MINOT, N.D. – Coming off a season that saw the Minot State men's wrestling team send three individuals to the NCAA National Tournament where Jake Swirple became the program's second NCAA All-American, the Beavers are gearing up for another outstanding year on the mat.

Looking for another big showing at nationals, the road to the NCAA tournament goes through Minot as the Beavers host the Super Region tournament in early March, part of an action-packed 2023-24 schedule announced today by ninth-year head coach Evan Forde.

Along with hosting the Super Region tournament on March 2 at the MSU Dome, Minot State will host six other individual duals along with the Beaver Bash Duals on Friday, November 17, at the MSU Dome this season, a campaign that gets underway with the annual intrasquad duals on Sunday, October 29, at 2 p.m.

"I really like how our schedule came together this season," Coach Forde said. "It is very competitive, as always, but we will have a lot of home events. I'm really excited about that."

Following Sunday's exhibition, the Beavers hit the road to open the regular season wrestling in the Jamestown Open on November 4, then at the Dakota Wesleyan Open on November 11.

"One change in our schedule is that we will be attending an open tournament at Dakota Wesleyan University on November 11," Minot State's coach said. "This has become a very competitive tournament and it will be our first time attending. I'm looking forward to that one early in the season."

Then Minot State is home Friday night, November 17, hosting the Beaver Bash Duals against Saskatchewan and Northland Community College in a tune-up for NSIC action as the Beavers host St. Cloud State on Friday, December 1, and Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday, December 2.

After a quick trip to the Dragon Open on December 3, the Beavers are back in action at the MSU Dome hosting in-state rival the University of Mary in a non-conference matchup on Saturday, December 9, to close out the 2023 calendar year.

After the holiday break, the Beavers return to action in Colorado to start the new year wrestling at the Western Colorado Open on January 5, and the Tracy Borah Duals on January 6, for the second straight year.

"Last season, we attended the Tracy Borah Duals and Western Colorado Open at Western Colorado University," Forde said. "We had a really fun trip; I think we really came together as a team that week. We are really looking forward to that trip in early January."

Then it's back to battling NSIC foes with the Beavers competing at Minnesota State, Mankato on January 12, and at Parkside (Wis.) on January 13.
Minot State then heads to Bismarck to take on the Marauders in the teams' NSIC match on January 21 before the Beavers close out the home portion of their regular season with three straight home duals, hosting Sioux Falls on January 26, Augustana on January 27, then Dickinson State in non-conference action on February 6.

The regular season concludes with the Beavers competing at Northern State on February 9, then at Minnesota State Moorhead on February 18 before Minot State heads into the postseason hosting the Super Region tournament at the MSU Dome on Saturday, March 2.

"We have been trying to get the Super Region Tournament to Minot for quite a while now, so we are really excited about hosting," Forde said. "This is the tournament we train for and think about all season, and I think there are some big advantages to hosting. Our wrestlers don't have to travel, they can sleep in their own beds, and we expect a great home crowd. This tournament is always exciting but having it at home only adds to that excitement."