FARGO, N.D. - North Dakota State wrestling returns home to the Scheels Center and welcomes in California Baptist on Sunday, January 25, for the first of three-straight duals at home to close out the home schedule for the 25-26 season. The Bison host the Lancers at 1 p.m. inside the Sanford Health Athletic Complex.
 
North Dakota State Probable Lineup
125: #17 Ezekiel Witt (16-7) or Kody Tanimoto (7-10)
133: #32 Tristan Daugherty (9-9)
141: Michael Olson (7-10) or Aidan Wells (6-7)
149: #21 Max Petersen (9-5)
157: Gavin Drexler (5-8) or Brandon Dean (2-6)
165: Boeden Greenley (12-10)
174: Max Magayna (9-11)
184: #30 Aidan Brenot (7-6) or Andrew McMonagle (12-6)
197: Devin Wasley (15-6)
285: Shilo Jones (7-8) or Drew Blackburn-Forst (8-9)
 
Cal Baptist Probable Lineup
125: Cooper Shore (3-10) or Mitchell Neiner (0-2)
133: Richard Murillo (7-4)
141: Jesse Vasquez (5-3)
149: Paul Kelly (10-5)
157: #29 Drayden Morton (9-7)
165: Timothy Cowan (1-7) or Gabriel Schumm (3-3)
174: Mason Espinoza (6-9)
184: David Alonso (4-11)
197: Eli Sheeren (5-8)
285: Tristan Kemp (8-8)
 
Dual Coverage
Sunday's dual with California Baptist will be televised live on WDAY Xtra and will also be streamed live on NDSU All-Access. Live results will be through TrackWrestling. Links for coverage are available on GoBison.com.
 
Tickets
Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for youth ages 3-17. Tickets are available online at GoBison.com/tickets, by calling/visiting the Bison Ticket Office, and will also be available on Sunday at the door.
 
Series History
NDSU takes on CBU for the sixth time, as the Bison look to extend a perfect streak. NDSU is 5-0 all-time, dating back to January 2021. NDSU is 2-0 in duals held in Fargo and the Bison won 24-13 last season in Riverside.
 
Wrestler of the Week
Devin Wasley was named the Big 12 Wrestler of the Week on Wednesday after a 3-0 weekend at the Davidson Duals, including a top-10 win. Wasley is the first Bison to win the award since Max Petersen in November 2023.
 
Ranked Bison
Five Bison are ranked heading into Sunday's dual. Ezekiel Witt (125) leads the way for NDSU sitting at #19 in the Flo rankings and #17 in Intermat. Max Petersen (149) sits at #23 in Flo and #21 in InterMat.
 
Aidan Brenot (184) is #30 in InterMat, while Tristan Daugherty (133) is #32 in InterMat and Devin Wasley (197) sits at #28 in Flo.
 
Mr. Gator Bacon
Ezekiel Witt has recorded multiple gator bacon moves to secure victories since the turn of the new year. Witt made a splash when he pulled the move in sudden victory at the Southern Scuffle to defeat Andrew Binni of Navy in the semifinal, securing the winning takedown and four near fall points before time expired on a pin. Witt then pulled the move again at the Davidson Duals, using it to secure a pin of Bucknell's Kade Davidheiser, which proved to be the decisive point in a win for NDSU.
 
Witt has recorded two upset Top-15 victories in this season, beginning with an upset of #14 Trever Anderson of Northern Iowa in a dual in November. After a narrow defeat against All-American and #8 Jore Volk at Minnesota, Witt took down #12 Nico Provo of Stanford 7-2 in Nashville in December. Witt then narrowly missed another upset, falling 6-5 to Penn State's #2 Luke Lilledahl later the same day in Nashville. At the Southern Scuffle, Witt reached the final, taking two-time All-American #4 Eddie Ventresca of Virginia Tech to sudden victory.
 
Since mid-November, the redshirt freshman is 13-4, including 6-3 in duals, with all four losses coming to wrestlers ranked inside the top-15.
 
Wasley Taking Control at 197
Devin Wasley moved up two weight classes in 2025-26, making the jump from 174 to 197, and the junior has begun to develop some momentum. After a pair of tough defeats to start the year, Wasley started to grow into the weight class, reeling off eight-straight victories, including a title at the Daktronics Invitational and avenging a loss from earlier in the season in the dual at Minnesota.
 
In Nashville, Wasley fell to currently ranked #17 Angelo Posada of Stanford and #1 Josh Barr of Penn State, snapping his streak. However, Wasley has continued to impress, topping #29 Wolfgang Frable of Army at the Southern Scuffle and has won four-straight duals, including a 5-0 win over then #10 Dillon Bechtold of Bucknell last week.
 
Wasley has shown strength in his riding, maximizing his points. In his last 15 matches, Wasley is 11-4, with all four defeats coming to currently ranked wrestlers. He has recorded earning 39 near fall points on 16 takedowns and has also scored four reversals. In his 11 wins during the span, four have ended early with tech falls, and he has secured riding time points in six of the other seven victories.
 
Petersen Recording Key Wins With Tough Schedule
Max Petersen made his season debut and picked up an upset, securing a 6-5 win over #16 Caleb Rathjen to start his season. Since, Petersen has wrestled the fourth toughest schedule at 149 in the country and reeled off a 9-5 record. All five of Petersen's losses have come to wrestlers currently in the top 15 of the performance index.
 
Petersen has recorded multiple upsets, including an 8-3 win over #20 Lucas Kapusta at Davidson last week. Petersen has wins against four wrestlers currently in the Top 33, which also included a key win in his home state at Minnesota against Drew Roberts. Petersen also has six wins against the top 50 of 307 wrestlers in the weight class.
 
Looking Ahead
North Dakota State wraps up the home schedule for 2025-26, welcoming in Northern Colorado on Friday, January 30 and Air Force on Sunday, February 1. The Bison host the Golden Bears at 7 p.m., before taking on the Falcons at 1 p.m., with both duals hosted at the Scheels Center inside the Sanford Health Athletic Complex.