wrestling Heads Chattanooga for Southern Scuffle

12/29/2023 3:14:00 PM | Wrestling

NDSU Notes

FARGO, N.D. - North Dakota State will ring in 2024 at the Southern Scuffle on January 1-2. The Bison make their fourth trip to the scuffle, with the two-day event taking place inside the McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tenn.

The Bison Lineup
133 | Fernando Barreto (RFr., Pomona, Calif.)
141 | Sean Solis (RFr., Fountain Valley, Calif.)
149 | Zane Licht (Fr., Praire Du Sac, Wis.)
149 | Max Petersen (RFr., Byron, Minn.)
149 | Trae Thilmony (RFr., Trout Creek, Mont.)
157 | Boeden Greenley (Fr., Lisbon, N.D.)
157 | Landen Johnson (RFr., Owatonna, Minn.)
165 | Brendan Howes (RFr., Ramsey, Minn.)
174 | #19/25 Gaven Sax (Jr., St. Robert, Mo.)
174 | Mason Gode (So., Browerville, Minn.)
184 | Aidan Brenot (Fr., Clarksville, Tenn.)
197 | Lathan Duda (So., Broken Bow, Neb.)
197 | Spencer Mooberry (So., Osage, Iowa)
285 | Devon Dawson (Jr., Brooklyn Park, Minn.)

Event Coverage
The Southern Scuffle will have live streaming both days on FloWrestling. The scuffle will also have live results through FloArena. Links for coverage will be available on GoBison.com

Bison Success at the Scuffle
NDSU has had tremendous success at the Southern Scuffle in three trips. The Bison have never finished worse than fifth, including runner-up finishes the last two seasons. NDSU has recorded at least six placing finishers each year, and claimed three individual champions last season, along with one in 2022.

Ranked Bison
Four Bison are ranked in this week's edition FloWrestling and InterMat rankings. Senior 149 pounder Kellyn March sits at No. 17 overall in InterMat and Flo, while junior 174 pounder Gaven Sax sits at No. 19 in Flo and No. 25 in the InterMat 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 in early December and sits at No. 30 in the Flo rankings.

Youthful Squad Headed for Tennessee
The Bison are set to take 14 to the Southern Scuffle, with three true freshman and six redshirt freshmen amongst the lineup. NDSU also has three freshmen suiting up with just two seniors, Gaven Sax and transfer Devon Dawson set to hit the mat.

Quick Pins
- Gaven Sax (174) and Max Petersen (149) were undefeated at the Fighting Camel Duals. Sax is coming off of a 3-0 day, including a pair of major decisions and an upset win over #21 Austin Murphy. Petersen was 2-0 with a major decision.
- Redshirt freshman Brendan Howes (165) 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.
- True freshman Adam Cherne (184) 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 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.

Sax Records Highest Ranked Win
Gaven Sax set a personal milestone 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.

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.

Young Herd
Of the 31 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 10 true freshmen, both classes ranking in the top 25 recruiting rankings, that look to fight for starting spots this season. 13 of the 20 were ranked in the last two top recruiting big boards.

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
With the cancelation of the dual against Oregon State in Las Vegas that was set for January 13, the Bison will be off until January 20, as North Dakota State hosts California Baptist in the first Big 12 home dual of the season. The dual is set to begin at 7 p.m. inside the Scheels Center.