University of Minnesota Athletics
2000-01 MINNESOTA WRESTLING SEASON OUTLOOK
11/5/2000 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
"The necessary ingredient to continually challenging in the Big Ten and NCAA is having All-Americans return," Head Coach J Robinson said. "This has been accomplished by the development of our freshmen and new faces over the past two years."
Leading the list of All-American returnees for the Maroon and Gold is junior Leroy Vega, the two-time All-American at 125 pounds. A fifth- place finisher at the past two NCAA Championships, Vega will be asked to improve upon his Big Ten and national performances if the Golden Gophers are to seriously contend for an NCAA championship. With his limitless potential, the Portage, Ind., native will look to become Minnesota's second four-time All-American before his career is over.
Jared Lawrence, the 2000 Big Ten and Amateur Wrestling News Freshman of the Year and sixth-place finisher at the NCAA Championships at 149 pounds, is primed for an outstanding season on the mat following a successful 1999-2000 campaign and a stellar summer in international competition. Undefeated in conference matches last season, Lawrence captured a bronze medal this past summer at the Junior World Freestyle Championships. The experience gained by Lawrence will certainly help the Golden Gophers this season.
Also returning for Minnesota is sophomore Luke Becker at 157 pounds. An All-American and a member of the Amateur Wrestling News All- Rookie Team last year, Becker hopes to improve upon his sixth-place NCAA finish from a year ago. A headliner of the 1998-99 recruiting class with three years of eligibility remaining, Becker will look to become Minnesota's second four-time All-American before his career comes to a close.
The other returning All-American is junior Brad Pike at 165 pounds. After placing second at Big Tens behind top-seeded Don Pritzlaff of Wisconsin, Pike went on to finish seventh at the NCAA Tournament. With his experience, raw athletic talent and will to succeed, Pike will look for his second national place finish this season.
"The strength and destiny of this year's Golden Gophers will be determined by our balance throughout our roster in each of the weight classes," Robinson said. "With seven starters returning and a strong supporting cast, we should have a great deal of potential this season."
In addition to the six returning All-Americans, Minnesota brings back starters at 133, 141 and 197 pounds. At 133, senior Brett Lawrence returns to Gold Country on the heels of his fifth-place finish at last year's Big Ten meet. With his extensive experience on the mat, the Golden Gophers can be assured of a full effort from Lawrence each and every match. Junior Chad Erikson comes back at 141 pounds with hopes of building on a year that brought some bad luck to this highly-talented grappler. Erikson will certainly look to perform better at both the Big Ten and NCAA meets to help the Golden Gophers to the titles. Also returning to the starting lineup will be junior 197-pounder Owen Elzen. Elzen took fifth at the Big Tens last year and qualified for the NCAA Championships. With a year of experience under his belt, Elzen should be a force at 197 this season for the Maroon and Gold.
Although the Golden Gophers lose six seniors, including three starters, to graduation, the young core of Minnesota grapplers filling the open spots come with impressive reputations. Vega solely holds the starting job at 125 pounds and will look to improve upon his fifth-place finishes at the last two NCAA Championships. Junior Julio Alaniz will also compete at 125 this year. At 133 pounds, Brett Lawrence continues to hold the starting spot following his 28-14 season. He will be challenged to retain his starting spot by sophomore Ryan Lewis this season.
Erikson's spot at 141 pounds is his to lose, but senior Josh Krebs and redshirt freshman Trent Hatlevig may provide some competition for the starting role. Leading the way at 149 pounds will be sophomore Jared Lawrence, the 2000 All-American. Also wrestling at 149 will be sophomore Doug Surgenor.
At 157 pounds, Becker's starting spot will be contested by Golden Gophers looking for mat time this season. Challenging Becker will be sophomore Mitch Marr. The 165-pound weight class is headed by Pike, the 2000 All-American. With the departure of Delaney Berger at 174 pounds, the starting role is up for grabs among several young Golden Gophers. Any one of several Minnesota wrestlers may battle for the starting place at 174, including juniors John Hardy and Matt Kraft, and redshirt freshman Jacob Volkmann.
Three-time All-American Eggum exited at 184 pounds, leaving the spot open for highly-regarded redshirt freshman Damion Hahn, the No. 1 recruit in the nation in the fall of 1998. The Lakewood, N.J. native will certainly provide the 2000-01 Golden Gophers with great talent and unlimited potential at the 184 spot.
Elzen returns to the 197-pound position behind his fifth-place finish at the 2000 Big Ten Championships. With a full year of starting mat time under his belt, Elzen is looking for an improvement in his performances on the biggest stages of the season, at the Big Tens and NCAAs.
Filling the enormous shoes left by Lesnar at heavyweight will not be an easy task, but redshirt freshman Garrett Lowney comes with the tools and experience needed to succeed at the starting spot. This past summer, Lowney stunned the international wrestling community at the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, winning the bronze medal at 213 pounds in Greco-Roman wrestling. With his improved experience and confidence gained from his Olympic performance, the native of Appleton, Wis., will look to continue Minnesota's recent tradition of stellar heavyweight wrestling this season. Challenging Lowney will be sophomore Michael Flanagan.
The incoming freshman class is yet another in a long line of top- rated recruiting classes. The newcomers to the Maroon and Gold program should be able to provide scoring for Minnesota in the near future, given their highly-regarded talents and backgrounds. Each incoming freshman grappler will be redshirting this season in order to provide an extra year of experience in the wrestling room and at early-season meets. Coming in at 125 pounds is Eric Anderson, a talented athlete from Browerville, Minn. At 141 pounds, the Golden Gophers welcome Jake Avre of Cambridge, Minn. and Mike Verdeja of Inver Grove Heights, Minn. Jake Larsen, a strong wrestler from Turtle Lake, Wis., will provide some added depth at the 149-pound position. At 157, new to the Maroon and Gold will be Kiel Hutchins of Rice, Minn. and Tyler Marr of Wyoming, Minn. The lone incoming freshman at 165 pounds is Nate Baker, a three-time Minnesota state champion from Lakefield, Minn. At the 174- pound weight class, new Golden Gophers Casey Flaherty of Big Lake, Minn., and Josh McLay of Hastings, Minn., will gain experience behind a number of upperclassmen. Drew Hageman of Newberg, Ore., is the sole incoming freshman at the 184-pound position. Rounding out the newcomers to Gold Country is Eli Ross, the 197-pound native of Faribault, Minn.
"A big step for us this year is that we kept the best Minnesota kids in the state," Robinson said. "We firmly believe that the University of Minnesota wrestling program should be mainly represented by Minnesota athletes."
Once again, the pieces seem to be in place for another Golden Gopher run for the Big Ten and NCAA crowns. For the fifth consecutive year, the Maroon and Gold will certainly be a favorite for a top-three finish at the national meet. However, the building of the powerhouse of Minnesota wrestling will not be complete until the Maroon and Gold attain their ultimate goal, the NCAA National Championship.
"With the beginning of the new millennium, our strength will be the development of our freshmen, the leadership of our upperclassmen and the balance of our entire roster," Robinson said. "Our amount of success this season will be based on how far our returning starters take us and how much our newcomers progress."
