CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – North Dakota State wrestling fell to Northern Iowa 27-11 Sunday afternoon in the Big 12 opener at the McLeod Center. NDSU had a pair of upset ranked wins and a tech fall in the loss.
 
Ezekiel Witt started off the dual for the Bison with an upset on a final second takedown. Witt trailed 1-0 in the third after selecting neutral to start the period. Witt then secured a takedown over #14 Trever Anderson in the final seconds to secure a 3-1 victory.
 
After a pair of major decisions from Northern Iowa, Max Petersen made his season debut and picked up another upset, securing a 6-5 win over #16 Caleb Rathjen. Petersen had a takedown into what appeared to be back points and a near pin. However, the matched was stopped and near fall points were taken away, due to an injury to Rathjen. However, the match resumed a minute later and Petersen held on for the victory.
 
True freshman Gabriel Gallardo then battled Cael Rahnavardi, securing a takedown and a reversal, but fell in a close match 10-6 in Gallardo's first match at 157 pounds.
 
Northern Iowa started the second half with back-to-back major decisions, and then clinched the dual with a 4-2 win at 184 pounds.
 
Devin Wasley would close out the NDSU wins with a dominant tech fall at 197. Wasley scored a takedown and a two-point nearfall in the first period, before a reversal and a pair of four-point nearfalls for a 15-0 win over John Gunderson.
 
The Panthers would add their own tech fall in the heavyweight match to close out the dual.

North Dakota State will return to action on December 7, as the Bison travel to Minneapolis to take on Minnesota. The dual between the Bison and Gophers is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start at Maturi Pavilion.
 
#15 Northern Iowa 27, North Dakota State 11
November 23, 2025 | McLeod Center | Cedar Falls, Iowa
125 | #33 Ezekiel Witt (NDSU) over #14 Trever Anderson (UNI), Dec 3-1; NDSU 3-0
133 | #16 Julian Farber (UNI) over #30 Tristan Daugherty (NDSU), MD 12-1; UNI 4-3
141 | #16 Cory Land (UNI) over Michael Olson (NDSU), MD 11-3; UNI 8-3
149 | Max Petersen (NDSU) over #16 Caleb Rathjen (UNI), Dec 6-5; UNI 8-6
157 | Cael Rahnavardi (UNI) over Gabriel Gallardo (NDSU), Dec 10-6; UNI 11-6
165 | #12 Ryder Downey over Tyler Secoy (NDSU), MD 18-4; UNI 15-6
174 | #10 Jared Simma (UNI) over Max Magayna (NDSU), MD 12-3; UNI 19-6
184 | #28 CJ Walrath (UNI) over Andrew McMonagle (NDSU), Dec 4-2; UNI 22-6
197 | Devin Wasley (NDSU) over John Gunderson (UNI), TF 15-0; UNI 22-11
285 | #14 Wyatt Voelker over Shilo Jones (NDSU), TF 20-5; UNI 27-11