NDSU Wrestlers Off To Nationals

Four Bison will head to the NCAA National Championships in St. Louis

FARGO, ND (KVRR) – Another winning season for NDSU Wrestling. Roger Kish’s squad finished the regular season at (7-3) before moving on to the Big 12 Championships in Tulsa Oklahoma. But that wasn’t the end of the road for the men on the mats. Now, they’ll be represented at NCAA championships in less than a week.

“We’re grateful with the four guys that we have,” Kish said. “They’ve earned the right to be there throughout their seasons, throughout the Big 12 competitions.”

Two of those standouts: Brandon Metz of West Fargo product and Jared Franek of Harwood have kept the wins coming as they’ve moved a tad east.

“It’s just been picking up different things every single day and I’ve been adding that to my game and I think it’s really benefited me throughout the course of the year,” Metz said. “I think I’ve gotten a little better each day and I think that’s starting to show, finally.”

“We have a lot of talent that goes unnoticed,” Franek said. “Me and my teammate, Brandon Metz, we grew up together, we wrestled together and we’re here having success together.”

Though Metz and Jared Franek didn’t finish 1st, they’re names are on the brackets for Thursday and Kish understands the significance of these guys being homegrown.

“It’s really important to have local guys, guys that can represent the state of North Dakota from a youth all the way to where they are today,” Kish said.

“When they can see guys like me and Jared and even Kyle Burwick on the big stage, they can see local North Dakota guys compete, I think that kind of gives a little bit of ‘hey, I can do this, too,'” Metz said.

Both have undoubtedly put more local eyeballs on the program, sets of eyes that’ll see them on the big stage in the semifinals on Thursday.