Gophers Come Up Short, Nelson Crowned Champion

Despite having one more wrestler competing in the quarterfinals, Minnesota came up 25 points short of winning a team NCAA National Championship. Big Ten Conference foe Penn State had five wrestlers reach the finals and that was enough to wrap up their second-straight team championship.

Final Team Scores:
1. Penn State  143
2. Minnesota  117.5
3. Iowa  107.5
4. Cornell  102.5
5. Ohio State  68.5

This was the fifth runner-up finish for Minnesota, who won the NCAA Championship in 2007, 2002, and 2001.

Tony Nelson

The highlight of the tournament for the Gophers came in the final match as sophomore Tony Nelson became the fifth heavyweight in Minnesota history to capture the NCAA title. Nelson defeated Zach Rey of Lehigh 4-1 in the final.

The individual title is the first for a Minnesota heavyweight since Cole Konrad (2007 and 2006). Other Gopher heavyweight champions include Brock Lesnar (2000), Verne Gagne (1949) and Leonard "Butch" Levy (1941).

Minnesota Gophers Individual Results:
125: Zach Saunders, 6-1; 3rd Place
133: Chris Dardanes, 5-2; 4th Place
141: Nick Dardanes, 2-2
149: Dylan Ness, 4-1; 2nd Place
157: none
165: Cody Yohn, 0-2
174: Logan Storley, 3-3; 6th Place
184: Kevin Steinhauss, 5-2; 5th Place
197: Sonny Yohn, 5-2; 5th Place
HWT: Tony Nelson, 5-0; NCAA Champion

Gophers Head Coach J Robinson was also honored at the tournament by being named NWCA National Coach of the Year.

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Ness, Thorn Win Titles as Gophers Place Second - Gophersports.com - Official Web Site of University of Minnesota Athletics

Ness, Thorn Win Titles as Gophers Place Second - Gophersports.com - Official Web Site of University of Minnesota Athletics

Big Ten Championship Team Results:
1. Iowa - 156.5
2. Minnesota - 119.5
3. Wisconsin - 109
4. Ohio State - 102.5
5. Penn State - 91
6. Purdue - 76
7. Michigan State - 68.5
8. Illinois - 64
8. Indiana - 64
10. Michigan - 57.5
11. Northwestern - 20

Heavyweight Cole Konrad is Bellator-bound following MMA victory - Bellator Fighting Championships

Heavyweight Cole Konrad is Bellator-bound following MMA victory - Bellator Fighting Championships

Gophers win Big Ten finale

Jayson Ness tied a 13-year-old school record with his 51st career victory by fall, pinning Matt Ortega at 133 pounds as the Gophers captured their final dual meet of the season by a 22-13 score over Indiana (15-7-1, 2-5-1). The Gophers (15-8, 5-3) were also buoyed by wins from Tyler Safratowich (157 pounds) and Gordon Bierschenk (197 pounds) who were both wrestling in their final home dual on Senior Day.

After Minnesota dropped the first bout of the meet, Ness brought the crowd of 2,854 to its feet when he pinned Ortega in the waning seconds of the first period. The pin was Ness’ 16th of the season and tied the school mark set by Billy Pierce (1992-96).

Honored in a pre-meet ceremony for their contributions to Minnesota wrestling, both Safratowich and Bierschenk notched hard-fought wins by decision that helped the Gophers close out the dual season on a high note. Safratowich’s victory came over the Hoosiers’ 13th-ranked Kurt Kinser by a 5-1 score and Bierschenk’s 10-5 win over Matt Powless at 197 pounds virtually put the meet out of reach for Indiana

Mike Thorn, who had lost his previous three matches to top-five ranked opponents, bounced back with a decisive 7-3 win over Andrae Hernandez at 141 pounds. Hernandez, who had defeated Iowa’s top-ranked Alex Tsirtsis in overtime on Friday, was forced to wrestle from behind throughout the match as Thorn recorded a takedown just four seconds into the bout.

Following Safratowich’s win at 157 pounds, the Hoosiers responded with wins in each of the next three bouts to claim a 13-12 lead. Minnesota redshirt freshman Sonny Yohn then regained the lead when his 11-0 major decision win over Eric Cameron gave his team a 16-13 lead it would not relinquish.

Bierschenk’s win pushed the lead to 19-13 and heavyweight Ben Berhow put a stamp on the dual win with a 5-3 win over Nate Everhart. Berhow’s win gave the sophomore a perfect 8-0 record in Big Ten duals this season.

Minnesota will be off for nearly two weeks as it prepares for the Big Ten Championships, which will be held March 7-8 at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa. For ticket information, visit gopsusports.cstv.com.

Gopher wrestlers wrap up regular season on Sunday

The Gophers got a forfeit victory at 133 pounds, but those six points were all they would get in a 29-6 dual meet loss to Iowa State on Friday evening in Ames. The meet, which took place concurrently with a women’s gymnastics meet between Minnesota and Iowa State as a part of ISU’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’ event at the Hilton Coliseum, featured seven decision wins by Iowa State.

Just one pin away from tying Minnesota’s all-time school record with 51, Jayson Ness was not afforded the chance to wrestle on Friday night. Ness’ win by forfeit was his second such win of the season, having earned six points for his team in a 26-12 win at Arizona State earlier this winter. Ness will now have the opportunity to tie the record owned by Billy Pierce (1992-96) in Minneapolis when the Gophers host No. 18 Indiana to close the dual season on Sunday afternoon.

In the opening match of the meet, Iowa State was able to set the tone when 10th-ranked Tyler Clark edged the Gophers’ Zach Sanders with a 3-2 decision at 125 pounds. The win by Clark dealt Sanders just his fourth loss of the season and foiled Sanders’ attempt at consecutive wins over an opponent ranked in the top 10 nationally.

Mike Thorn suffered his third consecutive close defeat to a top-five opponent with a 7-5 loss to fourth-ranked Nick Gallick at 141 pounds. Thorn lost to Wisconsin’s No. 1 Zach Tanelli (2-1) and Iowa’s No. 2 Alex Tsirtsis (7-5) last weekend.

Minnesota heavyweight Ben Berhow had his career-long nine-match winning streak snapped by top-ranked David Zabriske in the final bout of the dual. Berhow will still have an opportunity to finish the Big Ten dual season with a perfect 8-0 record on Sunday at the Sports Pavilion, where he is projected to meet the Hoosiers’ Nate Everhart.

The team will also celebrate the anniversaries of its 1959 and 1999 Big Ten championships on Sunday at the Sports Pavilion. Tickets for the dual with Indiana are still available and can be obtained by calling 1-800-U-GOPHER or by contacting the Gopher Ticket Office at 612-624-8080.

Gophers ranked #12 in preseason poll

The University of Minnesota Gophers wrestling team was ranked #12 in the NCAA Division 1 wrestling preseason poll released on October 21, 2008. All 11 teams in the Big Ten Conference received votes in the poll with nine being ranked in the top 16.

USA Today/InterMat/NWCA Division I Team Rankings
1 Iowa (Big 10)
2 Iowa State
3 Cornell
4 Ohio State (Big 10)
5 Missouri
6 Nebraska
T7 Penn State (Big 10)
T7 Oklahoma State
9 Illinois (Big 10)
10 Michigan (Big 10)
11 Northwestern (Big 10)
12 MINNESOTA (Big 10)
13 Wisconsin (Big 10)
14 Boise State
15 Edinboro
16 Indiana (Big 10)
17 Maryland
18 Central Michigan
19 Old Dominion
20 Oklahoma
T21 Navy
T21 Penn
23 Virginia
24 Northern Iowa
25 West Virginia

Others receiving votes: Harvard, Kent State, Hofstra, Oregon State, NC State, Michigan State, Purdue, Chattanooga