University of Minnesota Athletics
Top-Ranked Missouri Edges No. 2 Minnesota at Southern Scuffle
12/30/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Capturing individual titles for the Gophers were Manuel Rivera (141), Dustin Schlatter (149), Roger Kish (184) and Cole Konrad (Hwt). Konrad won his fourth consecutive title at the Southern Scuffle and pushed his unbeaten streak to 53 consecutive matches, just five shy of tying the school record. The top-ranked heavyweight in the country, Konrad cruised through the tournament, grabbing three straight pins and a major decision. He then went on to claim a 4-1 victory over North Carolina’s Spencer Nadolsky, ranked No. 9 nationally, to become the first wrestler in tournament history to win four titles.
As the championship round unfolded, it looked as though the senior from Freedom, Wis., may get a chance to be the hero as he has been so many times in his career with a victory in the final match of the night. However, he never got that chance, as a pin by Missouri’s Max Askren in the 197-pound final sealed the title for the Tigers, putting them ahead by 7.5 points. The maximum Konrad could have gotten with a pin in the final would have been six points.
Kish’s title at 184 pounds gave the Gophers reason to hope. Kish claimed his second consecutive Southern Scuffle title with a win by way of medical forfeit over No. 6 Raymond Jordan of Missouri. The victory brought Minnesota within 1.5 points of the lead before Askren’s pin in the 197-pound final. Kish finished the tournament with a 5-0 record, including two pins and a tech fall, to improve to 16-0 on the season.
Rivera claimed the 141-pound title with a 6-0 record to remain unbeaten on the season at 21-0. He collected bonus points in each of his first five matches, including two pins and three major decisions. Rivera defeated Alex Krom of Maryland, 7-6, in the championship match.
Schlatter, the top-ranked 149-pounder in the nation, extended his winning streak to 46 consecutive matches with four decisions and one major as he also defended his Southern Scuffle title from a year ago. He defeated No. 6 Jordan Leen of Cornell, 7-1, in the finals.
Also placing for Minnesota were Jayon Ness (125), Gabriel Dretsch (174), Jeremy Larson (165) and Tyler Safratowich (157). Ness took home third place with a 6-1 record, posting three pins and a tech fall in the tournament. His only loss came to No. 2 Troy Nickerson of Cornell in the semifinals. Dretsch won his first four matches of the tournament and ended up placing fourth with a 5-2 record. After a third round loss to No. 13 Keegan Mueller on Friday, Larson fought his way through wrestle-backs and defeated No. 17 Jason Kiessling of Maryland, 5-2, in the seventh-place match. Safratowich pinned three opponents on his way to eighth place in the tournament.
The Gophers will return home to host Arizona State on Tuesday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m., in a dual meet at the Sports Pavilion. It will be their final tune-up before the National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa on Jan. 13-14.
Final Team Standings
1. Missouri (179.5)
2. Minnesota (176)
3. Cornell (134.5)
4. Edinboro (129.5)
5. Navy (92.5)
Minnesota’s Individual Placewinners
1st - Manuel Rivera (141)
1st - Dustin Schlatter (149)
1st - Roger Kish (184)
1st - Cole Konrad (Hwt)
3rd – Jayson Ness (125)
4th – Gabriel Dretsch (174)
7th – Jeremy Larson (165)
8th – Tyler Safratowich (157)
Minnesota’s Complete Individual Results
125 – Jayson Ness (6-1, Third Place)
First Round – Ness pinned Tyler Sim (The Citadel), 4:55
Second Round – Ness tech fall Jeff Oldham (Maryland), 21-6
Third Round – Ness pinned Alex Ustics (Navy), 5:36
Quarterfinals – Ness dec. Shawn Cordell (UT-Chattanooga), 8-2
Semifinals – #2 Troy Nickerson (Cornell) dec. Ness, 5-1
Consolation – Ness maj. dec. #5 Obe Blanc (Lock Haven), 12-1
Third Place – Ness pinned John Olanowski (Missouri), 2:43
133 – Mike Thorn (2-2)
Second Round – Thorn major dec. Matt Swallow (East Stroudsberg), 16-4
Third Round – #2 Matt Keller (UT-Chattanooga) maj. dec. Thorn, 11-2
Consolation – Thorn dec. John Cardenas (Cal St.-Bakersfield), 12-6
Consolation – Thomas Kimball (Cal St.-Bakersfield) dec. Thorn, 7-6
141 – Manuel Rivera (6-0, First Place)
First Round – Rivera pinned Jeremy Depoy (Kent State), 4:25
Second Round – Rivera major dec. Matthew Schumm (Cal St.-Bakersfield), 11-1
Third Round – Rivera maj. dec. Mark Nicely (UT-Chattanooga), 13-5
Quarterfinals – Rivera pinned Matthew Ciasulli (Lehigh), 2:54
Semifinals – Rivera maj. dec. #17 Michael Keefe (UT-Chattanooga), 17-1
Finals – Rivera dec. Alex Krom (Maryland), 7-6
149 – Dustin Schlatter (5-0, First Place)
Second Round – Schlatter dec. Jason McGee (Kent State), 7-1
Third Round – Schlatter maj. dec. Kaylen Baxter (Old Dominion), 15-4
Quarterfinals – Schlatter dec. Lance Palmer (Ohio State), 2-1
Semifinals – Schlatter dec. Josh Wagner (Missouri), 3-2
Finals – Schlatter dec. #6 Jordan Leen (Cornell), 7-1
157- Tyler Safratowich (4-3, Eighth Place)
Second Round – Safratowich pinned Nick Beuter (Boise State), 6:40
Third Round – #7 Matt Hill (Edinboro) dec. Safratowich, 3-2
Consolation – Safratowich pinned John Foley (Edinboro), 3:50
Consolation – Safratowich pinned Jake Yost (UT-Chattanooga), 4:36
Consolation – Safratowich dec. Charlie Agozzino (Cornell), 4-0
Consolation – #13 Mike Chandler maj. dec. Safratowich, 13-3
Seventh Place – John Jarred (Navy) dec. Safratowich, 8-2
165 – Jeremy Larson (6-2, Seventh Place)
First Round – Larson pinned Sam Sirota (Binghamton), 4:46
Second Round – Larson dec. Mark Ring (UNC Greensboro), 8-4
Third Round – #13 Keegan Mueller (North Carolina) dec. Larson, 5-2
Consolation – Larson dec. Tim Sayers (UT-Chattanooga), 11-7
Consolation – Larson over Obie Simpson (N.C. State), inj. default
Consolation – Larson dec. Luke Smith (Boise State), 4-2
Consolation – Eric Decker (Virginia Tech) dec. Larson, 11-6
Seventh Place – Larson dec. #17 Jason Kiessling (Maryland), 5-2
165 – Scott Glasser (2-2)
Second Round – Glasser maj. dec. Leif Ruschmeyer (East Stroudsberg), 14-1
Third Round – Glasser over Robert Johnston (Navy), default
Quarterfinals – #8 Deonte Penn (Edinboro) maj. dec. Glasser, 9-0
Consolation –Eric Decker (Virginia Tech) over Glasser, inj. default
174 – Gabriel Dretsch (5-2, Fourth Place)
First Round – Dretsch maj. dec. Jeremy Cannon (UNC Greensboro), 13-1
Second Round – Dretsch over Josh Patterson (Binghamton), default
Third Round – Dretsch dec. Nate Lee (Boise State), 4-2
Quarterfinals – Dretsch dec. Luke Hogle (Cornell), 8-1
Semifinals – #9 Matt Stolpinski (Navy) dec. Dretsch, 7-3
Consolation – Dretsch dec. Neal Martin (Appalachian State), 4-3
Third Place – #16 Mike Letts (Maryland) dec. Dretsch, 6-2
184 – Roger Kish (5-0, First Place)
Second Round – Kish tech fall Ben Hepburn (Lock Haven), 21-4 (3:34)
Third Round – Kish pinned Josh Edmonson (UT-Chattanooga), 2:48
Quarterfinals – Kish dec. David Craig (Lehigh), 11-4
Semifinals – Kish pinned #16 Eric Chine (Kent State), 2:41
Finals – Kish over #6 Raymond Jordan (Missouri), med. forfeit
184 – Chris McPhail (1-2)
Second Round – Tom Kocher (Lock Haven) dec. McPhail, 13-7
Consolation – McPhail tech fall Calvin Cardillo (Virginia), 18-0 (7:00)
Consolation – Josh Edmonson (UT-Chattanooga) dec. McPhail, 9-4
197 – Yura Malamura (1-2)
Second Round – Malamura dec. Jim Gibson (Edinboro), 4-3
Third Round – #19 Hudson Taylor (Maryland) dec. Malamura, 8-3
Consolation – Josh Carroll (Appalachian State) dec. Malamura, 4-2
197 – Justin Bronson (2-2)
Second Round – #6 J.D. Bergman (Ohio State) pinned Bronson, 2:40
Consolation – Bronson dec. Tyler Moyer (Navy), 4-3
Consolation – Bronson dec. Carl Landers (Cornell), 4-0
Consolation –David Mendoza (Old Dominion) pinned Bronson, 5:27
Hwt – Cole Konrad (6-0, First Place)
First Round – Konrad pinned Mike Patterson (Binghamton), 4:32
Second Round – Konrad pinned Eric Parker (Cal St.-Bakersfield), 3:42
Third Round – Konrad pinned Scott Steele (Navy), 3:45
Quarterfinals – Konrad maj. dec. Jermail Porter (Kent State), 13-1
Semifinals – Konrad dec. #12 Paul Weibel (Lehigh), 6-2
Finals – Konrad dec. #9 Spencer Nadolsky (North Carolina), 4-1
Players Mentioned
