The top-ranked University
of Minnesota wrestling team (19-1, 7-0) wrapped up the Big Ten
regular season crown with a convincing 28-12 victory over Wisconsin on
Friday night in Madison. The Golden Gophers won seven of 10 matches on
the nigh to remain unbeaten in conference action and extend their
winning streak to 19 consecutive matches overall.
Top-ranked heavyweight Cole Konrad and No. 4 Jayson Ness both picked up
pins to lead the Gophers to victory. With his win, Konrad extended his
winning streak to 66 consecutive matches and moved within four of the
school record for pins in a career. Ness earned bonus points for the
10th time during his current 14-match winning streak.
Roger Kish improved to 28-1 on the season by scoring a career-high 24
points to earn a tech fall at 184 pounds, and second-ranked Manuel
Rivera remained unbeaten at 34-0 with a come-from-behind victory at 141.
In the marquee match of the night at 157 pounds, sixth-ranked C.P.
Schlatter fell to No. 5 Craig Henning after three controversial stall
warning penalties in the third period.
The dual meet started at 174 pounds, where No. 14 Gabriel Dretsch
defeated Matt Maciag, 4-1. Dretsch scored a takedown midway through the
first period, which was all he would need to get the decision. Dretsch
got a quick escape after starting down in the second and rode Maciag
out in the third to get the bonus point for riding time.
Kish followed with a dominating performance over Justin Peterson at
184, earning a four-point tech fall with a 24-9 victory. Kish went
after Peterson from the opening whistle, scoring five takedowns in the
first period to build a 10-4 lead. Much of the same followed, as Kish
continually took Peterson down and allowed him to escape as he went
after bonus points. With the bonus point for riding time, Kish earned
the tech fall with the 15-point advantage, but he did not get the back
points necessary to put five team points on the board for the Gophers.
Wisconsin cut Minnesota’s lead to 7-3 with a decision at 197, as No. 13
Dallas Herbst defeated Yura Malamura, 9-2. Malamura wrestled a tough
match, but Herbst was able to take him down to his back as the first
period came to a close to take a 4-0 lead. Leading 4-1 entering the
third, Herbst went in search of bonus points in the final stanza, but
Malamura was able to hold him off to keep the damage to a minimum.
Back-to-back pins by Konrad and Ness gave the Gophers a commanding 19-3
lead. In his match against Wisconsin redshirt freshman Jordan Hein,
Konrad nearly got the pin early in the second period when he rolled
Hein over with a high arm bar, but the Badger wrestler was able to
scramble out of it. It only delayed the inevitable, however, as Konrad
later used the same move to put Hein on his back and get the fall at
4:41.
Following intermission, Ness scored an early takedown just 10 seconds
into his match against Drew Hammen and rode him the remainder of the
period. After starting down in the second, Ness got a quick reversal
and then used his signature high half series to roll Hammen to his back
and get the pin at 3:47.
No. 9 Mack Reiter put Minnesota up 22-3 with a convincing 9-3 decision
over No. 14 Zach Tannelli at 133. Reiter avoided danger in the first
period when Tannelli attempted a quick shot after a restart and
countered by scoring the first takedown of the match moments later.
Reiter built his lead with three back points in the second period and a
takedown midway through the third, adding the bonus point for riding
time.
At 141, Rivera faced a 3-0 deficit early in the second period against
No. 15 Kyle Ruschell but cut the deficit to 3-2 before the start of the
third. From there, Rivera wore Ruschell down and scored three takedowns
in an entertaining final period to earn the 8-6 decision.
Minnesota forfeited at 149 pounds, setting up the most anticipated
match-up of the night between Schlatter and Henning. The outcome was
taken out of the wrestlers hands, however, as Schlatter was called for
three controversial stall warnings in the final period. Facing a 1-0
deficit heading into the third, Henning was awarded a point after
Schlatter’s second stall warning of the match early in the period.
Schlatter responded to tie the score at two apiece with a takedown with
a minute remaining but was called for stalling two more times after
dropping to Henning’s ankle on two proceeding restarts, giving Henning
the 5-3 decision.
In the final match of the night, Tyler Safratowich remained unbeaten in
Big Ten dual meets with his fifth straight win since earning the
starting spot at 165. Saftratowich countered a shot by Wisconsin’s Jake
Donar to get a takedown and three-point near fall near the end of the
first period to take a 5-0 lead, which proved to be the difference in
his 6-3 decision, which made the final score in the dual 28-12.
Minnesota will look to wrap up Head Coach J Robinson’s fifth 20-win
season and his fourth unbeaten Big Ten dual meet record when they
travel to Iowa City on Sunday to face the 10th-ranked Hawkeyes at 6
p.m. Live results will be available on Gophersports.com via
Hawkeyesports.com.