JACKS QUALIFY FOUR ON DAY 1 OF BIG 12s

Friday, March 6

Tulsa, Okla.

South Dakota State University

Big 12 Championships

Bennett Berge, a wrestler in a blue singlet, has his hand raised after a win.

Photo by: Amber Seaton

3/6/2026 10:01:00 PM | Wrestling

TULSA, Okla. - Julian Tagg, Moses Espinoza-Owens, Bennett Berge and Luke Rasmussen punched their tickets to the NCAA Tournament with standout performances on day one of the Big 12 Wrestling Championship.

Julian Tagg was the first Jack to punch his ticket to the semi-finals after running through his first two opponents. First, Tagg ground out a 7-2 decision over Mizzou's Easton Hilton and followed it up with a late takedown in the third to secure a decision over the 5-seed Pierson Manville, 5-1. His run on the winner's side of the bracket was stopped by 1-seed Sergio Vega in the semi-finals, 5-0.

Luke Rasmussen was the other Jackrabbit to secure his spot in the NCAA Tournament during Session 1 as he pulled off two upsets. First over the 6-seed Jack Forbes, 9-6, and following up in the quarters with a dramatic win over NDSU's Shilo Jones, securing a late reversal and putting in a hard ride to punch his ticket to the semis. He was stopped in the semis by Konner Doucet of OSU in a tight, 3-2 contest.

Both will compete in the consolation semis tomorrow.

Bennett Berge and Moses Espinoza-Owens were the other two Jackrabbits to punch their tickets on day one. After a quarterfinal loss to 5-seed DJ Parker, Berge battled back to score consecutive decisions over Kael Bennie and Devin Wasley, securing his spot in the Consolation Semis and the NCAA Tournament.

Espinoza-Owens found himself on the receiving end of a loss to Cam Steed in the quarterfinals but quickly rallied scoring wins over Murphy Menke and 8-seed Cael Valencia in the consolation bracket to secure his spot in the NCAA Tournament in his first season at 174 pounds.

Four Jacks sit just one win away from NCAA Qualification. Brady Roark was upset in the quarterfinals by the 5-seed Conrad Hendriksen, but responded quickly with a pin over Bryson Valdez and a tough 1-0 decision over Mack Mauger from Mizzou. He awaits a rematch with Ezekiel Witt from NDSU in the Consolation Semis with a trip to the Big Dance on the line.

Cale Seaton went 2-2 on the day with decisions over Geronimo Rivera and Tristan Daugherty and heads to the seventh place match against Oklahoma's Carter Schmidt tomorrow for the last pre-allocation at 133 pounds.
Cael Swensen made his way to semi-finals at 157 pounds after a major decision over Mark Takara, 8-0, and a medical forfeit win over Vinny Zerban. He dropped his semi-finals match to 2-seed Landon Robideau. He will wrestle a rematch with Gavin Drexler in the Consolation Semis.

Marcus Espinoza-Owens rounded out the remaining Jacks going 3-1 on the day. After an opening round decision win, he found himself face to face with the 1-seed at 165 pounds, Dee Lockett. He dropped a tight match to the 1-seed 5-2, but returned with a vengeance firing off a decision win over Sasha Gavronsky and capping off his night with a major decision win over Peyten Kellar, 14-1. He will wrestle Ryder Downey with allocation on the line.

NOTES
Moses Espinoza-Owens qualified for his first NCAA Tournament in his first season at 174 pounds.
Bennett Berge qualified for his third NCAA Tournament in three years.
Luke Rasmussen and Julian Tagg both return to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in their collegiate careers.

UP NEXT
The Jacks return to action tomorrow with Day 2 of the Big 12 Wrestling Championship.

RESULTS:
125: #4 Brady Roark

First Round: Decision over Sefton Douglass (Wyoming), 5-0
QFs: Decision loss to #5 Conrad Hendriksen (OU), 7-3
Cons. Rd. 2: Pinned Bryson Valdez (UNCO), 4:46
Cons. Rd. 3 - Decision over Mack Mauger (Mizzou), 1-0
- Top 6 Finish

133: #8 Cale Seaton

First Round: Decision over Tristan Daugherty (NDSU), 4-1
QFs: #1 TF loss to Jax Forrest (OSU), 19-4
Cons. Rd. 2: Decision over Geronimo Rivera (UVU), 4-1
Cons. Rd. 3: MD loss to #4 Gunner Andrick (WVU), 9-0
- Seventh Place Match

141: #4 Julian Tagg

First Round: Decision over Easton Hilton (Mizzou), 7-2
QFs: Decision over #5 Pierson Manville (ASU), 5-1
SFs: #1 Decision loss to Sergio Vega (OSU), 4-0
- NCAA Qualifier
- Top 6 Finish

149: Colin Dupill

First Round: SV-1 loss to #4 Josh Edmond (Mizzou), 4-1
Cons. Rd. 1: Decision loss to Hunter Hollingsworth (OU), 5-4
- Eliminated

157: #6 Cael Swensen

First Round: MD over Mark Takara (UVU), 8-0
QFs: MFFW over Vinny Zerban (ISU)
SFs: Decision loss to #2 Landon Robideau (OSU), 11-2
- Top 6 Finish

165: #8 Marcus Espinoza-Owens

First Round: Decision over Zyon Trujillo (UVU), 8-2
QFs: Decision loss to #1 Dee Lockett (OSU), 5-2
Cons. Rd. 2: Decision win over Sasha Gavronsky (WVU), 4-2
Cons. Rd. 3: MD over Peyten Kellar (OU), 14-1
- Top 6 Finish

174: #6 Moses Espinoza-Owens

First Round: Bye
QFs: Decision loss to #3 Cam Steed (Mizzou), 7-3
Cons. Rd. 2: Decision over Murphy Menke (UNCO), 5-2
Cons. Rd. 3: Decision over #8 Cael Valencia (ASU), 4-1
- NCAA Qualifier
- Top 6 Finish

184: Brock Fettig

First Round: MD loss to #7 Isaac Dean (ISU), 2-10
Cons. Rd. 1 - Decision loss to David Alonso (CBU), 10-4
- Eliminated

197: #4 Bennett Berge

First Round: TF over Tyler Perry (UNCO), 21-5
QFs: Decision loss to #5 DJ Parker, 8-3
Cons. Rd. 2: Decision over Kael Bennie (UVU), 8-5
Cons. Rd. 3: Decision over #8 Devin Wasley (NDSU), 7-2
- NCAA Qualifier
- Top 6 Finish

285: Luke Rasmussen