Highted by accomplished high school wrestlers such as Greco-Roman
Olympian Jake Deitchler (Anoka, Minn.), Matt Mincey (Apple Valley,
Minn.) and Mario Mason (Blairstown, NJ), the 2008 Gopher wrestling
recruiting class has been ranked the best in the country. Heralded
wrestling website InterMatWrestle.com joined the list of online
publications hailing Minnesota’s class as tops in the country. The
Gophers’ class was ranked just ahead of Big Ten rivals Wisconsin (2nd)
and Iowa (5th).
InterMat utilizes a complex ranking system that includes a calculation
of factors such as depth of class, quality of recruits, recruits’
potential impact on the 2008-09 season and impact on the future. Other
Big Ten programs with classes ranked in InterMat’s top 30 include
Michigan (7th), Illinois (9th), Northwestern (15th), Ohio State (18th),
Indiana (24th), and Purdue (26th).
In addition to Deitchler, Mincey and Mason, the Gophers’ 2008 class
also includes Atticus Disney (Topeka, Kan.), Cody Yohn (Alamosa,
Colo.), Thane Antczak (Chetek/Prairie Farm, Wis.), Zach Loppnow (Lake
City, Minn.), Ryland Geiger (Scappose, Ore), and Wesley Richard
(Dillingham, Alaska).
The Gophers’ regular season begins with the Bison Open in Fargo, ND on
Sat., Nov. 15. Minnesota’s home opener is a New Year’s Day tilt with
Oklahoma State at the Sports Pavilion.