January 20, 2006
The top-ranked Golden Gopher wrestling team (13-0, 1-0) won seven of 10 matches in a 24-11 victory against No. 16 Northwestern (5-3, 0-1) on Friday night at the Sports Pavilion. Minnesota improved to 13-0 on the year and extended their winning streak to eight matches over the Wildcats.
The Wildcats jumped ahead 3-0 after eighth-ranked John Velez earned a 6-0 decision against junior Andrew Domingues at 125 pounds. Velez jumped ahead for good with a takedown and near fall with 30 seconds left in the first period. Velez added a second-period escape and then rode Domingues the entire third period.
Minnesota responded with five straight victories, including third-ranked Mack Reiter’s 5-2 decision over Daniel Quintela at 133 pounds. Reiter jumped ahead 2-0 with a takedown thirty seconds into the match. He added another early in the second period as he improved to 20-2 on the year.
The Golden Gophers led 7-3 after 19th-ranked Manuel Rivera scored a 14-3 major decision against Marty Gould at 141 pounds. Rivera led 6-2 after two periods, but blew the match open with a reversal and a near fall in the third period. Gould was wrestling in place of sixth-ranked Ryan Lang who sat out the match with a leg injury.
Manuel Rivera (MN) vs. Marty Gould (NW). 06A20AMK01410053 Photo Mark Beshey
After jumping from No. 7 to No. 2 in the rankings this past week, true freshman Dustin Schlatter put on a clinic in a 17-1 technical fall against Jimmy Kim at 149 pounds. Schlatter needed just six seconds to take a 2-0 lead with a takedown. He then scored three near falls to take an 11-0 first-period lead. Schlatter added two more takedowns in the second to end the match in 4:41. He is now 27-1 on the year and will face top-ranked Ty Eustice of Iowa on Sunday afternoon.
Schlatter’s older brother, C.P., followed with a 9-4 decision against Greg Hagel at 157 pounds. Schlatter led 4-1 in the first period, but Hagel cut the lead to one with a reversal. Schlatter responded with a second-period takedown to collect the win. He is now 24-4 on the year.
C.P. Schlatter (MN) vs. Greg Hagel (NW). 06A20AMK01570058 Photo Mark Beshey
Following intermission, senior Matt Nagel made the score 18-3 with a 3-1 decision against 17th-ranked Will Durkee at 165 pounds. Nagel’s first-period takedown held up as he improved to 20-6 on the year and 8-5 in duals.
The Wildcats narrowed the gap to 18-7 as second-ranked Jake Herbert collected a 13-3 major decision against eighth-ranked Gabriel Dretsch at 174 pounds. Herbert led 4-0 after two periods and then tallied four takedowns in the third period to earn the bonus point. Herbert now has a 27-match winning streak.
Minnesota rebounded at 184 pounds as ninth-ranked Roger Kish defeated 10th-ranked Mike Tamillow, 6-2. Kish took a 4-1 lead on a pair of first-period takedowns. In the third period, Tamillow was penalized a pair of points for clasping his hands. With the win, Kish improved to 23-3 overall and 10-3 in duals.
After Northwestern’s Matt Delguyd defeated Justin Bronson, 13-2 at 197 pounds, top-ranked heavyweight Cole Konrad defeated ninth-ranked Dustin Fox, 4-0. Konrad’s first-period takedown proved to be the difference as he improved to 25-0 on the year. Konrad has now won 54 of his last 55 matches.
The Golden Gophers return to the mat when they host the annual Border Brawl against Iowa at Williams Arena. The match will begin at 2 p.m.