TULSA, Okla. – North Dakota State 174-pounder
Gaven Sax finished as the runner-up at the Big 12 Conference Championships on Sunday, March 10 at the BOK Center. 149-pounder
Max Petersen finished in eighth place.
Sax fell to top seeded and fourth ranked Cade DeVos of South Dakota State in the final by a 6-4 decision. With his finish, Sax earned an automatic invite to the NCAA Championships scheduled for March 21-23 at T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City.
DeVos scored the opening takedown and rode Sax for the remainder of the first period. Trailing 4-0 headed to the third, Sax picked up an escape and then recorded a takedown to tie the match at 4-4. However, DeVos picked up an escape and a riding time point for the final scoring.
Sax's previous best finish at the Big 12 Championships was 7
th in 2022 at 149 pounds as a freshman.
Max Petersen also wrestled for the Bison on Sunday, falling in the seventh-place match on a late takedown to #22 ranked Alek Martin of South Dakota State. Petersen takes eight overall in his debut at the Big 12 Championships, scoring 6.5 points for the Bison.
North Dakota State finished 11
th in the team standings with 28 points. Sax and the Bison will now await the release of the NCAA Wrestling Championships bracket, which will be on Wednesday, March 13.
Full NDSU Results:
174 | Gaven Sax | 3-1 | 16.5 pts
W over Quayin Short (Wyoming); TF 15-0
W over #19 MJ Gaitan (Iowa State); SV-1 6-3
W over #21 Brayden Thompson (Oklahoma State); Dec 3-2
L to #4 Cade DeVos (South Dakota State); Dec 6-4
149 | Max Petersen | 8th Place | 2-3 | 6.5 pts
W over Adam Allard (Northern Iowa); Fall 3:21
L to #7 Ty Watters (West Virginia); MD 12-2
W over Dayne Morton (California Baptist); Dec 4-1
L to #17 Willie McDougald (Oklahoma); SV-1 8-5
L to #22 Alek Martin (South Dakota State); Dec 5-2
Non-Placing Wrestlers
197 | Spencer Mooberry | 1-2 | 3.0 pts
W over #16 Luke Surber (Oklahoma State); Fall 0:49
L to #6 Stephen Buchanan (Oklahoma); Fall 6:20
L to Xavier Vasquez (Northern Colorado); SV-1 4-1
141 | Gavin Drexler | 1-2 | 1.5 pts
L to #29 Haiden Drury (Utah Valley); Dec 2-0
W over Kaden Smith (Oklahoma); MD 8-0
L to #30 Cole Brooks (Wyoming); MD 14-4
285 | Devon Dawson | 1-2 | 0.5 pts
L to #5 Zach Elam (Missouri); Dec 1-0
W over #15 Tyrell Gordon (Northern Iowa); Dec 5-2
L to #11 Konner Doucet (Oklahoma State); Dec 4-0
125 | Ryan Henningson | 0-2
L to #21 Tanner Jordan (South Dakota State); Fall 5:26
L to #7 Stevo Poulin (Northern Colorado); Fall 1:09
133 | Fernando Barreto | 0-2
L to #3 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State); TF 18-3
L to Hunter Leake (California Baptist); Dec 6-2
157 | Landen Johnson | 0-2
L to #13 Ryder Downey (Northern Iowa); TF 15-0
L to Sloan Swan (Wyoming); MD 11-0
165 | Brendan Howes | 0-2
L to #8 Peyton Hall (West Virginia); TF 16-1
L to #13 Giano Petrucelli (Air Force); Dec 5-0
184 | Adam Cherne | 0-2
L to Colton Hawks (Missouri); MD 17-3
L to #8 Bennett Berge (South Dakota State); MD 17-4
