FARGO, N.D. — It’s the biggest time of the year for wrestling teams across the state of North Dakota, as the 2026 State Tournament kicks off at the Fargodome this Friday.
The Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks, the Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs and the Killdeer Cowboys have all faced adversity all season long, but are confident that they will bring their best foot forward once they step on the mat.
The individual portion of the tournament will take place on Friday, Feb. 20, while the dual portion will occur on Saturday, Feb. 21.
Here is an outlook on each squad.
Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks
1/20: The Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks earned second place with 172.5 points at the 2026 Class B West Region Duals at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
2/20: The Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks earned second place with 172.5 points at the 2026 Class B West Region Duals at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
3/20: The Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks earned second place with 172.5 points at the 2026 Class B West Region Duals at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
4/20: The Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks earned second place with 172.5 points at the 2026 Class B West Region Duals at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
5/20: The Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks earned second place with 172.5 points at the 2026 Class B West Region Duals at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
6/20: The Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks earned second place with 172.5 points at the 2026 Class B West Region Duals at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
7/20: The Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks earned second place with 172.5 points at the 2026 Class B West Region Duals at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
8/20: The Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks earned second place with 172.5 points at the 2026 Class B West Region Duals at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
9/20: The Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks earned second place with 172.5 points at the 2026 Class B West Region Duals at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
10/20: The Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks earned second place with 172.5 points at the 2026 Class B West Region Duals at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
11/20: The Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks earned second place with 172.5 points at the 2026 Class B West Region Duals at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
12/20: The Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks earned second place with 172.5 points at the 2026 Class B West Region Duals at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
13/20: The Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks earned second place with 172.5 points at the 2026 Class B West Region Duals at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
14/20: The Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks earned second place with 172.5 points at the 2026 Class B West Region Duals at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
15/20: The Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks earned second place with 172.5 points at the 2026 Class B West Region Duals at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
16/20: The Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks earned second place with 172.5 points at the 2026 Class B West Region Duals at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
17/20: The Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks earned second place with 172.5 points at the 2026 Class B West Region Duals at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
18/20: The Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks earned second place with 172.5 points at the 2026 Class B West Region Duals at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
19/20: The Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks earned second place with 172.5 points at the 2026 Class B West Region Duals at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
20/20: The Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks earned second place with 172.5 points at the 2026 Class B West Region Duals at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
The Nighthawks claimed the West Region dual championship for the first time since 2022, which was also the last time that they had a state champion. Winning the region was one of the team’s top goals at the beginning of the season. Now that they’ve checked off that box, Hettinger-Scranton is heading into the weekend with momentum.
“I really felt like my guys just wrestled really well with a tremendous amount of grit. They wrestled so much like a team. It was just absolutely amazing. Individually, we were just super gritty all weekend long,” Nighthawks head coach Randy Burwick said. “We just saw a tremendous amount of fight out of our guys and it took everything we had to beat Bowman County in the championship there.”
Following their region dual championship, the Nighthawks took home second place at the West Region Individual Tournament in Killdeer, tallying 172.5 points and placing 10 wrestlers.
Hettinger-Scranton went 9-0 in dual meets this season, despite the fact that it has had guys in and out of the lineup due to injuries or illness. So it has been a next man up mentality for the entire season.
“We know that adversity is going to come. I always tell the kids when it comes to regional times, you got to be a little bit selfish. These are the things that you’ve worked for all season long,” Burwick said. “When you get into the individual part of it, you have to understand what kind of work you get all season long, what kind of goals you have and outside distractions cannot take you away from that.”
Hettinger-Scranton Nighthawks junior Kyler Schalesky in action at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
Kyler Schalesky is the Nighthawks’ highest returning state placer from last season, earning third at 139. The senior is headed into the tournament as the No. 3 seed and claimed the individual West Region title on Saturday.
Sophomore Alberto Verdin is the Nighthawks’ other region champion at 107 and is the top seed in his weight class. Both individuals are looking to become Hettinger-Scranton’s first state champion since 2022.
Hettinger-Scranton will take on No. 5 Carrington in the quarterfinal round to open up the tournament.
Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs
1/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
2/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
3/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
4/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
5/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
6/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
7/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
8/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
9/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
10/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
11/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
12/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
13/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
14/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
15/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
16/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
17/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
18/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
19/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
20/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
21/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
22/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
23/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
24/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
25/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
26/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
27/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
28/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
29/29: The Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs placed third at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
The Buccadawgs were the runner-ups at the West Region dual tournament after falling to Hettinger-Scranton in the championship round. They claimed third at the individual tournament, racking up 162.5 points and 11 wrestlers qualified for state.
“I thought we wrestled very well. For all the injuries that we’ve had this season, we’ve got guys that are stepping up and filling those vacant spots for us and doing a great job for us,” BCHS head coach Jeff Boynton said. “We’re competing at a high level at the end of the season here, when it counts most, and looking forward to state.”
Jace Boynton is a returning state champion after claiming his first state crown as an eighth-grader last year at 107. Boynton moved up to 114 this season and finished his freshman season 34-4 while claiming his first regional crown of his career.
Bowman County/Beach Buccadawgs freshman Jace Boynton grabs his opponent in the semifinal round at the West Region Class B Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
“I just tell him to take each match one match at a time, and stay focused and wrestle tough,” Boynton said.
Sawyer Noll was the Buccadawgs’ second region champion on Saturday at 172. The junior is going into state with a 41-1 record and is looking for revenge after falling short in the championship round last year at 160.
Bowman County/Beach will open the dual-state tournament against No. 2 Lisbon.
1/19: The Killdeer Cowboys placed 11th at the 2026 Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
2/19: The Killdeer Cowboys placed 11th at the 2026 Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
3/19: The Killdeer Cowboys placed 11th at the 2026 Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
4/19: The Killdeer Cowboys placed 11th at the 2026 Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
5/19: The Killdeer Cowboys placed 11th at the 2026 Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
6/19: The Killdeer Cowboys placed 11th at the 2026 Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
7/19: The Killdeer Cowboys placed 11th at the 2026 Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
8/19: The Killdeer Cowboys placed 11th at the 2026 Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
9/19: The Killdeer Cowboys placed 11th at the 2026 Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
10/19: The Killdeer Cowboys placed 11th at the 2026 Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
11/19: The Killdeer Cowboys placed 11th at the 2026 Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
12/19: The Killdeer Cowboys placed 11th at the 2026 Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
13/19: The Killdeer Cowboys placed 11th at the 2026 Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
14/19: The Killdeer Cowboys placed 11th at the 2026 Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
15/19: The Killdeer Cowboys placed 11th at the 2026 Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
16/19: The Killdeer Cowboys placed 11th at the 2026 Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
17/19: The Killdeer Cowboys placed 11th at the 2026 Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
18/19: The Killdeer Cowboys placed 11th at the 2026 Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
19/19: The Killdeer Cowboys placed 11th at the 2026 Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
The Cowboys did not qualify for the state tournament as a team. But they will be sending seven wrestlers to compete in the individual tournament, which is half of their roster. Head coach Sean Elkins says that any one of those wrestlers can get on the podium at state.
“We got some kids in that we weren’t sure if they would qualify, so it was exciting,” Elkins said. “We had a bunch of injuries that kind of hinder some of us up on the backside, so we’re hoping we can go into state a little healthier and go from there.”
Killdeer Cowboys sophomore Jack Bohmbach wrestles his opponent at the Class B West Region Individual Tournament at Killdeer High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
Killdeer is coming off an 11th place finish at individuals, posting 74.5 points, with Jack Bohmbach being the team’s only individual region champion on Saturday at 145. He is the team’s highest state placer from a season ago after claiming third at 133.
“He’s been down this path every year since he’s been a seventh-grader,” Elkins said. “He’s a seasoned vet even though he’s only a sophomore. His big thing is he had to step up this year and be a leader.”
The Cowboys, who finished the season going 7-6 in dual meets, were one of the youngest teams in the region this year. They only have two sophomores, five juniors and one senior. The rest of the roster consists of seventh- and eighth-graders.
“A lot of those kids it’s their first time in the varsity lineup, and we’re getting better every week,” Elkins said. “We’re building, we’re improving and just trying to stay hungry.”
Killdeer will begin its state tournament journey on Friday with the individual round.
Jacob Cheris covers a variety of high school and college sports. A graduate of Penn State University’s class of 2023, with a degree in broadcast journalism, he covered Penn State Men’s Hockey for three years. Jacob also covers Big Ten Hockey for College Hockey News.