FARGO, N.D. - North Dakota State wrestling heads back on the road to close out the final dual of the season, making the trek down I-29 to face rival South Dakota State. The Bison will wrestle at SDSU on Sunday, February 22, taking on the Jackrabbits at First Bank & Trust Arena with the dual set to get underway at 2 p.m.
 
Dual Coverage
The dual at South Dakota State will be streamed live on MidCo Sports Plus. Live results will be through TrackWrestling. Links for coverage are available on GoBison.com.
 
North Dakota State Probable Lineup
125: #21 Ezekiel Witt (19-10)
133: Tristan Daugherty (13-11)
141: Michael Olson (7-14) or Devon Harrison (9-9)
149: #16 Max Petersen (12-5)
157: Gavin Drexler (11-8) or Gabriel Gallardo (8-3)
165: Boeden Greenley (13-15)
174: Max Magayna (13-13) or Tyler Secoy (4-8)
184: #28 Aidan Brenot (11-7) or Andrew McMonagle (16-7)
197: #24 Devin Wasley (19-8)
285: Shilo Jones (9-12) or Drew Blackburn-Forst (12-10)
 
South Dakota State Probable Lineup
125: #20 Brady Roark (17-3) or Daniel Guanajuato (15-5)
133: #23 Derrick Cardinal (7-3) or Cale Seaton (13-8)
141: #17 Julian Tagg (15-4)
149: Colin Dupill (5-10) or Alek Martin (5-7)
157: #17 Cael Swensen (21-4)
165: #26 Marcus Espinoza-Owens (12-9)
174: #17 Moses Espinoza-Owens (23-6)
184: Jarrett Wadsen (13-2) or Jared Thiry (16-8)
197: #5 Bennett Berge (12-2)
285: #33 Luke Rasmussen (9-7) or Micah Hach (18-3)
 
Ranked Bison
Seven Bison are ranked in various polls headed into this week's dual finale. Four Bison are ranked in three major rankings, along with the coach an RBI rankings releases. Max Petersen (149) leads the way, ranked #13 in the RPI and #16 in InterMat. Ezekiel Witt (125), Aidan Brenot (184) and Devin Wasley (197) are also in all five rankings. Tristan Daugherty (133) appears in three rankings, while Gavin Drexler (157) appears in two and Max Magayna (174) makes an appearance in the RPI Top 33.
 
Series History
The Bison and Jackrabbits will meet for the 73rd time on the wrestling mat on Sunday, with the Bison holding a 45-26-1 all-record lead in the series. South Dakota State has won the last four meetings, With NDSU win the previous four before that. NDSU is 15-9-1 in the Division I era, but 4-8 in the Big 12 era.
 
Battle for The Border Bell
Sunday is the 13th annual Battle for the Border Bell between North Dakota State and South Dakota State. The winner claims the traveling trophy, a 100-pound kettle bell, which was introduced during the 2013-14 season. In recent memory NDSU won for three-straight seasons from 2019-21, but SDSU has claimed the bell the last four years. SDSU leads the Border Bell series 7-5.
 
Bison Facing Some of the Best
Including this weekend, nine of NDSU's 16 Division I opponents this season are currently ranked in the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll. NDSU had the fifth strongest strength of schedule in the fall semester and the 12th strongest currently. The schedule closes strong with the final three opponents currently ranked in the NWCA Top 25.
 
At the beginning of the season, the Bison were set to face seven programs that started the 2025-26 season in the top 25, along with three other programs that received votes in the opening rankings of the year. The Bison have six traditional Power 4 programs on the schedule, with four of those duals coming in the first two months of the season.
 
Petersen Recording Key Wins with Tough Schedule
Max Petersen continued to add to his resume this season with a dominating win at Oregon State. Going up against #25 Noah Tolentino, Petersen secured six takedowns in a 19-4 tech fall in a top-25 battle.
 
Petersen has multiple top-25 wins this year, as he secured a 6-5 win over #16 Caleb Rathjen of Northern Iowa to start his season. Since then, Petersen has wrestled the ninth toughest schedule at 149 in the country and reeled off an 12-5 record. All five of Petersen's losses have come to wrestlers currently in the top 20 of the performance index.
 
Petersen has recorded multiple upsets, including an 8-3 win over #20 Lucas Kapusta at the Davidson Duals to go along with his season-opening win. Petersen has wins against five wrestlers currently in the Top 33, which also included a key win in his home state at Minnesota against Drew Roberts. Petersen also has eight wins against the top 50 of 307 wrestlers in the weight class.
 
Looking Ahead
NDSU will shift focus to postseason tournament play, as the Bison head to the Big 12 Wrestling Championships March 6-7. The Big 12 Championships will once again be held at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.