TULSA, Okla. – North Dakota State wrestling’s Kyle Burwick recorded three victories on Saturday at the BOK Center to earn a spot in the 2025 Big 12 Wrestling Championship match for 133 pounds set for Sunday night.
The No. 5 seeded Burwick will wrestle No. 2 seed Dominick Serrano of Northern Colorado, who is ranked No. 17 nationally, in the championship match. The Big 12 Championship finals are set to begin at 8 p.m. CT and will be televised live on ESPNU.
Burwick started his day with a 10-0 major decision win over West Virginia’s Tommy Maddox. The senior then earned a spot in the semifinal with an upset of No. 20 Reece Witcraft of Oklahoma State, winning 10-5. In the semifinal Saturday evening, Burwick dominated again, recording a couple takedowns on his way to a second major decision, winning 10-2 over Missouri’s Kade Moore.
With his win over Witcraft, Burwick also secured a trip to the NCAA Wrestling Championships to be held in Philadelphia in two weeks.
Tristan Daugherty also qualified for the NCAA Championships on Saturday and provided the upset of the tournament to secure his automatic bid. Daugherty started the day with an upset of No. 14 Kysen Terukina of Iowa State, winning on a takedown in sudden victory for a 4-1 decision.
Daugherty then knocked off the defending national champion at 125 pounds with a 4-2 decision over top seeded No. 2 Richard Figueroa of Arizona State. Daugherty secured a takedown in the final seconds of the second period to go up 3-1. He would add an escape in the third and held on to punch his ticket to his first national championship.
In the semifinal, Daugherty would fall to No. 3 Troy Spratley of Oklahoma State, as the second seeded Spratley won 2-0. He will head to the consolation semifinal Sunday afternoon, alongside fellow Bison Gavin Drexler.
Like Daugherty, Drexler recorded a pair of wins Saturday morning in the 149-pound bracket, beginning with a 10-0 major decision over Arizona State’s Mykey Ramos. Drexler then picked up an upset victory over No. 26 Gabe Willochell of Wyoming, using a reversal and an escape to win 3-1.
Devin Wasley, Aidan Brenot and Drew Blackburn-Forst all overcame early round losses with wins in the wrestlebacks to reach the seventh-place matches in their weight classes Sunday afternoon. Blackburn-Forst picked up a pin of Northern Colorado’s Jose Valdez to secure a couple key bonus points. Brenot also secured bonus points with a major decision upset of No. 10 Colton Hawks of Missouri in the first round. Blackburn-Forst also picked up an upset of No. 20 Seth Nitzel from Missouri in wrestlebacks.
North Dakota State secured 52.0 team points on the opening day of the Big 12 Championships and sit ninth out of 14 teams. The Bison go into Sunday trailing Missouri by just three points for a top-8 spot.
Sunday’s consolation semifinals, followed by placing rounds, will begin at noon from the BOK Center, streaming on ESPN+. The Big 12 Championship matches will begin at 8 p.m., airing on ESPN U.
Full NDSU Wrestling Results
Championship Bracket
133 | Kyle Burwick (Q) | 3-0 | 17.0 Pts
W over Tommy Maddox (West Virginia); MD 10-0
W over #20 Reece Witcraft (Oklahoma State); Dec 10-5
W over Kade Moore (Missouri); MD 10-2
#17 Dominick Serrano (Northern Colorado)
Consolation Bracket
125 | Tristan Daugherty (Q) | 2-1 | 8.0 Pts
W over #14 Kysen Terukina (Iowa State); SV 4-1
W over #2 Richard Figueroa (Arizona State); Dec 4-2
L to #3 Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State); Dec 2-0
#28 Antonio Lorenzo (Oklahoma)
149 | Gavin Drexler | 2-1 | 9.0 Pts
W over Mykey Ramos (Arizona State); MD 10-0
W over #26 Gabe Willochell (Wyoming); Dec 3-1
L to #10 Colin Realbuto (Northern Iowa); MD 14-4
#17 Willie McDougald (Oklahoma)
174 | Devin Wasley | 1-2 | 4.0 Pts
L to #1 Keegan O`Toole (Missouri); MD 13-5
W over Riley Davis (Wyoming); Dec 2-0
L to #17 Jared Simma (Northern Iowa); MD 13-2
Aydin Rix-McElhinney (Northern Colorado)
184 | Aidan Brenot | 2-2 | 5.5 Pts
W over #10 Colton Hawks (Missouri); MD 14-5
L to #2 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa); TF 20-5
W over David Berkovich (California Baptist); Dec 12-8
L to #17 Deanthony Parker Jr (Oklahoma); MD 9-0
#10 Colton Hawks (Missouri)
285 | Drew Blackburn-Forst | 2-2 | 6.0 Pts
L to #32 Luke Surber (Oklahoma State); Fall 4:36
W over Jose Valdez (Northern Colorado); Fall 1:18
W over #20 Seth Nitzel (Missouri); Dec 6-3
L to Sam Mitchell (Wyoming); SV 4-1
#15 Lance Runyon (Northern Iowa)
Eliminated Wrestlers
165 | Boeden Greenley | 1-2 | 2.5 Pts
L to #15 Cam Steed (Missouri); TF 18-3
W over #12 Drake Rhodes (South Dakota State); Inj. 0:02
L to #6 Cameron Amine (Oklahoma State); TF 21-6
141 | Peyton Moore | 0-2
L to #4 Cael Happel (Northern Iowa); TF 24-8
L to Elijah Griffin (California Baptist); Fall 1:40
157 | Gabriel Schumm | 0-2
L to #6 Ryder Downey (Northern Iowa); TF 15-0
L to John Wiley (Oklahoma); Fall 4:52
197 | Tayshaun Glover | 0-2
L to #6 Luke Surber (Oklahoma State); TF 22-7
L to Bradley Hill (Oklahoma); MD 12-3
https://gobison.com/news/2025/3/8/burwick-reaches-final-to-lead-ndsu-wrestling-on-day-one-of-big-12-championships.aspx