Redshirt freshman Jayson Ness, who appears to be the frontrunner to start at 125 pounds, turned in an impressive performance on his way to a runner-up finish. Ness pinned each of his first three opponents before being narrowly defeated, 1-0, by Tanner Gardner in the championship match. In the first round, Ness pinned Mogi Baatar in 1:48 before earning a fall against Brandon Rifa in just 55 seconds. Ness earned a spot in the finals with a pin of NDSU's Mike Meger in 4:55.
True freshman Jake Mellmer was solid in his Golden Gopher debut, turning in a third-place finish at 133 pounds, winning each of his final four matches. He began the day with a 4-2 decision over Stanford's Cameron Teitelman before falling to Derek Bomstad of MSU-Mankato. Mellmer won his next match by default before earning consecutive decisions over Brady Schneeberger, Troy McFarland and Shane Hase to claim third place.
Manuel Rivera cruised to the 141-pound title with two pins and one major decision. Rivera shut out Josiah Simburger on his way to a 15-0 tech fall in his first match. He then pinned Tyler Faust in 3:50 in the quarterfinals and earned a fall over Greg Skerik in 1:03 to make his way to the finals. Rivera defeated NDSU's Gabe Mooney, 5-1, in the championship match to successfully defend his title from a year ago.
Defending national champion Dustin Schlatter picked up right where he left off last year as he dominated the 149-pound weight class. Schlatter gave up just one point on the day, pinning two opponents and earning tech falls in his other two matches. Schlatter began the day with a 16-1 tech fall over Tyler Parker of Stanford. He pinned his next two opponents and before capping his day with a 15-0 tech fall over MSU-Mankato's Johnathan Jimenez in the championship match.
Senior Juan Martinez took third place at 149, winning four of five matches on the day. Martinez began with a pin of Johnathan Jimenez in 3:01 in his first match, then claimed an 11-5 decision over Shawn Sneva. After being defeated in the semifinals, Martinez pinned his next opponent in 1:33 and earned a 9-1 major decision over MSU-Mankato's Shane Walton to claim third place.
C.P. Schlatter was equally impressive on his way to the 157-pound title. The elder Schlatter brother began his day with a 15-0 tech fall in just 2:41 over Jeremy Welter. He then posted back-to-back major decisions, a 9-1 victory over Ross Malikowski and a 15-3 win over NDSU's Adam Aho. Schlatter defeated Josh Zupancic of Stanford, 3-0, in the finals to earn his second straight title at the Bison Open.
Sophomore Tyler Safratowich also turned in a solid showing at 157 pounds, earning a third-place finish. Safratowich posted consecutive 10-2 major decisions in his first two matches before being defeated by Stanford's Zupancic. He claimed a 15-3 major decision over Jacob Malone and then defeated NDSU's Aho in the third-place match.
Wrestling unattached, true freshman Scott Glasser, a former five-time North Dakota state champion, was impressive in his debut, pinning three opponents and earning a major decision on his way to the 165-pound title. Glasser earned a fall over Jarret Hall in 1:37 in the first round. He followed it up with a pin of MSU-Mankato's Dustin Nagel in the second round, a 9-1 major decision over Zach Molitor and pin of Stanford's Brian Perry in the semis to earn his place in the finals. Glasser claimed the title with a 6-1 victory over another Stanford wrestler, Scott Loescher, in the finals.
Gabe Dretsch successfully defended his 174-pound title at the Bison Open with a solid performance in the season opener. Dretsch defeated Cody Pahan 10-5 in the first round and then claimed a 17-2 tech fall over MSU-Mankato's Eric Roseen in the quarterfinals. He advanced to the finals with an 8-7 decision over Stanford's Luke Feist and then shut out NDSU's Matt Herman, 6-0, to claim the title.
Roger Kish cruised to the 184-pound title with three pins and a major decision. Kish began his day with consecutive pins of Eric Wenzel and Tony Neumann in 2:50 and 4:59, respectively. Kish advanced to the finals with a 15-7 major decision over Zach Giesen and finished the day with a pin of NDSU's Matt Wetterling in the finals.
Minnesota wrestlers claimed three of the top four spots in the 197-pound division. Wrestling unattached, true freshman Brent Eidenshink earned a runner-up finish in his debut. Eidenshink defeated teammate Justin Bronson in the semis to earn his place in the title match, and Bronson responded by defeating fellow Gopher Chris McPhail in the third-place match. Eidenshink finished the day with a 3-1 record, including one pin. Bronson went 4-1 with a pin, a technical fall and a major decision to his credit, and McPhail posted a 3-2 mark on the day.
A pair of Golden Gopher freshman met in the championship match of the heavyweight division. Joe Nord pinned Jacob Evenson in 3:34 and earned a 5-2 decision over Stanford's Phil Doerner to earn his place in the finals where he met teammate Ben Berhow. Berhow advanced to the title match with a 6-1 decision over Joe Facchinni, a 5-2 decision over Evan Hacker and a pin of Jake Morgan in 1:53. Nord and Berhow were claimed co-champions.
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