University of Minnesota Athletics
Golden Gopher Wrestling Welcomes Nation's Top Recruiting Class
9/4/2003 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
The early signing period lifted Minnesota to the top of the class with blue-chip recruits Ro ger Kish, C. P. Schlatter, Ma ck Reiter, Ma tt Koz and Mit ch Kuhlman all signing National Letters of Intent. The regular signing period saw the Maroon and Gold pick up numerous top recruits and transfers to complete a stellar recruiting class for the 2003-04 season. The spring signees and transfers include Jer emy Anderson, Go rdon Bierschenk, Ju stin Bronson, Ga briel Dretsch, Jo n Duncombe, Je stin Hulegaard, Sc ott Jacobson, Nik Lentz, Dustin Lucarelli, Ma nuel Rivera and Ke ri Stanley.
Head coach J Robinson, head assistant Marty Morgan and assistant coaches Mark Schwab and Joe Russell helped Minnesota assemble another elite recruiting class. The 2003 recruiting title is Minnesota's fifth during Robinson's tenure (1987, '91, '96, '97, 2003). Incoming freshman Ro ger Kish joining the Golden Gophers also represents the third time in six years Minnesota has landed the top-ranked recruit in the nation, following Garr ett Lowney in 1998 and Dam ion Hahn in 1999.
Below is a quick look at the highlights of Minnesota's top-ranked recruiting class.
Ro ger Kish (LaPeer, Mich.) - Listed as the top recruit in the nation four-time Michigan state champ holds two national records: career victories (258) and consecutive victories (223) Junior National champ 2003 NHSCA Senior Nationals champ projected to wrestle at 184 pounds.
C. P. Schlatter (St. Paris, Ohio) - Listed as nation's third-best recruit four-time Ohio state champ recipient of the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award was 165-1 in high school prep record is best in Ohio wrestling history 2003 NHSCA Senior Nationals champ Academic All-American projected to wrestle at 149 pounds.
Ma ck Reiter (Gilbertville, Iowa) - Listed as nation's 11th-best recruit four-time Iowa state champ Junior National Freestyle All-American first blue-chip recruit from Iowa to ever sign with Minnesota projected to wrestle at 125 pounds.
Ma tt Koz (Strongsville, Ohio) - Listed as nation's 23rd-best recruit three-time Ohio state champ Junior National All-American projected to wrestle at 197 pounds.
Mit ch Kuhlman (Medford, Minn.) - Listed as a top 50 recruit three-time Minnesota state champ won a state-record 233 matches Junior National All-American projected to wrestle at 165 pounds.
Ma nuel Rivera (El Monte, Calif.) - 2003 NHSCA Senior Nationals champ three-time all-conference and all-area performer projected to wrestle at 133 pounds.
Minnesota state champions:
- Jer emy Anderson (Thief River Falls, Minn.) - All-conference, all-area and all-state performer in 2003 projected to wrestle at 149 pounds.
- Ga briel Dretsch (Frazee, Minn.) - Finished fourth at 2003 NHSCA Senior Nationals prep teammate of current Golden Gopher Ma tt Nagel four-time all-conference, three-time all-state and two-time All-America selection projected to wrestle at 165 pounds.
- Je stin Hulegaard (Anoka, Minn.) - Two-time Minnesota state champ two-time all-conference and three-time all-state honoree projected to wrestle at 141 pounds.
Transfers:
- Jo n Duncombe (St. Michael, Minn.) - Transfer from St. Cloud State University will have junior eligibility in 2003-04 NCAA Division II runner-up in 2003 projected to wrestle at 174 or 184 pounds.
- Ke ri Stanley (Columbia Falls, Mont.) - Transfer from North Idaho College will have junior eligibility in 2003-04 2003 Junior College National Champion projected to wrestle at 149 pounds.
