Burwick Second, Drexler Third to Lead NDSU Wrestling at Big 12 Championships

TULSA, Okla. – North Dakota State wrestling recorded six placing finishes at the Big 12 Championships on Sunday at the BOK Center. Kyle Burwick fell in the 133-pound final to take second overall, with Gavin Drexler winning through wrestlebacks to take third, leading the way for NDSU.
 
Burwick went up against No. 17 Dominick Serrano in the 133-pound championship match. Serrano scored an early takedown and Burwick was unable to recover, ultimately falling 11-4 in the final.
 
With his appearance in the final, Burwick extended NDSU’s streak of having at least one NDSU wrestler in a Big 12 final in all 10 seasons since the Bison joined the conference in 2015-16.
 
Drexler led the morning session for the Bison and was one of two wrestlers, including Aidan Brenot, to secure automatic berths to the NCAA Championships on Sunday, joining Burwick and Tristan Daugherty, who qualified on Saturday.
 
Beginning in the consolation semifinals, Drexler overcame a deficit to No. 17 Willie McDougald of Oklahoma with a late takedown and two nearfall points to win 10-8 and clinch the automatic qualifying spot by reaching the third-place match. Drexler then capped his second Big 12 appearance by defeating No. 33 Teague Travis of Oklahoma State with a 9-2 decision to take third place at 149 pounds. Drexler secured a late takedown in the first and led the remainder of the match, going up 7-0 before Travis could score a point.
 
Brenot also qualified for the NCAA Championships on Sunday in his only match of the day, as he won his seventh-place match to grab the final allocation spot at 184 pounds in his first Big 12 Championship appearance. Brenot needed to win a rematch from his first-round bout against No. 10 Colton Hawks of Missouri. After defeating Hawks 14-5 in the opening round, Brenot defended the win with an early takedown and a near wire-to-wire 11-7 victory.
 
Devin Wasley also secured a win on Sunday to claim a seventh-place finish in his Big 12 Championship debut at 174 pounds. In his only match, Wasley defended a dual season victory over Aydin Rix-McElhinney of Northern Colorado, coming from behind to score the final six points in a 6-3 win. Wasley put in a top ride on Rix-McElhinney for the duration of the second and third periods to help secure the victory.
 
NDSU will close out the Big 12 Championships with a ninth-place finish, securing 58.5 points after recording just 28.0 points and an 11^th place finish in 2024. The Bison will set their sights on the NCAA Championships, hosted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania March 20-22.
 
Full NDSU Wrestling Results
133 | Kyle Burwick (Q) | 2^nd Place | 3-1 | 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
L to #17 Dominick Serrano (Northern Colorado); Dec 11-4
 
149 | Gavin Drexler (Q) | 3^rd Place | 4-1 | 13.5 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
W over #17 Willie McDougald (Oklahoma); Dec 10-8
W over #33 Teague Travis (Oklahoma State); Dec 9-2
 
125 | Tristan Daugherty (Q) | 6^th Place | 2-3 | 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
L to #28 Antonio Lorenzo (Oklahoma); Dec 4-2
L to #6 Stevo Poulin (Northern Colorado); MD 9-1
 
184 | Aidan Brenot (Q) | 7^th Place | 3-2 | 6.5 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
W over #10 Colton Hawks (Missouri); Dec 11-7
 
174 | Devin Wasley | 7^th Place | 2-2 | 5.0 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
W over Aydin Rix-McElhinney (Northern Colorado); Dec 6-3
 
285 | Drew Blackburn-Forst | 8^th Place | 2-3 | 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
L to #15 Lance Runyon (Northern Iowa); MD 13-0
 
Non-Placing 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