North Dakota State’s Gaven Sax and West Virginia’s Jett Strickenberger earned the first Big 12 Wrestler of the Week awards of the season after they collected ranked wins in their opening meets. Sax took down then-No. 20 Elise Brown Ton (Nebraska) in the 174-pound weight division while Strickenberg defeated then-No.14 Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State).

Sax rallied for a win after falling behind early due to a takedown in the first and a scoreless second round. The sport management major responded with a reversal to start the final round followed by a four-point nearfall and a riding time point to secure an 8-3 decision win. It was Sax’s third ranked victory of his career. It is the sixth Big 12 weekly award for North Dakota State and first for Sax.

Strickenberger registered a 2-0 record with wins over the 2022 Southeast Open champion Kyle Montaperto (Virginia) as well as the 2023 Pac-12 Champion and 2022 All-American Brandon Kaylor in his Mountaineer debut. The junior pinned Montaperto in 3:50 and picked up a 4-1 decision victory via sudden death against then-No. 14 Kaylor en route to winning the 125-pound title at the Southeast Open. It is his first career award and West Virginia’s 15^th after Jordan Titus last claimed the honor for the Mountaineers on January 10, 2023.