TULSA, Okla. — North Dakota State 157-pound wrestler Jared Franek and 165-pounder Luke Weber both advanced to the finals and six others are still alive in the consolation bracket after the first day of the Big 12 Wrestling Championships on Saturday, March 6, at the BOK Center.
The Bison are fifth in the team standings with 69.0 points. Oklahoma is first with 107.0 points.
Session III begins at 10 a.m. and Session IV with the finals at 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 7.
The No. 3 seed Franek, a sophomore from West Fargo, N.D., won a 7-5 decision over Wyatt Sheets of Oklahoma State and went to overtime in the semifinals, where he beat No. 2 Justin Thomas with a takedown in the final seconds of sudden victory to advance to his first Big 12 championship match.
The No. 4 seed Weber, a senior from Forsyth, Montana, went 2-0 to advance to the championship match for the first time in his career. He opened with his second major decision of the season with a 16-2 victory over Troy Mantanona of Oklahoma.
ADVERTISEMENT
In the consolation bracket, the Bison's Kellyn March (133 pounds), Jaden Van Maanen (149), Austin Brenner (174) and Owen Pentz (197) will all wrestle for seventh place Sunday morning, while Dylan Droegemueller (141) and Brandon Metz (285) will compete in the consolation semifinals.
