North Dakota State University (4-6, 2-2 #Big12WR) is scheduled to compete at the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on March 17-19 at Madison Square Garden in New York City … Representing NDSU are 125-pound redshirt junior Josh Rodriguez, 149-pound redshirt sophomore Clay Ream and 184-pound redshirt senior Hayden Zillmer … Action gets underway at 11 a.m. Central Time on Thursday, March 17.
NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Madison Square Garden, New York City
Thursday, March 17
11 a.m. – 3 p.m. CT — First Session – Pigtails and First-Round Competition
6 – 10 p.m. CT — Second Session – Preliminaries: Wrestle-Back Prelims (pigtail matches) as needed; Wrestle-Back First Round. Followed by Championship Round, Second Round and Consolation Round
Friday, March 18
10 a.m. – 2 p.m. CT — Third Session – Quarterfinals; Wrestle-Back Second and Third Rounds
7 – 10:30 p.m. CT — Fourth Session- Semifinals; Wrestle-back Fourth Round on. Followed by Wrestle-Back fifth rounds
Saturday, March 19
10 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. CT — Fifth Session- Three Mats, *Wrestle-Back Semifinals followed by third, fifth and seventh place medal round matches.
6:35- 6:50 p.m. CT — Grand March Parade of All-Americans.
7 – 10 p.m. CT — Sixth Session — Individual weight class awards. Championship Finals.
Coverage
Live scoring will be provided through TrackWrestling.com … Live video available through WatchESPN/ESPN3 … ESPNU will broadcast on Thursday, March 17, and ESPN will provide coverage on Friday, March 18, and Saturday, March 19, including the championship finals at 7 p.m. CT.
Zillmer No. 12 Seed, Rodriguez No .14 Seed at NCAA Wrestling Championships
The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship brackets were revealed March 9 for North Dakota State’s 125-pound Josh Rodriguez, 149-pound Clay Ream and 184-pound Hayden Zillmer … Rodriguez, a redshirt junior from Guadalupe, Calif. (Righetti H.S.), is making his second straight trip to the NCAA Championships … He placed third at 125 pounds at the recent Big 12 Championships to earn an automatic qualifying berth … Seeded No. 14 this year, Rodriguez (34-8) is scheduled to face North Carolina State’s Sean Fausz (16-9) in the opening round of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships … After dropping his first match, Rodriguez went 2-2 at the 2015 NCAA Division I Championships in St. Louis including wins over Dom Forys of Pitt and 13th-ranked Ben Willeford of Cleveland State … Ream, a redshirt sophomore from Wentzville, Mo. (Holt H.S.) is making his second straight trip to the NCAA Championships … He placed third at 149 pounds at the recent Big 12 Championships to earn an automatic qualifying spot … Ream (21-16) is scheduled to open with No. 9-seed Justin Oliver (28-5) of Central Michigan at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships … After losing his first match, Ream went 2-2 at the 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships including wins over Oklahoma State’s Joshua Kindig of Oklahoma State and Ohio State’s Hunter Stieber … Zillmer, a redshirt senior from Crosby, Minn. (Crosby-Ironton H.S.) is making his third straight trip to the NCAA Championships … He was runner-up at 184 pounds at the recent Big 12 Championships to earn an automatic qualifying slot … Receiving a No.12–seed, Zillmer (30-4) is scheduled to square off with Iowa State’s Dane Pestano (24-13) for the third time this season … Zillmer has won both meetings including the Big 12 Championships semifinals on March 5 … Zillmer earned NCAA All-American honors at 184 pounds after placing sixth at the 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis … Following a first round upset, he reeled off five straight wins in the wrestle backs to earn his first career All-America finish … Zillmer entered as the tournament’s sixth seed and compiled a 5-3 record. He is 5-5 in two previous trips to the NCAA tournament … North Dakota State placed 23rd in the team standings with 19.5 points in 2015.
NDSU 184 Zillmer Runner-up at Big 12 Championships, Ream & Rodriguez Place Third
North Dakota State 184-pound Hayden Zillmer was runner-up, while 125 Josh Rodriguez and 149 Clay Ream both placed third at the Big 12 Wrestling Championships on March 6, at the Sprint Center in Kansas City … NDSU 285 Ben Tynan was fifth and 141 Mitch Bengtson placed sixth … NDSU finished seventh in the team standings with 62.5 points.
Zillmer Finishes with 26 Straight Dual Wins, Seventh All-Time at NDSU With 104 Wins
North Dakota State 184-pound senior Hayden Zillmer (Crosby, Minn./Crosby-Ironton H.S.) completed his career by winning 26 consecutive dual matches with a tech fall on Feb. 21 against No. 22-ranked South Dakota State … Zillmer’s last loss in dual competition came on Feb. 2, 2014 against Scott Liegel of Wisconsin … He was 40-7 in dual competition during his career … Zillmer has a career record of 104-28 with 21 pins and is T7th on the Bison career charts with Dave Haas (190, 104-39-1, 1980-84).
NDSU 125 Rodriguez, 184 Zillmer Reach 30 Wins
Entering this weekend, North Dakota State University has a pair of 30-match winners including 125-pound junior Josh Rodriguez (Guadalupe, Calif./Righetti H.S.), who has put together a 33-8 record including 9-1 in duals … The 33 wins are a career-high … NDSU 184-pound senior Hayden Zillmer(Crosby, Minn./Crosby-Ironton H.S.), who is 30-4 and 10-0 in duals … Zillmer leads the Bison with 10 pins, Rodriguez is second with six … Zillmer and Rodriguez have a team-high seven major decisions and Rodriguez has a team best seven tech falls.
NDSU 184 Hayden Zillmer Earns Big 12 Wrestler of the Week Honors
North Dakota State 184-pounder Hayden Zillmer was the Big 12 Wrestler of the Week on Jan. 6 following a third place showing at the 53rd Midlands Championships on Dec. 29-30 … The Bison senior tallied a 6-1 overall record at the competition, with victories over two ranked opponents. … That marked Zillmer’s first Big 12 weekly honor and NDSU’s first weekly award as an affiliate member of the conference.
Bison in the Rankings
North Dakota State was tied for No. 33 in WIN Magazine‘s Tournament Power Index (March 7) … Individually, in the InterMat.com (March 7) rankings, Josh Rodriguez is No. 14 at 125 pounds; Hayden Zillmer is No. 9 at 184 pounds … In the Asics/Flowrestling Rankings (March 7), Josh Rodriguez was No. 15 at 125, Hayden Zillmer is No. 11 at 184 … In TheOpenMat.com (March 8) rankings, Josh Rodriguezwas No. 13 at 125 and Hayden Zillmer is No. 11 at 184 pounds … In WIN Magazine‘s March 7) rankings,Josh Rodriguez is No. 13 at 125 pounds and Hayden Zillmer is No. 11 at 184 pounds … In the Amateur Wrestling News (March 8), 125 Josh Rodriguez is No. 14 and 184 Hayden Zillmer is No. 9.