Five NDSU wrestlers claimed individual championships to automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships scheduled for March 19-21 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. Bison head coach Roger Kish was named Coach of the Year.
North Dakota State 125-pounder Josh Rodriguez was named the NCAA West Regional/WWC Most Outstanding Wrestler coming through the tournament's toughest bracket with a 3-1 decision over Wyoming's Tyler Cox in the championship match. The 125-pound weight class advanced five of the six competitors to the NCAA Championships.
Rodriguez, a sophomore from Guadalupe, Calif., opened with an 8-1 decision over Utah Valley's Chasen Tolbert in his first match. Rodriguez, who had lost to Tolbert during the dual season, improved to 17-7 overall.
NDSU redshirt freshman 141-pound Mitch Bengtson (St. Cloud, Minn.) earned a 7-6 tie breaker-2 overtime win over South Dakota State's Lucas Zilverberg. Bengtson trailed 3-0 entering the third period, but rallied to take a 4-3 lead with time running out. After a video review, Zilverberg was awarded an escape to the score at 4-4. The first-minute overtime was scoreless, the wrestlers traded escapes in a pair of 30-second periods, and went scoreless again in the second one-minute overtime. Bengtson recorded a takedown in the first 30-second period and held off Zilverberg in the second 30 to post the win.
It was the second overtime win of the afternoon for Bengtson, who registered a 5-4 tie breaker-1 overtime win against Northern Colorado's Benjamin Polkowske. Bengtson improved to 23-10 overall.
NDSU redshirt freshman 149-pound Clay Ream (Wentzville, Mo.) grinded out a 12-2 major decision over South Dakota State's Alex Kocer in the championship match. Ream opened with a 4-0 decision over Gerald McGinty of Air Force in the semifinals. Ream raised his overall record to 23-11.
North Dakota State senior Kurtis Julson (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) received an injury forfeit to claim the 174-pound championship. Julson was the runner-up at 184 last season and third at 174 pounds as a sophomore. Julson defeated South Dakota State's David Kocer 4-2 to advance. Julson improved to 18-9 overall and will make his second NCAA Championships appearance.
Hayden Zillmer, a junior from Crosby, Minn., claimed his second straight NCAA West Region/WWC championship -- this one at 184 pounds. He won the 174-pound title last season. Zillmer defeated Wyoming's Ben Stroh 6-2 in the championship match. He opened with his eighth pin of the season by dispatching Zen Ikehara of Air Force at 5:30. Zillmer, who has won 10 straight matches, raised his overall record to 31-4.
NDSU 285-pound senior Evan Knutson (Wausau, Wis.) was denied his second straight NCAA West Region/WWC title. Knutson lost a 5-3 decision to South Dakota State's J.J. Everard in the championship match. Knutson, who is 24-8 overall, earned a 4-2 decision over Northern Colorado's Brian Macchione to advance.
North Dakota State 157 redshirt freshman Grant Nehring (Kimball, Minn.) turned in one of the fastest pins of the NCAA West Region/WWC tournament and went 2-2 to place fourth. He recorded a fall over Air Force's Samuel Kreimier at 1:53 to make the semifinals. Eventual champion SDSU's Cody Pack posted a 17-5 major decision over Nehring, who rebounded with a 5-1 decision over Utah Valley's Logan Addis. Northern Colorado's Beau Roberts defeated Nehring 8-4 in the third place match.
NDSU 197 redshirt freshman Tommy Petersen (Lakeville, Minn.) went 1-2 at the NCAA West Region/WWC tournament. Petersen opened with a 5-3 win over South Dakota State's Nathan Rotert, but lost to Northern Colorado's Trent Noon 9-2 and Jack Carda of Air Force by the score of 3-2. Petersen finished with a 10-18 record. Bison 133 redshirt freshman Kyle Gliva (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) and 165 redshirt sophomore Steven Keogh (Thief River Falls, Minn.) each went 0-2.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now