North Dakota State wrestling headed east to Charlottesville, Virginia, to open the season against the Virginia Cavaliers. The Bison dropped the opening meet 34-6. They lost eight matches and won two, with Aidan Brenot and Max Petersen both securing wins over decision.
Senior Tristian Daugherty would be the NDSU representative for the 125 class. He lost to Virginia’s junior Keyveon Roller by decision, 4-2. Roller would secure the first takedown and then hold on to the lead. Virginia’s Gabe Porter would defeat NDSU’s Kyle Burwick at 133 with the same score of 4-2 by decision. Porter also secured the first takedown and then controlled the match from there. Senior Kellyn March would come up one point shy of Virginia’s Kyren Butler at 5-4 in the 141 class. March would go up 4-0 in the match before Butler rallied back to snag the win from the Bison.
NDSU would break the Cavs’ 9-0 run with Max Petersen’s victory over Erik Roggie at 149. Petersen secured the victory with a score of 6-3 after trailing 3-1 early in the match. His takedown with around 80 seconds left in the third period.
Virginia’s Michael Grioffe would get the Cavs’ back in the win column as he defeated the Bison’s Boeden Greenly 12-1 at 157. Grioffe claimed a major decision in the match. The Bison would drop the next two, with NDSU’s Brendan Howes falling to Nick Hamilton 7-3 at 165. Then NDSU sophomore Devin Wasley would lose by tech fall to Rocco Contino at 174. The final score was 22-6.
North Dakota State would once again snap Virginia’s winning run with Aidan Brenot picking up the win by decision at 184 over Virginia’s Hadyn Danals 9-4. Brenot battled back 3-0, taking control of the match with nine unanswered points. He had a pair of takedowns, two stalling points and a final point for riding to end the match.
North Dakota State would lose the final two matches with the Bison’s Michael Baker losing by fall to Max Shulaw in the second period for the 197 class. The final match of the opening meet, NDSU’s Drew Blackburn-Forst would lose at 285 to Gabe Christenson 9-1 by major decision.
After suffering defeat in Charlottesville to start the season, NDSU wrestling would participate in two tournaments on Saturday. The first tournament would be the Southeast Open hosted by the Virginia Tech Hokies, which would see the Bison have eight placing finishes. Max Magayna would take the top step in the 174 freshman/sophomore division with four wins. His first three wins were all by fall, and his final win came by major decision with a score of 11-3.
Tayshuan Glover would finish 4th in the 184 freshman/sophomore division. He went 2-2, winning his first two matches, then dropping his last two by disqualification and forfeit. Tyler Secoy would be a non-place finisher in the 165 freshman/sophomore division, going 2-2 with a win via decision and major decision.
Aidan Brenot would be the highest-placing Bison in the open division in Salem. He placed second in the 184 class, going 3-1 with three straight wins before falling to West Virginia Ian Bush by major decision. Brenden Howes came third for the 165 class, going 4-1 with two wins by major decision, one by tech fall, and one win by fall. He lost his third match by decision 9-3. Gavin Drexler also finished third for the 149 class with a 4-1 record.
Winning his first two matches by a 5-1 decision and tech fall, he lost his third on a 5-2 decision. Drexler won his final two matches to claim 3rd. Kyle Burwick placed fourth in the 133 class, going 4-2. With an opening loss, he won his next four matches and narrowly lost his last match with a 5-4 decision. Max Petersen finished fourth in the 149 class with a 3-2 record.
He opened the first two matches with victories via major decision and tech fall before losing to nationally ranked sixth 149-pound wrestler Lachlan McNeil by decision 9-4. Petersen would find a 16-10 win before losing to teammate Gavin Drexler by major decision.
The final place finish for the Bison was Kellyn March, with a sixth place finish in the 141 class. He went 2-2, winning his first two matches by fall. The Bison had three non-placing finishers, with Boeden Greenley going 2-2 in the 157 class, Michael Baker finishing 2-2 in the 197 class, and Andrew Blackburn-Frost losing both of his matches in 285.
The second tournament North Dakota State participated in was the Jimmie Open, held in Jamestown, North Dakota. The Bison had six placing finishes out of the eight wrestlers participating in the tournament, with three first-place finishes. Ezekiel Witt took first in the 125 class, going 4-0 with three wins by fall and a 7-1 win by decision. Gabriel Schumm took victory in the 157 class, going 5-0 with three wins by fall, a 10-7 decision, and a 17-1 tech fall, Schumm bested teammate Clay Radenz by fall. Radenez took second place in 157, winning his first three matches with two tech falls and a fall before losing to Schumm.
Luke Baker took NDSU’s third victory for the 165 class. Baker went 3-0 with a 5-0 decision, 11-0 major decision and 16-10 decision. Kody Tanimoto grabbed third place in the 125 class, going 2-1 and winning his first match via a 12-9 decision, dropping his second via a 10-1 major decision, and winning his final match with a tight 3-2 decision victory. The final placing finish for NDSU was Alex Kowalchyk, with a fourth place finish in the 174 class.
Kowalchyk went 1-2, winning his first match in a 3-2 decision, then losing his final two matches by major decision and tech fall. The first of the two non-placing wrestlers in Jamestown for NDSU was Dante Hutchings, who went 2-2 in the 165 class. He lost his first match in a 7-6 decision, then won back-to-back matches by an 11-3 major decision and a 6-5 decision. He would drop his final match by fall. The second non-placing finish would be Gideon Cole, who went 0-2 in the 141 class, losing a 6-5 narrow decision and a 16-1 tech fall.
North Dakota State will play its home opener against Oregon State on Friday next week, then host the Bison Open on Saturday morning.