No. 23-ranked North Dakota State (8-3) steps out of conference to host No. 4-ranked University of Minnesota (11-2) in a NWCA National Duals Regional at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15, at the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse. The eight regional winners will set up a finale weekend on Feb. 21-22 at the University of Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The EAS Sports Nutrition/NWCA National Duals are presented by Hibiclens and the United States Marines Corps in honor of Cliff Keen.
The Lineups
#23 North Dakota State Bison (8-3 Overall, 4-0 WWC)
Wt. (InterMatRanking) Name (Overall, Dual Record)
125 #13 Josh Rodriguez (14-6, 9-2)
133 Kyle Gliva (5-8, 0-4) OR Hunter Weber (10-14, 1-3)
141 Mitch Bengtson (20-9, 8-3) OR Clay Cathey (9-7, 0-0)
149 Clay Ream (20-10, 9-2)
157 Grant Nehring (6-10, 3-3) OR Mitchell Friedman (12-12, 0-0)
165 Steven Keogh (7-14, 1-6) OR Trevour Chavez (4-10, 0-4)
174 Kurtis Julson (14-9, 6-5)
184 #9 Hayden Zillmer (27-4, 11-0)
197 Tommy Petersen (9-14, 1-7)
285 #15 Evan Knutson (21-7, 9-2)
#4 Minnesota Gophers (11-2 Overall, 7-2 Big Ten)
Wt. (InterMatRanking) Name (Record, Dual Record)
125 Ethan Lizak (23-10, 1-3)
133 #1 Chris Dardanes (18-0. 6-0)
141 #4 Nick Dardanes (17-2, 7-1) OR Conrad Rangell (9-3, 3-1)
149 Jake Short (13-8, 5-6) OR Seth Lange (12-8, 1-1)
157 #1 Dylan Ness (25-0, 12-0)
165 #17 Nick Wanzek (15-8, 6-4) OR Brandon Kingsley (11-5, 1-2)
174 #4 Logan Storley (22-3, 11-2) OR Jordon Rothers (21-5, 0-0)
184 #13 Brett Pfarr (20-7, 10-3)
197 #5 Scott Schiller (18-4, 8-2)
285 #13 Michael Kroells (18-11, 7-6)
NDSU Wrestling Release (2-12-15).pdf
Minnesota Wrestling Release (2-12-15).pdf
Coverage
All home duals and the NCAA West Regional will be streamed live online at www.GoBison.com/showcase (pay per view) with Fargo-Moorhead radio personality Derek Hanson describing the action and live scoring will be provided through TrackWrestling.
The Series
This will be the 20th meeting between North Dakota State and Minnesota on the mat. The Gophers lead the series 17-2 including a 35-3 win last season at the NWCA National Duals in Columbus, Ohio. North Dakota State’s two wins in the series came during the 1969-70 (21-14) and 1970-71 (25-10) seasons.
Ticket Information
Tickets for the NWCA National Duals vs. Minnesota (Feb. 15) and NCAA West Regional (Mar. 7) are $12 for adult general admission and $5 for youth general admission (ages 3-17). Dual match tickets are $8 for adult general admission and $5 for youth general admission. Season tickets are $50 for adult general admission and $40 for youth general admission. NDSU students receive free admission by presenting your valid NDSU student ID at the door. For more information, call the ticket office at (701) 231-6378 or (888) 231-6378 or email ndsu.bisontickets@ndsu.edu.
NDSU Coaching Staff With Minnesota, Big Ten Flair
North Dakota State head coach Roger Kish was a two-time NCAA runner-up and two-time NCAA All-American at 184 pounds for the Gophers, while NDSU assistant coach Manny Rivera was a three-time NCAA qualifier for Minnesota and earned All-American honors at 141 pounds. In addition, first-year Bison assistant Derek St. John was a four-time NCAA All-American and the 2013 national champion at 157 pounds for the University of Iowa.
Top Matchups Between The Bison & The Gophers
The top individual match should come at 184 pounds as North Dakota State’s Hayden Zillmer will face Minnesota’s Brett Pfarr. The two met earlier this season with Zillmer taking a victory in overtime. Heavyweights Evan Knutson of North Dakota State and Michael Kroells of Minnesota should also be highly competitive.
Bison in the Rankings
North Dakota State is ranked 19th in the InterMat.com Dual rankings, 20th in the WIN Wrestling Magazine’s Dual rankings and 23rd in the USA Today/NWCA Top 25. The Bison are also tied for 37th with North Carolina in WIN’s Tournament Power Index (TPI). The next Dual and TPI rankings will be released Feb. 17 …
… Individually, in the first NCAA Coaches Panel individual rankings (Jan. 22), 125 sophomore Josh Rodriguez (14-6) is No. 17, 141 redshirt freshman Mitch Bengtson (20-9) is No. 30, 174 senior Kurtis Julson (14-9) is No. 24, 184 junior Hayden Zillmer (27-4) is No. 7, and 285 senior Evan Knutson (20-7) is No. 17 … Next ranking will be released Feb. 12 …
… In the InterMat.com (Feb. 10) individual weight class rankings, 184 Zillmer is No. 9, 125 Rodriguez is No. 13 and 285 Knutson is No. 15 …
… In The Open Mat.com (Feb. 10) rankings, 184 Zillmer is No. 8, 285 Knutson is No. 18 and 125 Rodriguez is No. 20 …
… In the Amateur Wrestling News (Feb. 10) rankings, 184 Zillmer is No. 8, Rodriguez is No. 13 and 285 Knutson is No. 19 …
… In the WIN Wrestling Magazine (Feb. 9) rankings, 184 Zillmer is No. 10, 285 Knutson is No. 18 and 125 Rodriguez is No. 20 …
… In Asics/Flowrestling Rankings (Feb. 10) rankings, 184 Zillmer is No. 7, and 125 Rodriguez is No. 13 and 285 Knutson are No. 19.