LAS VEGAS, Nev.–North Dakota State University 184-pounder Hayden Zillmer won three matches to advance to the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational semfinals on Friday, Dec. 5, and six Bison wrestlers overall moved into Saturday’s action on the mats at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Zillmer, a junior from Crosby, Minn., extended his winning streak to 11 matches to improve to 15-1 overall. He has the chance to avenge his lone loss on the season against 7th-ranked Blake Stauffer of Arizona State at noon (Central) Saturday, Dec. 6. Stauffer defeated Zillmer 4-2 in double-overtime at the season-opening Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open (11-2-14) in Brookings.
Zillmer, who is ranked 14th nationally, opened with a 9-3 decision over Bucknell’s Tom Sleigh. He recorded a takedown with less than 10-seconds left to record a 4-3 win over Iowa State’s 18th-ranked Lelund Weatherspoon. Zillmer closed out Friday with a 6-1 decision over West Virginia’s Jakob Scheffel, who upset 6th-ranked Kenny Courts of Ohio State in the previous round.
North Dakota State sent five wrestlers to the quarterfinal round. At 125 pounds, sophomore Josh Rodriguez (Guadalupe, Calif.) fell 4-2 to Virginia Tech’s 5th-ranked Joey Dance. Rodriguez, ranked 12th in the country, is now 5-2 on the season with both losses coming to Dance. He will face Oregon State’s Ronnie Bresser in the consolation quarterfinals that start at 11 a.m. (Central). Rodriguez advanced with a 15-7 major decision over Brown’s William Watterson and 3-1 decision over Minnesota’s 19th-ranked Sam Brancale.
NDSU 141-pound redshirt freshman Mitch Bengtson (St. Cloud, Minn.) lost a see-saw 8-7 match to Minnesota’s 4th-ranked Nick Dardanes. Bengtson dropped to 12-3 with two of his losses coming to Dardanes. Bengtson recorded his sixth pin of the season at 5:00 in the opening match against Northern Colorado’s Benjamin Polkowske. He also earned a 3-0 decision over Michigan’s George Fisher. Bengtson faces Army’s Logan Everett in the consolation quarterfinals.
Tommy Petersen, a 197-pound redshirt freshman from Lakeville, Minn., opened the day with a 9-5 decision over Tyler Lyster of Bucknell and defeated Jack Carda of Air Force 11-6 to reach the quarterfinals. Cornell’s 18th-ranked Jace Bennett posted an 8-0 major decision over Peterson, who is 7-5 entering Saturday’s match against West Virginia’s Jake Smith.
North Dakota State 10th-ranked 285-pound senior Evan Knutson (Wausau, Wis.) lost a 3-2 decision in the quarterfinals to Virginia Tech’s 9th-ranked Ty Walz. Knutson is now 8-3 on the season with a pair of the losses to Walz. He opened the invitational with a 10-3 decision over Utah Valley’s Jordan Karst and 5-2 win over Garrett Ryan of Columbia. Knutson is matched up with Virginia’s Collin Campbell for the second time this season and is looking for his second win.
Battling through the consolation bracket was Bison 174-pound senior Kurtis Julson (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.). Julson beat Cal Baptist’s Christian Smith 9-3, but lost to Ohio State’s 12th-ranked Mark Martin 5-2. He bounced back with a 7-4 decision over Brown’s Richard McDonald and 8-1 victory over Ethan Smith of Utah Valley. The 16th-ranked Julson will square off against Michigan’s 14th-ranked Davonte Mahomes of Michigan in the consolation quarterfinals.
NDSU 149-pound redshirt freshman Clay Ream (12-7) lost his first match of the day, but posted a pair of wins over Western Wyoming’s Ezekiel Mamalis and Western State’s Devon Zavala before exiting. At 133, redshirt freshman Kyle Gliva (5-5) won one of three matches. Redshirt sophomore Steven Keogh (5-9) and junior Anthony Caputo (4-9) lost both matches at 157 and 165 pounds, respectively.
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