Minnesota Signs Three to Complete Recruiting Class
May 1, 2008
The University of Minnesota wrestling
program has signed three additional athletes to round out its 2007-08
recruiting class, the Gopher coaching staff announced today. Thane Antczak (Chetek/Prairie Farm, Wis.) has signed a National Letter of Intent, while Zach Loppnow (Lake City, Minn.) and Wesley Richard (Dillingham, Alaska) have signed Acceptance of Admission forms.
The new recruits will wrestle for the Gophers beginning next fall.
Antczak is a two-time Wisconsin High School State Champion and will
wrestle at 125 pounds for the Gophers. He won the Division 2 state
title at 103 pounds as a sophomore, 112 as a junior and finished
runner-up last season at 125 pounds. He plans to study in the
University’s Institute of Technology program after graduating at the
top of his class at Prairie Farm High School.
Loppnow is a senior at Lincoln High School and was the 2008 Minnesota
High School State Champion at 285 pounds, ending his final prep season
with a 37-1 record. He finished sixth at state as a junior in 2007 and
recorded a 101-19 overall record in high school. He plans to pursue a
degree in civil engineering at Minnesota.
Richard, a native of Dillingham, Alaska, placed eighth at the
prestigious Reno (Nev.) Tournament of Champions last December. At
Dillingham, Richard was a two-time Alaska state champion as a sophomore
and junior, the state runner-up at 135 pounds as a senior, and a member
of back-to-back Alaska 1A-2A-3A state championship squads.
“All three of these wrestlers will be great additions to our team and
they will increase the level of competition in the wrestling room next
fall,” said Gopher head coach J Robinson. “We feel our recruiting class
this season was one of our strongest ever and should allow us to
compete for a national title for years to come.”
These three join the six fall signees: Jake Deitchler (Anoka, Minn.),
Atticus Disney (Topeka, Kan.), Ryland Geiger (Scappoose, Ore.), Mario
Mason (Blairstown, N.J.), Matt Mincey (Apple Valley, Minn.) and Cody
Yohn (Alamosa, Colo.)