North Dakota State University (4-6, 2-2 #Big12WR) is scheduled to compete in the program’s first-ever Big 12 Conference Championships on Saturday, March 5 and Sunday, March 6, in the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. … Official pairings and brackets will be released on Friday evening … Action gets underway at 11 a.m. Saturday. … Here’s the championship schedule:
Big 12 Wrestling Championships
Sprint Center, Kansas City, Mo.
Saturday March 5
11:00 a.m. – Session I – Preliminary & Quarterfinal Matches
5:00 p.m. – Session II – Semifinal & Consolation Quarterfinal Matches
Sunday March 6
9:00 a.m. – Session III – Consolation Semifinals, 3rd & 5th Place Matches
1:00 p.m. – Session IV – Championship Matches (Fox Sports Network regional affiliate)
The Lineup
Wt. North Dakota State (4-6, 2-2 #Big12WR)
125—#17 Josh Rodriguez (30-7 overall, 9-1 duals)
133—Nico Colunga (14-16, 2-6)
141—Mitch Bengtson (15-9, 4-2)
149—Clay Ream (18-14, 4-6)
157—Kyle Gliva (17-11, 3-4)
165—Grant Nehring (5-9, 4-5)
174— Blake Thompson (5-13, 2-5)
184—#4 Hayden Zillmer (28-3, 10-0)
197—Logan Paxton (6-17, 1-8)
285—Ben Tynan (18-10, 7-3)
InterMat rankings
Ticket Information
Single-day tickets for the 2016 Big 12 Wrestling Championship are now on sale … This season’s championship, which will take place March 5-6 at Sprint Center in Kansas City, marks the first neutral-site conference championship for the sport … Tickets can be purchased at Big12Sports.com/buytickets, SprintCenter.com; charged by phone at 888-929-7849 and Price Chopper Box Office at Sprint Center … Tickets start at $24, with premium seating priced at $36 and VIP seats available for $60. The two-day event will feature four sessions of action, two on Saturday and two on Sunday. Each ticket purchased gains access to one full day of competition. All-session tickets are on sale starting at $40, with premium seating priced at $60 and VIP seats available for $100.
Coverage
The 2016 Big 12 Wrestling Championships will be streamed live through FloWrestlinghttps://livecoverage.flowrestling.org/event/997-2016-big-12-wrestling-championships (pay per view) … Live scoring will be provided through FloWrestling at FloArena http://www.flowrestling.org/arena/
Zillmer Finishes with 26 Straight Dual Wins, Eighth All-Time at NDSU With 102 Wins
North Dakota State University 184-pound senior Hayden Zillmer (Crosby, Minn./Crosby-Ironton H.S.) extended his consecutive dual winning streak to 26 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 is 40-7 in dual competition during his career … Zillmer has a career record of 102-27 with 21 pins and is T8th on the Bison career charts with Brian Kraemer (197, 102-45, 2000-04).
NDSU 125 Rodriguez Reaches 30 Wins, 184 Zillmer Eyes 30 Wins
Entering this weekend, North Dakota State University has a 30-match winners in 125-pound juniorJosh Rodriguez (Guadalupe, Calif./Righetti H.S.), who has put together a 30-7 record including 9-1 in duals … The 30 wins are a career-high … While another is closing on 30 in 184-pound senior Hayden Zillmer (Crosby, Minn./Crosby-Ironton H.S.), who is 28-3 and 10-0 in duals … Zillmer leads the Bison with nine pins, Rodriguez is second with six … Zillmer has a team-high seven major decisions and Rodriguez has a team-best seven tech falls.
Bison in the Rankings
North Dakota State was tied for No. 24 in InterMat.com ‘s Tournament Rankings (March 1) and No. 33 in WIN Magazine’s Tournament Power Index (Feb. 23, 2016) … Individually, in the InterMat.com (March 1) rankings, Josh Rodriguez is No. 17 at 125 pounds; Hayden Zillmer is No. 4 at 184 pounds … In the Asics/Flowrestling Rankings (Feb. 23), Josh Rodriguez was No. 16 at 125, Hayden Zillmer is No. 8 at 184 … In TheOpenMat.com (Feb. 23) rankings, Josh Rodriguez was No. 16 at 125 and Hayden Zillmer is No. 5 at 184 pounds … In WIN Magazine’s Feb. 23) rankings, Josh Rodriguez is No. 15 at 125 pounds and Hayden Zillmer is No. 8 at 184 pounds … In the Amateur Wrestling News (March 1), 125 Josh Rodriguez is No. 16 and 184 Hayden Zillmer is No. 4.
Five Former Bison to Be Inducted into NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame March 10
Five former North Dakota State student-athletes will be inducted into the 20th class of the NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame on Thursday, March 10, at the Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. … The ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. … NDSU’s Todd Fuller (174, 1998-02), Steve Saxlund (167/184, 1997-01), Nick Severson (Heavyweight, 1998-02), George Thompson (134, 1994-98) and Ryan Wolters (190, 1994-98) are part of the Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame class that consists of 11 individuals and one former coach … The Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame ceremony will be held in conjunction with a reception for coaches and dignitaries preceding the start of the 54th annual NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships … Fuller, Saxlund, Severson, Thompson and Wolters join former NDSU wrestling head coach Bucky Maughan, Bill Demaray (177), Brad Rheingans (190), Lee Petersen (142) and Mike Langlais (142/150) in the Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame, which has enshrined 128 members.