College News

Mustang’s Ryan selected to NCAA Championships; joins Steffen in St. Louis on march 12-13

INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA national wrestling committee announced on Monday Southwest Minnesota State senior wrestler Jackson Ryan has been selected as a wild-card to compete at the upcoming NCAA Championships in St. Louis on March 12-13.

Ryan, a 197-pounder from Inver Grove Heights, Minn., placed third at the NCAA Super Region V Tournament on Saturday in Aberdeen, S.D.

Due to COVID-19, this year’s national qualifiers from each region were trimmed to two per weight class and several wild-card selections. The NCAA allocated a total of 132 individual qualifiers from the six regions in 2021.

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Eight Huskies qualify for NCAA Championships

INDIANAPOLIS, IND. – The No. 3 St. Cloud State University wrestling team will once again send a hoard of wrestlers to the NCAA Championships in mid-March. After winning the Super Region V title for the fifth consecutive year, eight Huskies will compete at nationals March 12-13 in St. Louis, Missouri.

Seven of St. Cloud State’s earned automatic bids to the NCAA Championships after finishing first or second at the regional championship Saturday. Garrett Vos (Bonifacius, Minn. / Waconia), Joseph Bianchini (Elk Grove Village, Ill. / Immaculate Conception), Garrett Aldirch (Albert Lea, Minn. / Albert Lea), Devin FitzPatrick (Mahtomedi, Minn. / Mahtomedi), Billy Pitzner (Jefferson, Wis. / Milton) Noah (Mantorville, Minn. / Kasson-Mantorville) and Kameron Teacher (Grove City, Ohio / Central Crossing) all earned automatic bids to the championship while Colby Njos (Anoka, Minn. / Anoka) earned an at-large bid Monday afternoon.

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Franek, Weber Among Six Bison Pre-Seeded for Big 12 Wrestling Championship

IRVING, Texas – The pre-seeds have been announced for the 2021 Big 12 Wrestling Championship set to take place this Saturday, March 6, and Sunday, March 7, at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Six North Dakota State wrestlers are in the top eight in their weight classes.

North Dakota State sophomore 157 Jared Franek is No. 3, while senior 165 Luke Weber slots in at No. 4. The Bison have three No. 7 seeds in sophomore 141 Dylan Droegemueller, freshman 197 Owen Pentz and junior 285 Brandon Metz, while junior 149 Jaden Van Maanen has a No. 8 seed.

For the first time, the championship was seeded by an independent five-person panel. Iowa State and Oklahoma State pace the field with three No. 1 selections apiece, followed by two from Northern Iowa and one each from South Dakota State and Utah Valley.

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Sloan Leads Pre-Seeds For Big 12 Meet

IRVING, Texas — South Dakota State’s Tanner Sloan is the top seed at 197 pounds heading into this weekend’s Big 12 Wrestling Championship. The pre-seeds, which were announced Monday afternoon, were determined by an independent five-person panel for the first time.

A sophomore and returning NCAA qualifier from Alburnett, Iowa, Sloan enters the two-day tournament undefeated this season with a 13-0 mark, winning nine of his 13 matches by either fall (3) or technical fall (6). He finished as runner-up at 197 pounds in 2020, dropping a 5-1 decision in the championship bout to West Virginia’s Noah Adams, who is seeded third. Stephen Buchanan of Wyoming is the second seed, while A.J. Ferrari of Oklahoma State rounds out the top four in a highly competitive weight class.

Seven other Jackrabbit wrestlers are pre-seeded in the top eight of their respective weight classes, including No. 3 seeds Zach Price at 133 pounds and Clay Carlson in the 141-pound division. Price, a sophomore from Johnston, Iowa, has posted an 11-2 record so far this season and carries an eight-match winning streak into the postseason.

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