FARGO, N.D. - North Dakota State wrestling returns from the Thanksgiving holiday break and will travel to Minneapolis to take on No. 11 Minnesota on Sunday, December 7. The dual between the Bison and Gophers is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start at Maturi Pavilion.
 
Dual Coverage
Sunday's dual with Minnesota will be streamed live online through Big Ten Network Plus and will also have live results through TrackWrestling. Links for coverage will be available on GoBison.com.
 
The Series
The Bison meet Minnesota for the 25th time on Sunday, and for the 11th time in NDSU's Div. I era. The Gophers lead the series 22-2, including 20-straight meetings. NDSU's last win came on December 5, 1970, when NDSU won 25-10 in Minneapolis. NDSU is 2-5 all-time in Minneapolis, with a 21-14 win on December 5, 1969 in the other victory. Minnesota won 33-7 the last time at Maturi Pavilion in 2023 and won 39-0 last season in Fargo.
 
North Dakota State Lineup
125 | #30 Ezekiel Witt (7-3, 20-7)
133 | #28 Tristan Daugherty (4-3, 40-38)
141 | #33 Michael Olson (4-2, 16-12)
149 | #29 Max Petersen (1-0, 52-25)
157 | #9 Gavin Drexler (0-1, 55-27)
165 | Boeden Greenley (5-3, 33-30)
174 | Max Magayna (4-5, 16-10)
184 | #14 Aidan Brenot (0-1, 32-27)
197 | Devin Wasley (7-2, 42-29)
285 | Drew Blackburn-Forst (2-3, 24-27)
 
Minnesota Lineup
125 | #8 Jore Volk (12-2, 65-21)
133 | Chris Cannon (3-5, 58-36) or Brandon Morvari (1-5, 5-11)
141 | #11 Vance Vombaur (10-3, 62-25) or Dawson Johnson (7-3, 7-3)
149 | Drew Roberts (4-2, 51-24) or Charles Vanier (6-1, 6-1)
157 | #21 Charlie Millard (11-3, 11-3)
165 | #9 Andrew Sparks (11-2, 55-31)
174 | #25 Ethan Riddle (9-4, 25-10)
184 | #3 Max McEnelly (8-1, 33-3)
197 | #19 Gavin Nelson (6-6, 16-6) or Gabe Nagel (4-3, 29-14)
285 | #15 Koy Hopke (10-3, 10-3)
 
Ranked Bison
North Dakota State has seven Bison ranked in some of the major rankings headed into the week, led by 2025 NCAA Qualifiers 157 Gavin Drexler and 184 Aidan Brenot. Drexler sits at #9 by InterMat and #16 by FloWrestling. Brenot is #14 in the InterMat rankings and #20 in Flo.
 
Fellow 2025 NCAA qualifier 133 Tristan Daugherty is #28 in InterMat and #29 in Flo after moving up from 125 last year. 125 Ezekiel Witt and 149 Max Petersen also appear in the both rankings. Witt sits at #30 in InterMat and is at #32 in the Flo rankings. Petersen is #25 in Flo and #29 in InterMat. 141 Michael Olson is ranked for the first time, coming in at #33 in InterMat. Devin Wasley also is ranked by WrestleStat this week, coming in at #33.
 
Witt, Petersen Record Upsets at UNI
Ezekiel Witt started off the dual at Northern Iowa with an upset on a final second takedown. Witt trailed 1-0 in the third after selecting neutral to start the period. In the closing seconds, Witt finally secured a takedown over #14 Trever Anderson, taking him to the mat with just two seconds remaining to secure a 3-1 victory.
 
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 four swipes and was nearing a pin with Rathjen all but flat on his back when the matched was stopped, due to an injury to Rathjen. However, the match resumed a minute later and near fall points were taken away. However, Petersen held on for the victory.
 
Looking Ahead
North Dakota State will have another two-week break, before returning to action on December 20, as the Bison travel to Nashville, Tennessee to take on Stanford and Penn State at the Journeymen Collegiate National Duals, hosted at Montgomery Bell Academy. The Bison are scheduled for a 2 p.m. start against Stanford before facing Penn State at 4 p.m.