North Dakota State Wrestling Suffers Historic Shutout Against Minnesota
FARGO, N.D. – In a challenging showdown on Friday night at the Scheels Center, North Dakota State University (NDSU) wrestling faced a tough defeat against the No. 10 Minnesota Golden Gophers, falling 39-0. This loss marks the first time NDSU has been held scoreless since 2009, making it only the fourth time in the program’s Division I era, with the last shutout occurring in a 42-0 loss to Oregon State.
The Bison struggled to gain traction, dropping a series of decisions with Kyle Burwick coming agonizingly close to securing a win at 133 pounds, ultimately losing 3-2 to No. 8 Tyler Wells as time expired. Gavin Drexler also experienced a narrow defeat at 149 pounds, finishing 8-6 against No. 22 Drew Roberts, despite a late surge that included a takedown after the final buzzer.
Minnesota dominated the latter half of the dual, recording four bonus-point victories in the final five matches, including three consecutive tech falls. The dual concluded with a standout performance from Olympic champion Gable Steveson, who made a triumphant return to the collegiate mat, notching an 18-3 tech fall at heavyweight in just 1:50.
The match drew a record crowd of 1,529 fans, surpassing the previous attendance high set in 2017.
The Bison will now take a three-week hiatus before facing No. 12 Iowa State on December 15 in Humboldt, Iowa, looking to bounce back from this setback.
Match Recap:
- 125: #14 Cooper Flynn (Minn) over Tristan Daugherty (NDSU), Dec 4-1
- 133: #8 Tyler Wells (Minn) over Kyle Burwick (NDSU), Dec 3-2
- 141: #5 Vance VomBaur (Minn) over Kellyn March (NDSU), TF 22-6
- 149: #22 Drew Roberts (Minn) over #32 Gavin Drexler (NDSU), Dec 8-6
- 157: #7 Tommy Askey (Minn) over Gabriel Schumm (NDSU), Dec 14-7
- 165: #10 Andrew Sparks (Minn) over Boeden Greenley (NDSU), MD 16-2
- 174: #25 Clayton Whiting (Minn) over Devin Wasley (NDSU), Dec 8-3
- 184: #10 Max McEnelly (Minn) over Aidan Brenot (NDSU), TF 22-7
- 197: #7 Isaiah Salazar (Minn) over Aiden Hight (NDSU), TF 17-0
- 285: #1 Gable Steveson (Minn) over Drew Blackburn-Forst (NDSU), TF 18-3
Final Score: Minnesota 39, North Dakota State 0.
Source
Photo credit gobison.com
