FARGO, N.D. - North Dakota State wrestling will open up the home schedule for the 2025-26 season by hosting the 54th Annual Bison Open on Sunday, November 9, 2025. The event will take place inside the Scheels Center in the Sanford Health Athletic Complex and is set to get underway at 10 a.m.
 
Anticipated Teams
Along with North Dakota State, the Bison Open field is expected to include wrestlers from Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota State and other regional 4-year and 2-year programs.
 
Coverage
Sunday's tournament will have live statistics through TrackWrestling. Links to the stats are available at GoBison.com/coverage.
 
Last Time at the Bison Open
November 9, 2024
North Dakota State wrestling's Gavin Drexler and Max Magayna led the way for NDSU, claiming Bison Open titles.
 
Drexler started with a 6-5 win over South Dakota State's Daniel Kimball in the 149-pound division. He then secured an 18-1 tech fall over SDSU's Colin Dupill. In his final match, Drexler won 15-0 over Minnesota's Jack Nelson to claim his second Bison Open title after winning the 141-pound title in 2023.
 
Magayna claimed the 174-pound title, also winning with a tech fall in his final match of the day. Magayna reached the final with a 13-3 major decision on Minnesota's Jed Wester, before an 8-0 major decision over Bison Barrett Schneck. In his final match, Magayna dominated with a 16-0 second period tech fall over Minnesota's Silas Dailey.
 
Peyton Moore took second in his NDSU debut at 133 pounds. Moore had a tech fall win over fellow Bison Sean O'Brien, but fell by a tech fall to the 133 champion, Derrick Cardinal of South Dakota State.
 
Andrew Blackburn-Forst also had a second-place finish for NDSU in the heavyweight division. Blackburn-Forst topped fellow Bison Shilo Jones with a 4-1 win in sudden victory, but fell to champion Luke Rasmussen of South Dakota State by an 11-0 major decision.
 
Gabriel Schumm rounded out the top two finishes for NDSU, claiming a second-place finish in the 157-pound round robin. Schumm recorded a pair of pins and a major decision. His only defeat came to champion Charlie Millard of Minnesota by a second period pin.
 
Ranked Bison
North Dakota State has seven Bison ranked in some of the major rankings headed into the weekend, led by 2025 NCAA Qualifiers 157 Gavin Drexler and 184 Aidan Brenot. Drexler sits at #9 by InterMat and #18 by FloWrestling. Brenot is #11 in the InterMat rankings and #19 in Flo.
 
Fellow 2025 NCAA qualifier 133 Tristan Daugherty is 30 in InterMat and 28 in Flo after moving up from 125 last year. 125 Ezekiel Witt, 149 Max Petersen, 174 Max Magayna and 197 Devin Wasley also appear in the rankings this week.
 
Zytavius Williams Wins Collegiate Debut
NDSU freshman Zytavius Williams led the way for the Bison, running through the 141-pound weight class at the Jimmie Open to claim first place in his first collegiate weekend. Williams started with a tech fall before a win in sudden victory in the quarterfinals. Williams then picked up two more wins by decision, including an 8-1 win over Beau Beavers of Sioux Falls in the final.
 
Several Bison Perform Well at Jimmie
Along with Zytavius Williams winning an event title, Kody Tanimoto, Porter Craig and Adam Cherne also reached the finals in their respective weight classes at the Jimmie Open.
 
Tanimoto started with a tech fall at 125 before three-straight wins by decision to reach the final. Craig opened up his collegiate career with a 12-7 victory in his 165-pound quarterfinal match, before securing a tech fall and another win by decision to reach the final. Cherne was dominant on his way to the 197-pound final, securing tree takedowns in the first two matches on his way to a pair of first-period falls. Cherne then had a tech fall in the semifinal.
 
Looking Ahead
North Dakota State will remain at home and host Concordia-Moorhead in the only home dual of the fall semester on November 13. The dual against the Cobbers is set to get underway at 6 p.m. inside the Scheels Center in the Sanford Health Athletic Complex.