College wrestling: Bison's Jared Franek reaches NCAA quarterfinals

By Forum staff

March 16, 2023 at 10:30 PM

TULSA, Oklahoma — North Dakota State’s No. 4-seeded Jared Franek won both of his matches on the opening day of the NCAA Wrestling Championships Thursday, advancing to the quarterfinals of the 157-pound bracket for the third straight year.

Franek, a West Fargo High School product, opened Thursday with a 10-1 major decision over Corbyn Munson of Central Michigan. In the second round, he posted a 5-3 decision over No. 13 seed Trevor Chumbley of Northwestern.

Franek improved to 24-1 this season and will meet No. 5 seed Josh Humphreys of Lehigh in the quarterfinal round on Friday.

Three Bison wrestlers — Kellyn March (149 pounds), Michael Caliendo (165), and Owen Pentz (197) — are alive in the consolation brackets after going 1-1 on Thursday.

NDSU’s two other NCAA qualifiers — 133-pounder McGwire Midkiff and 184-pounder DJ Parker — both went 0-2 on Thursday and were eliminated.

The NCAA Championships resume at 11 a.m. on Friday with Session 3, featuring the quarterfinals and the consolation second and third rounds.

By Forum staff

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of "staff." Often, the "staff" byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.

College wrestling: Bison's Jared Franek reaches NCAA quarterfinals

West Fargo graduate will wrestle in the national meet's third round for a third-straight season on Friday.