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Gophers capture 11th consecutive dual meet victory over Ohio State
February 13, 2005
The University of Minnesota Golden Gopher wrestling team captured its 11th consecutive dual meet victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes, Sunday at the Sports Pavilion, outlasting the Buckeyes by a score of 19-15 in front of 1,679 fans. Gopher Tommy Owen clinched Minnesota's win with a 5-1 decision over OSU's Jason Johnstone at 141 pounds. The dual win improved the Gophers' all-time record against the Buckeyes to 34-10-3, with Ohio State's last victory against Minnesota coming on Feb. 20, 1993, when the Buckeyes recorded a 22-14 win in Minneapolis.
Sunday's meet started with the 157-pound match, featuring Gopher freshman Matthew Everson wrestling in his first dual meet of the season. Everson dropped a 5-3 decision to Ohio State's Keegan Mueller, giving the Buckeyes a 3-0 advantage.
Tenth-ranked Matt Nagel came back in the next match at 165 pounds to give Minnesota a 6-3 lead when he stuck Ohio State's John Vogel at the 1:05 mark of the first period. Nagel improved his overall record for the season to 22-11, while recording his first pin since Jan. 28 when he pinned Michigan State's Bryan Harney in 1:31. The pin was also Nagel's fifth of the year and the 13th of his career.
The Gophers gained another three points in the 174-pound match when freshman Gabriel Dretsch earned a 10-4 decision over Nathaniel Augustson. Dretsch used a pair of third- period takedowns to increase a 5-3 margin he held after two periods. The victory marked the third straight win for Dretsch, following an 11-7 decision over Luke Lofthouse of Iowa on Friday.
Ohio State's Alex Picazo earned a victory at the 184-pound match with a 3-2 decision over Minnesota's Jeremy Larson. Picazo earned a one-point escape at the start of the third period to break a 2-2 tie and held on for the victory.
The Buckeyes tied the dual in the 197-pound match when seventh-ranked J.D. Bergman of Ohio State earned a 9-5 decision over Gopher Jon Duncombe. Bergman earned his team- leading 32nd victory of the season for Ohio State.
Second-ranked Cole Konrad earned his career-best 19th consecutive victory and gave back Minnesota the lead at 12-9 with a 3-2 decision over 16th-ranked Kirk Nail. Konrad recorded a two-point reversal at the start of the third period to earn his first lead at 2-1. Konrad clinched the victory by having more than one minute of riding time advantage. The win improved Konrad's record to 31-2 overall and 11-0 against Big Ten competition. Konrad has not lost a match since dropping a 4-3 decision to Cain Velasquez of Arizona State on Dec. 7. Velasquez was ranked eighth nationally at the time.
Sophomore Andrew Domingues gave the Gophers a lift in the 125-pound match by recording a 13-4 major decision over Ohio State's Nathan Costello Domingues' victory marked his first dual win of the season and only the second time he has wrestled in a dual this year. Domingues' only other dual meet appearance came on Jan. 4 when he lost an 8 -1 decision to nationally-ranked Matt Keller of Nebraska.
Ohio State's T.J. Enright earned the upset of the match, recording a 5-3 sudden-victory decision over third-ranked Mack Reiter of Minnesota. Enright, ranked 18th nationally, scored a two-point takedown less than 20 seconds into the one-minute sudden-victory period. Trailing 3-2 after two period, Reiter recorded a one-point escape to start the third period, but was unable to score again which sent the match to overtime tied 3-3. The loss dropped Reiter's overall record to 31-4 and was his first dual meet loss of the year. Reiter had recorded 12 consecutive victories coming into the match with his last loss occurring on Dec. 29 against David Hoffman of Virginia Tech at the Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C.
Following Owen's meet-clinching victory, Ohio State's Jason Johnstone earned Ohio State's fifth victory of the match with a 3-1 sudden victory over Gopher Danny Williams. Needle recorded a take down 41 seconds into the sudden victory period.
The victory improved Minnesota's record to 9-7 overall and 3-3 in the Big Ten Conference. The Gophers will travel to Madison, Wis., to face the Wisconsin Badgers on Friday before returning home next Sunday to wrestle Illinois in the final home meet of the season.