FARGO, N.D. - North Dakota State wrestling will begin the final stretch of the regular season with the first two of seven-straight Big 12 duals leading into the Big 12 Championships. The Bison will welcome in California Baptist and Northern Colorado for home duals this weekend at the Scheels Center.
 
The Bison host the Lancers of California Baptist at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20, before closing out the weekend with a 1 p.m. dual against the Bears of Northern Colorado on Sunday, Jan. 21.
 
On the Xtra
Saturday night's dual against California Baptist will be televised live on WDAY Xtra. Cullen Holt (play-by-play) and Jack Maughan (color) will have the call. Check GoBison.com for full channel listings and coverage areas.
 
Dual Coverage
Both duals against Cal Baptist and Northern Colorado will be streamed live on NDSU All-Access and will also have live results through TrackWrestling. Links for coverage in both duals will be available on the wrestling schedule page at GoBison.com.
 
Tickets
Tickets are available at GoBison.com/tickets and in the Bison Ticket Office. Tickets will also be available on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon at the door. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth ages 3-17.
 
Ranked Bison
Four Bison are ranked in the FloWrestling and InterMat rankings. Kellyn March (149) sits at #18 overall in InterMat and #19 in Flo, while Gaven Sax (174) sits at #20 in Flo and #23 in the InterMat rankings. Redshirt freshman Gavin Drexler (141) sits at #29 in InterMat and #30 in Flo, while true freshman Adam Cherne (184) joined the rankings in early December and sits at No. 32 in the Flo rankings.
 
Sax Claims Southern Scuffle Gorrarian Award
Gaven Sax (174) led the way for the Bison at the Southern Scuffle with a third-place finish, avenging his only loss of the weekend, defeating Oklahoma's Tate Picklo in the third-place match. Sax was dominant with a pin and three tech falls to be named the Southern Scuffle Gorrarian Award winner.
 
Quick Pins
- Gaven Sax (174), Aidan Brenot (184) and Max Petersen (149) picked up placing finishes at the Southern Scuffle. Sax finished 6-1 to take third overall, while Brenot was 4-2 and placed seventh. Petersen finished 4-3 and claimed 8th overall. Landen Johnson (157) and Devon Dawson (285) also claimed multiple wins.
- Redshirt Freshman Fernando Barreto (133) recorded a major decision at the Southern Scuffle before forfeiting out with an injury in his second-round match. Barreto now has two bonus-point wins this season after a tech fall in the Purdue dual at the Campbell-hosted Fighting Camel Duals in mid-December.
- Gaven Sax (174) and Max Petersen (149) went perfect at the Fighting Camel Duals. Sax (3-0) had two major decisions and an upset of #21 Austin Murphy. Petersen (2-0) also had 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 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.
- Landen Johnson (157), a redshirt freshman, 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.
 
Strong Dual Schedule for Bison
In the seven duals this season, six have been against Power 5 programs, facing Nebraska, Oklahoma, Virginia, Minnesota, Stanford, and Purdue. The Bison also faced mid-major power Campbell.
 
Potential Dual Debuts
Luke Barker (165) could potentially make his dual debut for the Bison, with the true freshman expecting to weigh in for one or both duals this weekend. Walker Bents (141) is also expected to weigh in and could appear in his first dual this season, with the redshirt freshman making one appearance last year.
 
Sax Records Highest Ranked Win
Gaven Sax (174) set a personal milestone at Minnesota, claiming his highest ranked win in an 8-0 major decision over #15 Andrew Sparks. His first bonus-point victory against ranked opposition surpassed a win over #20 Elise Brown Ton of Nebraska in the season-opening dual.
 
Two Big 12 Wrestler of the Week Accolades
Gaven Sax (174) was named the Big 12 Co-Wrestler of the Week following the opening week of the season after he took down then-No. 20 Elise Brown Ton of Nebraska in the opening dual. Max Petersen (149) won the award the next week after winning the Bison Open, which included defeating Minnesota's then No. 17 Drew Roberts by a 10-8 decision in the championship match.
 
Young Herd
Just four Bison are upperclassmen, including one junior college transfer. The Bison have two returning seniors, led by NCAA qualifier Kellyn March (149), as well as Ryan Henningson (125). NDSU has one returning junior, two-time Big 12 Championship participant Gaven Sax (174). Of the six sophomores, just Spencer Mooberry (197) had dual experience entering the year. The Bison have 10 redshirt freshmen and 10 true freshmen, with 13 of the 20 ranked in the recruiting big boards the last two years.
 
Up Next
North Dakota State will be back at home inside the Scheels Center next week, as the Bison host Air Force on Sunday, Jan. 28 at 12:30 p.m. in Big 12 dual action.