TULSA, Okla. -- Luke Weber can add another accolade to his impressive wrestling resume.
The Forsyth native and current North Dakota State senior won the Big 12 Conference championship at 165 pounds on Sunday, punching his ticket to the NCAA Championships.
Weber, who entered the conference tournament as a No. 4 seed, defeated Wyoming's Cole Moody in the championship with an 11-7 decision. It was Weber's 12 consecutive win after he opened the tournament with a 16-2 major decision over Troy Mantanona of Oklahoma and then defeated No. 1 seed Travis Wittlake of Oklahoma State with a 5-3 sudden victory in the semifinal round.
Weber's individual title helped the Bison to a sixth-place team finish at the Big 12 Wrestling Championships.
The championship also gives Weber an automatic berth in the NCAA Championships, which are scheduled for March 18-20 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Mo. The NCAA field, which includes 33 wrestlers in each weight class, will be announced on Wednesday.
Prior to the start of the Big 12 tournament, Weber was ranked 29th at 165 pounds in the NCAA Coaches Rankings. He'll enter the NCAA Championships with a 13-2 overall record this season.
During his college career, Weber has now compiled a 57-27 overall record, which doesn't include his 26-7 mark during a redshirt season at Nebraska in 2016-17. Weber graduated from Forsyth in 2016 after building a 212-5 career record with the Dogies. He won four individual high school state titles at Forsyth, going 54-0 in 2016 and finishing his career with 174 pins.
Also at the Big 12 Wrestling Championships, Belgrade's Jarett Degen, now a senior at Iowa State, placed fourth at 149 pounds. He lost a 4-3 decision in the first round but battled back to win three consolation matches -- a 6-2 decision over Dylan Martinez of Air Force, a 1-0 decision over Cameron Hunsaker of Utah Valley and 8-4 decision over Triston Lara of Northern Iowa. Degen lost a 9-4 decision to Kyle Parco of Fresno State in the third-place match.
At the Big Ten Wrestling Championships, Havre's Parker Filius placed fifth at 141 pounds. Filius, a junior at Purdue, defeated Colin Valdiviez of Northwestern 5-2 in the fifth-place match. Filius won his first-round match with a 4-3 decision but was pinned in the quarterfinal round. He battled back to win two consolation matches before losing in the consolation semifinals.
