University of Minnesota Athletics
NO. 4 MINNESOTA GRAPPLERS READY TO FACE NO. 8 NEBRASKA
1/5/2000 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
MEET THE NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS: Nebraska is coming off a successful year finishing fourth at the Big 12 Championships and 15th at the NCAA Tournament and a 17-6 dual mark, the best dual record since the 1994-95 campaign. The Cornhuskers return two All- Americans from last year's group in senior Brad Vering at 197 pounds and sophomore Bryan Snyder at 157 pounds. In addition to the two All-Americans, Nebraska returns four other NCAA qualifiers in Todd Beckerman, a 133-pounder who qualified in 1997, Paul Gomez, a 125-pounder who qualified in 1998-99, Joe Henson, at 149 pounds who qualified last year and Charles McTorry, a 184- pounder who qualifed in 1997. So far this season Nebraska is 2-0, with dual meet wins over Lock Haven (20-16) and Missouri (32- 6). The Cornuhuskers recently competed in the Reno Challenge and the Great Plains Open.
THE SERIES: Minnesota leads the series 29-9 over Nebraska dating back to 1960. The Golden Gophers defeated the Cornhuskers 29-9 on Valentines Day last year in Lincoln, Neb. In the match, Brandon Eggum sufferred his first loss of the 1998-99 season with a 1-1 loss in two tiebreakers to No. 8-ranked Brad Vering. Before the match Eggum was ranked No. 1 in the nation and dropped to No. 2 with the loss. The last time Nebraska defeated Minnesota was a 20-17 win on Jan. 9, 1996, in the Sports Pavilion.
FOUR GOLDEN GOPHERS WIN TITLES AT GREAT PLAINS OPEN: University of Minnesota freshman Garrett Lowney won the heavyweight title, sophomore Owen Elzen won the 197-pound title, freshman Jared Lawrence won the 149-pound title and sophomore Leroy Vega placed first at 125 pounds at the Great Plains Open in Lincoln, Neb.
Vega decisioned Matt Holman of Oklahoma State 8-4 in the championship final to win the 125-pound title. Elzen took the 197-pound title with a 14-8 decision over Waymen May of Oklahoma and Lowney won the heavyweight title with a 5-3 decision over Sean Hage of West Virginia. Lawrence won the 149- pound title with a 10-2 major decision over Jeff Urbin of Missouri State.
Junior Brett Lawrence placed third at 133 pounds with a 1-0 decision over Brian Watson of Oregon. Sophomore Ryan Lewis also placed fifth at 133 pounds. At 141 pounds sophomore Chad Erikson placed third with a 8-2 decision over Jarrad Sanders of Oklahoma State.
At 157 pounds Luke Becker placed third with a 3-2 decision over Jesse Jordan of Missouri. Sophomore John Hardy placed second at 165 pounds, losing in the championship final to Jeremy Sell of Wyoming 8-6 in overtime. At 174 pounds senior Delaney Berger placed second losing in the final to John Kopnisky of Missouri 5-4.
NO. 4 GOLDEN GOPHER WRESTLERS CRUSH PORTLAND STATE 48-0: The No. 4-ranked Golden Gophers cruised to their fifth dual meet victory of the season with a win over Portland State 48-0 at the Sports Pavilion Sunday afternoon. Minnesota recorded four pins and three technical fall decisions to win the match. The Golden Gophers are now 5-0 on the season.
Minnesota started the match with a 21-5 technical fall decision by sophomore All-American Leroy Vega in 2:41. Vega, ranked second in the nation at 125 pounds, improved his overall record to 13-0. Junior Brett Lawrence defeated John Fasana with a pin in 4:27 at 133 pounds. At 141 pounds, sophomore Chad Erikson defeated J.T. Horner with a 22-7 technical fall decision to improve the Golden Gopher lead to 22-0. Following Erikson at 149 pounds was redshirt freshman Jared Lawrence, ranked 10th in the nation, who pinnned Matt Keinonen in just 2:45. Rounding out the first half was redshirt freshman Luke Becker, who defeated Eric Arbogast with a 13-7 decision.
At 165 pounds redshirt freshman Mitch Marr made his first start as a Golden Gopher and decisioned Quinn Collett 5-4. Sophomore junior college transfer John Hardy won his 11th match of the year with a 8-6 decision over Mike Pierce at 174 pounds to improve the Golden Gophers lead to 31-0.
Senior Delaney Berger, ranked 20th in the nation, came out at 184 pounds and pinned R.J. Gillespie in just 1:49. At 197 pounds senior All-American Brandon Eggum defeated Jeremy Wilson with a 21-5 technical fall decision to improve his overall record to 13-1. Eggum is ranked second in that nation. Rounding out the Golden Gopher shutout was senior All-American Brock Lesnar, ranked No. 1 in the nation, who pinned Joe Slaughter.
GOLDEN GOPHER WRESTLING TEAM DEFEATS NORTHERN IOWA 27-6: The No. 4-ranked University of Minnesota wrestling team defeated No. 17 Northern Iowa 27-6 Friday in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Golden Gophers won eight matches to improve their dual meet record to 4-0 on the season, while Northern Iowa drops to 0-2-1.
Senior All-American Brock Lesnar won his seventh match of the year with a 10-2 major decision over Paul Hynek at heavyweight to start the match. Sophomore Leroy Vega, ranked second in the nation, defeated Eric Dunmire with a 11-4 decision to improve his record to 12-0 at 125 pounds. Also winning his match with technical fall decision was sophmore Chad Erikson over Mark Rial at 141 pounds.
Junior Brett Lawrence defeated Chad Boudreaux 7-1 at 133 pounds and redshirt freshman Luke Becker defeated Bob Koenig 8-7 at 157 pounds. The last four matches were all decided by four points or less. Sophomore John Hardy defeated Nate Lawrenz 10- 6 at 165 pounds. At 184 pounds, senior All-American Brandon Eggum decisioned Kyle Hanson 3- 2 and at 197 pounds sophomore Owen Elzen defeated Tony Wieland 2-0.
GOLDEN GOPHERS PLACE THIRD IN LAS VEGAS INVITATIONAL; LOWNEY AND HAHN WIN UNI TITLES: The No. 3-ranked University of Minnesota wrestling team placed third in the Las Vegas Invitational in Prim, Nev., with 123 points. Oklahoma State won the invite with 170 points, while Illinois finished second with 142 points. Cal-State Bakersfield was fourth with 101.5 points and Michigan was fifth with 96 points.
Sophomore All-American Leroy Vega was the lone champion for the Golden Gophers at 125 pounds. He defeated Steve Garland of Virginia 6-3 in the finals. Placing second was senior Delaney Berger at 174 pounds. Berger lost in the finals to Otto Olson of Michigan 3-0.
At 133 pounds, junior Brett Lawrence placed fifth with a 2-1 decision over Ben Richards of Oregon State. Also placing fifth was sophomore Chad Erikson at 141 pounds with a 5-2 decision over Paul Konechne of South Dakota State. Freshman Jared Lawrence lost in the consolation finals to Quinn Foster of Arizona State, 8-7. At 197 pounds, sophomore Owen Elzen placed sixth, losing to Rusty Cook of Boise State 6-4 in the fifth place match.
Another set of Golden Gopher wrestlers competed in the Northern Iowa Open in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Freshman Damion Hahn won the 184-pound class with a 8-5 decision over Jessman Smith of Iowa. Also winning was redshirt freshman Garrett Lowney at heavyweight with a 5- 4 overtime decision over Mike Russow of Eastern Illinois. Senior Ty Friederichs finished second at 141 pounds and freshman Jacob Volkmann placed second also at 157 pounds.
GOLDEN GOPHER WRESTLING TEAM DEFEATS ST. CLOUD STATE 51-0 AND HOFSTRA 28-9: The University of Minnesota wrestling team won two dual meets at the Sports Pavilion with a 51-0 shuotout over St. Cloud State and a 28-9 victory over No. 18-ranked Hofstra University. The No. 3-ranked Golden Gophers are now 3-0 on the season.
In the first match against Division II St. Cloud State, Minnesota recorded five pins and two technical falls to rack up 51 team points. Freshman Luke Becker started the night with a pin over Matt Nuemueller at 157 pounds in 1:57. Senior Delaney Berger also recorded a pin over Jason Polinder at 174 pounds in 1:06. Also recording pins was No. 2- ranked senior Brandon Eggum at 184 pounds, 13th-ranked Chad Erikson at 141 pounds and freshman Jared Lawrence, ranked No. 10 in the nation, at 149 pounds.
Minnesota only lost three matches against No. 18-ranked Hofstra. Becker began the match for the Golden Gophers with a close 6-4 decision over Dennis Papadatos at 157 pounds. Sophomore John Hardy added three more team points with a 11-8 decision over Noel Thompson. Berger decisioned Zach Miller 3-2 at 174 pounds. Eggum recorded a 17-5 major decision over Rob Anspach at 184 pounds. At 197 pounds, sophomore Owen Elzen recorded a 19-3 technical fall decision over Rich Attonito.
Hofstra forfeited the match at heavyweight, improving senior Brock Lesnar's record to 6-0. At 125 pounds, sophomore All- American Leroy Vega recorded a 17-4 major decision over Tom Noto to give Minnesota 28-0 lead in the match. The Golden Gophers dropped the last three matches, all to Hofstra wrestlers ranked in the top 12 in the nation.
MINNESOTA WRESTLERS PUMMEL NORTH DAKOTA STATE 33-9 IN SEASON OPENER: The University of Minnesota wrestling team won their first match of the season tonight by defeating North Dakota State 33-9 at the Bison Sports Arena in Fargo, North Dakota. The last time the Golden Gophers lost to North Dakota State was during the 1970-71 season.
Sophomore Leroy Vega, who is ranked second in the nation at 125, defeated freshman Matt Strawser by technical fall. The score was 23-8 when the match was called. Vega won by technical fall at 7:57. Senior Brandon Eggum also ranked second in his weight class at 184, scored seven takedowns in his 17-7 win by decision over junior Steve Saxlund.
Junior Brett Lawrence won by decision in overtime, after withholding an enormous comeback by senior Kris Nelson. Nelson rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the third to tie the match at 6- 6, but Lawrence stood strong after his takedown in OT for the victory.
Senior Brock Lesnar, the number one heavyweight wrestler in the nation, pinned senior Dave Clymer to the mat in 2:47. Lesnar had a 7-1 lead when he made the pin.
GOLDEN GOPHER WRESTLERS COMPETE AT KAUFMAN-BRAND OPEN: Several members of the Golden Gopher wrestling team competed in the Kaufman-Brand Open in Omaha, Neb. Freshman Jacob Volkmann of Henning, Minn., won the 157 pound title in the 20 and under division, while redshirt freshman Garrett Lowney of Appleton, Wis., won the heavyweight title in the open division. Volkmann was also namedthe Most Outstanding Wrestler.
Volkmann pinned Drew Kelly of Northern Iowa in 3:44 to win the title at 157 pounds, while Lowney won the heavyweight title over Trent Hynek of Iowa State, who had an injury default. Also placing in the 20 and under division was freshman Trent Hatlevig, who placed second at 141 pounds after losing to Luke Moffitt of Iowa Central C.C., 5-2.
In the open division, freshman Damion Hahn placed second after losing to the 1999 NCAA Champion Cael Sanderson of Iowa State, 4-3 at 184 pounds. Sophomore transfer Ryan Lewis placed third after defeating Troy McIlravy of Northern Iowa 13-0 at 133 pounds. Senior Ty Friederichs placed third also after beating Sonny Marchette of Iowa State 3-1 at 141 pounds.
Junior Josh Krebs placed fifth with an injury default by Cole Sanderson of Iowa State at 157 pounds. At 174 pounds, John Hardy placed sixth after being pinned by Steven Schenk of Wyoming in 5:11.
MINNESOTA WINS ALL 10 WEIGHT CLASS TITLES AT THE BISON OPEN: The Golden Gopher wrestling team opened up its season at the Bison Open tournament in Fargo, N.D., Saturday by winning all 10 weight class titles. The tournament is an open competition in which wrestlers compete unattached.
Starting at 125 pounds, sophomore All-American Leroy Vega won his third straight Bison Open title with a technical fall decision over Tom Grafstrom of Minnesota State University at Mankato 19-4. At 133 pounds, junior Brett Lawrence defeated North Dakota State's Kris Nelson 11-3.
Sophomore Chad Erikson won the title at 141 pounds with a decision over fellow Golden Gopher teammate Ty Friederichs 6-3. Redshirt freshman Jared Lawrence won his first Bison Open title at 149 pounds with an 8-4 decision over Brian Zehren of the University of Mary. At 157 pounds redshirt freshman Luke Becker defeated Justin Currie of Mary with a 15-7 major decision.
Junior Brad Pike won his third straight Bison Open title at 165 pounds with a 12-3 major decision over Grady Wolf of North Dakota State University. At 174 pounds senior Delaney Berger defeated Jeremy Engelhardt of Mary 9-3 to win his fourth straight Bison Open title.
Freshman Damion Hahn of Lakewood, N.J., won the 184- pound title with a 9-2 decision over Steve Saxlund of North Dakota State. At 197 pounds sophomore Owen Elzen pinned Nick Severson of North Dakota State in 1:16. To close out the sweep was senior All-American Brock Lesnar who won his third straight Bison Open title at heavyweight with a 3-2 decision over teammate freshman Garrett Lowney.
Several other Golden Gophers also competed in the Bison Open. Freshman Trent Hatlevig placed fifth at 141 pounds, defeating Derek Weigel of Mary 7-2. Freshman Andrew Miller also competed at 141 pounds.
Freshman Jacob Volkmann placed fifth at 157 pounds after pinning senior Golden Gopher Dustin Berger in 3:48. Redshirt freshman Mitch Marr place fourth after losing to Wyane Mooney of North Dakota State 7-3 in the third place match. Freshman John Radabaugh, senior Eddie Pak, junior Josh Krebs and freshman Chris Halbrook also competed at 157.
At 184 pounds, sophomore Mike Cuperus placed third after defeating Travis Nagel of Minnesota State, Mankato, 6-2. Redshirt freshman Steve Bartlett competed at 197 pounds, but did not place. Also competing but did not place was freshman heavyweight Mike Flanagan.
LESNAR RANKED NO. 1 IN INTERMAT'S LATEST POLL: Senior Brock Lesnar, the runner- up at the NCAA Championships last year at heavyweight, returns this year as the No. 1ranked wrestler in that weight class. Two Golden Gophers are ranked second overall. Sophomore All-American Leroy Vega is ranked second at 125 pounds and senior All-American Brandon Eggum is also ranked second at 184 pounds. At 149 pounds, redshirt freshman Jared Lawrence is ranked 10th overall and at 197 pounds, sophomore Owen Elzen is ranked eighth overall.
Junior Brett Lawrence is ranked 14th at 133 pounds and sophomore Chad Erikson is ranked 18th at 141 pounds. Sophomore John Hardy is ranked 19th at 165 pounds and senior Delaney Berger is ranked 16th at 174 pounds.
AMATEUR WRESTLING NEWS ALSO RANKS GOLDEN GOPHERS: Sophomore Leroy Vega is ranked second at 125 pounds according to Amateur Wrestling News. Ranked 18th overall at 133 is junior Brett Lawrence and sophomore Chad Erikson is ranked 15th at 141 pounds. Senior Delaney Berger is ranked130th overall at 174 pounds and senior Brandon Eggum is ranked second at 184 pounds.
At 149 pounds, freshman Jared Lawrence is ranked 11th. At 197 pounds, sophomore Owen Elzen is ranked 12th overall and at heavyweight Brock Lesnar owns the top spot. These rankings were released Dec. 22, 1999.
GOLDEN GOPHERS SIGN FOUR TOP RECRUITS: The University of Minnesota wrestling team announced the signing of three top recruits to join the Golden Gophers in the 2000-2001 wrestling season. Nate Baker, Josh McLay, Nick Zajac and Tyler Marr have all signed national letters of intent.
Baker, a native of Jackson, Minn., is a two-time Minnesota State High School champion at 152 pounds at Jackson County High School, while being ranked No. 1 in the nation at that weight. He will wrestle at 160 pounds this season.
Hastings, Minn., native Josh McLay will also join the Golden Gophers in 2000-2001. McLay is a two-time Minnesota State High School champion at Hastings High School. He is a Junior National Champion as well. This season he will wrestle at 160 pounds.
Zajac, also of Hastings, Minn., is a Cadet World Team member wrestling at 171 pounds. He is a Minnesota State High School placewinner at Hastings High School.
Marr, a native of Wyoming, Minn., was a Minnesota State High School runner-up last year at 160 pounds for Forest Lake High School. Marr is the younger brother of current redshirt freshman Mitch Marr and former Golden Gopher All-American Troy Marr.
MINNESOTA IS RANKED FOURTH: The Golden Gophers are ranked fifth in InterMat's latest poll which came out Dec. 21, 1999. Iowa is ranked No. 1 followed by Iowa State at No. 2. Oklahoma in third and Oklahoma State is ranked fifth.
Minnesota is also ranked fourth according to the NWCA poll, which came out Dec. 15, 1999. Iowa is ranked No. 1 in that poll followed by Iowa State in second. Oklahoma State is ranked third and Oklahoma rounds out the top five.
