EIGHT JACKS PLACE AT BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP

Friday, March 6

Tulsa, Okla.

South Dakota State University

Big 12 Championships

Cael Swensen in a blue singlet jockeys for position with a wrestler in a white singlet

Photo by: Amber Seaton

3/7/2026 2:58:00 PM | Wrestling

TULSA, Okla. - Cael Swensen punched his ticket to the NCAA Tournament on Saturday as eight Jackrabbit wrestlers finished on the podium at the Big 12 Wrestling Championship.

Cael Swensen ended his run at the Big 12 Tournament as the highest placing Jackrabbit, taking fourth at a stacked 157 pound weight class. Standing between him and third NCAA Tournament appearance was NDSU's Gavin Drexler. After a scoreless first, Swensen pulled off a slick go-behind takedown in the second and finished Drexler off with a big slam in the third to secure an 8-3 decision and a ticket to Cleveland. In the third place match he faced off with top-10 Ty Watters. Watters got to his offense in the first and third periods as he scored the deciding takedowns, handing Swensen the decision loss.

Bennett Berge and Moses Espinoza-Owens placed fifth in their respective brackets. Berge dropped a consolation semis matchup to 3-seed Cody Merrill but battled back against Colton Hawks in the fifth place match, putting together a huge sequence in the third to secure the 5-1 decision.

Espinoza-Owens squared off with MJ Gaitan in a rematch from Jan. 25th. Espinoza-Owens struck first but the crafty Gaitan battled his way back into the match and scored the deciding takedown in the third with 30 seconds left. Espinoza-Owens took fifth after Wyoming's Riley Davis medical forfeited out of the tournament.

Brady Roark, Julian Tagg, Luke Rasmussen and Marcus Espinoza-Owens all took 6th in their respective brackets after going 0-2 on the day. Tagg medical forfeited his way out of the tournament after losing in the semis to 1-seed Sergio Vega of Oklahoma State.

Roark battled against Oklahoma's Conrad Hendriksen in the fifth-place match for a spot in the NCAA Tournament but came up just short as Hendriksen forced three stall calls which decided the match. Roark will wait to see if his name is called for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Overall, the Jackrabbit qualified 5 wrestlers for the NCAA Tournament due to pre-allocations. Brady Roark was the only Jackrabbit wrestler not to secure a spot which he allocated while Luke Rasmussen was the only Jackrabbit wrestler to steal an allocation to the Big Dance.

UP NEXT
5 Jackrabbits will head to Cleveland for the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships on March 19-21. Brady Roark will await an at-large selection.

RESULTS:
125: #4 Brady Roark

Cons. Semis: MD loss to #6 Ezekiel Witt (NDSU), 11-3
Fifth Place Match: Decision loss to #5 Conrad Hendriksen (OU), 3-1
- Sixth Place

133: #8 Cale Seaton