Last season, the Minot State University (MSU) Men’s wrestling team achieved its first winning record, finishing in the top five in the conference and hosting a regional tournament. This year, head coach Evan Forde is looking to build on the team’s strong dual meet performances from last season and get some wrestlers through to the national tournament.

“Expectations for my guys is really all about effort,” said coach Forde, “If we’re coming in and working hard every day, putting forth a good amount of effort, I think we’ve got the talent to do some great things.”

Coach Forde and his athletes have many goals for this season. Forde believes if his athletes accomplish their goals individually, the coaching staff’s goals will take care of themselves.

“A main goal this year is we want to improve on our dual meet season,” said Forde, “but one of the biggest goals this year is to get some guys through to that national tournament, get some All-Americans, and have a real presence at the National Championships.”

The Beavers have a strong senior class this season along with a good combination of first and second-year athletes. Cannon Potts, Ethan Wonser, Jake Swirple, and Brendan Barnes are the team captains for the 2024-25 season and are key players to watch for this season.

These athletes have wrestled in the postseason for MSU before, senior Cannon Potts placed fourth in the region at 197 pounds, and senior Wayne Joint placed in the region at 133 pounds. Senior Jake Swirple placed fourth in the region at 285 pounds and is a returning All-American for MSU.

“We’re looking for just a little bit of a better finish, and they’ll punch their ticket to the national tournament,” said Forde, “we have pretty good depth, we have pretty good balance, and so we’re gonna have some good competition for the starting spots.”

Returning grapplers for MSU are Marcus Allen (184), Brendan Barnes (165), Daniels Bendiks (174), Josh Consavage (197), Kale Farrington (174), Salahdin Farukh (141), Jace Duemmel (149), Mario Esposito (174), Kyan George (174), Ryan Hrcka (157), Wayne Joint (133), Roman Leifridt (165), Dylan McDonald (125), Tristan Pekas (174), Cannon Potts (197), Andrew Ramirez Jr. (133), Jake Swirple (285), Jared Shafer (174), Evan Vieira (141), Nick Womak (174), Ethan Wonser (141), Payton Wayman (165), and Andrew Worthington (141).

New wrestlers for the 2024-25 season are John Armstrong (157), Isaiah Bertalotto (149), Jeremiah Bertalotto (141), Adrian Chavez (133), Brogn Flannigan (184), Brayden Guerrero (149), Dom Howlett (184), Tazech Neer, Kaden Orr (125), Corbin Roe (125), Robert Salehi, Josef Sanchez (285), Divesh Thapa (285), Gavin Turk (184), Cade Warbis (149), and Syrron White (184).

The team had a successful spring and summer during the offseason with many new opportunities. Some athletes competed at the U.S. Open in Las Vegas during the spring. During the summer the coaches spent time with the athletes going over film and preparing the wrestlers to be their best.

This summer, the wrestling team moved into a new practice facility across campus. They have been enjoying the new area and having a good preseason, building up to their first week of practice.

The team also spent time giving back to the community during the offseason. They raised money at Rice Lake and helped with elementary schools. January through April the wrestlers run the Dakota Rattler Wrestling Club where 100-150 kids join them. The athletes will also hand out meals before Thanksgiving to families in need.

Men’s wrestling began their season on Sunday, October 27, hosting the Beaver Intersquad Dual at the MSU Dome and will attend the Jamestown Open on Saturday, November 2, for their first meet.