Friday, March 20
Cleveland, Ohio
11 a.m.
North Dakota State Athletics
vs
NCAA Championships
Photo by: Larry Slater
NDSU Wrestling Season Ends On Day Two of NCAA Championships
3/20/2026 4:04:00 PM | Wrestling
CLEVELAND, Ohio – North Dakota State wrestling's season came to a close on Friday, as Ezekiel Witt and Max Petersen were eliminated in the final 16 on the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Rocket Arena.
Both Witt and Petersen picked up a win Friday afternoon in their first consolation matches of the day, before falling later on in session three.
Witt started off the day with a major decision victory over #18 seed Spencer Moore of Illinois. Late in the first period, Witt fended off a takedown attempt and rolled it into his own takedown to grab the lead. In the second period, he added a second takedown and transitioned it immediately into three near fall points to put him on the edge of bonus-point territory. He would add a third takedown in the final seconds of the third to secure a 13-2 victory with a riding time point.
Petersen then also scored bonus points for NDSU in a win over #9 seed David Evans of Utah Valley. Trailing 4-1 in the second period and in a tie up, Petersen circled Evans into a cradle and secured his first pin of the season at 4:21. The win avenged a loss to Evans two weeks ago in the Big 12 Championships.
In their second matches, Witt fell to #7 seed Nico Provo of Stanford 8-2 and Petersen dropped a 10-6 decision to #16 seed Jacob Frost of Iowa State. Witt's season ends with a 25-13 record and Petersen closes out the year at 17-10.
NDSU finishes the NCAA Championships with 6.0 team points and sits in 33rd out of 70 teams competing after session three.
NDSU Wrestling Results
149 | Max Petersen | 2-2 | 4.0 pts
L to #10 Aden Valencia (Stanford); MD 18-6
W over #26 Anderson Heap (Davidson); MD 12-2
W over #9 David Evans (Utah Valley); Fall 4:21
L to #16 Jacob Frost (Iowa State); Dec 10-6
125 | Ezekiel Witt | 2-2 | 2.0 pts
L to #17 Jett Strickenberger (West Virginia); MD 13-5
W over #32 Mack Mauger (Missouri); Dec 6-2
W over #18 Spencer Moore (Illinois); MD 13-2
L to #7 Nico Provo (Stanford); Dec 8-2
157 | Gavin Drexler | 0-2
L to #5 Landon Robideau (Oklahoma State); Dec 5-1
L to #12 Vinny Zerban (Iowa State); MD 11-0
184 | Aidan Brenot | 0-2
L to #6 Eddie Neitenbach (Wyoming); MD 14-1
L to #11 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (Rutgers); Dec 7-2
197 | Devin Wasley | 0-2
L to #11 Camden McDaniel (Nebraska); Dec 7-2
L to #27 Gabe Arnold (Iowa); Dec 7-2
Both Witt and Petersen picked up a win Friday afternoon in their first consolation matches of the day, before falling later on in session three.
Witt started off the day with a major decision victory over #18 seed Spencer Moore of Illinois. Late in the first period, Witt fended off a takedown attempt and rolled it into his own takedown to grab the lead. In the second period, he added a second takedown and transitioned it immediately into three near fall points to put him on the edge of bonus-point territory. He would add a third takedown in the final seconds of the third to secure a 13-2 victory with a riding time point.
Petersen then also scored bonus points for NDSU in a win over #9 seed David Evans of Utah Valley. Trailing 4-1 in the second period and in a tie up, Petersen circled Evans into a cradle and secured his first pin of the season at 4:21. The win avenged a loss to Evans two weeks ago in the Big 12 Championships.
In their second matches, Witt fell to #7 seed Nico Provo of Stanford 8-2 and Petersen dropped a 10-6 decision to #16 seed Jacob Frost of Iowa State. Witt's season ends with a 25-13 record and Petersen closes out the year at 17-10.
NDSU finishes the NCAA Championships with 6.0 team points and sits in 33rd out of 70 teams competing after session three.
NDSU Wrestling Results
149 | Max Petersen | 2-2 | 4.0 pts
L to #10 Aden Valencia (Stanford); MD 18-6
W over #26 Anderson Heap (Davidson); MD 12-2
W over #9 David Evans (Utah Valley); Fall 4:21
L to #16 Jacob Frost (Iowa State); Dec 10-6
125 | Ezekiel Witt | 2-2 | 2.0 pts
L to #17 Jett Strickenberger (West Virginia); MD 13-5
W over #32 Mack Mauger (Missouri); Dec 6-2
W over #18 Spencer Moore (Illinois); MD 13-2
L to #7 Nico Provo (Stanford); Dec 8-2
157 | Gavin Drexler | 0-2
L to #5 Landon Robideau (Oklahoma State); Dec 5-1
L to #12 Vinny Zerban (Iowa State); MD 11-0
184 | Aidan Brenot | 0-2
L to #6 Eddie Neitenbach (Wyoming); MD 14-1
L to #11 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (Rutgers); Dec 7-2
197 | Devin Wasley | 0-2
L to #11 Camden McDaniel (Nebraska); Dec 7-2
L to #27 Gabe Arnold (Iowa); Dec 7-2
Players Mentioned
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