University of Minnesota Athletics
Wrestling Welcomes Cowboys for New Year's Dual
12/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Gophers Ring in New Year Against 'Boys
The Golden Gopher wrestling program opens its home schedule with a dual against 13th-ranked Oklahoma State on New Year’s Day at the Sports Pavilion.
Oklahoma State won last year’s dual in Stillwater by an 18-14 tally. The top-ranked Cowboys edged Minnesota in spite of upset wins by Tyler Safratowich at 157 pounds and by Gabe Dretsch at 174. Oklahoma State holds a 17-10 edge in the all-time dual meet series.
Gophers to Head to Lone Star Duals Saturday
After kicking off 2009 with a home dual on Thursday, the Gophers will travel to Dallas for the Lone Star Duals on Saturday.
A total of 19 schools will participate in the event which will be held at South Grand Prairie High School Colesium in the Dallas metro area.
Last Time Out
Minnesota had a solid showing in a 21-18 dual meet loss to No. 3 Nebraska on Dec. 21 in Lincoln. The Gophers got a pin from Mike Thorn at 141 pounds to start the meet to jump to a 6-0 lead, but the Huskers won the next six consecutive matches to vault to a 21-6 advantage.
Sophomore Joe Nord snapped the skid for the Gophers when he decisioned No. 12 Tucker Lane in the heavyweight bout by a 6-2 score. Zach Sanders notched his team-leading fifth win by technical fall at 125 pounds and Jayson Ness recorded a major decision victory at 133 to trim the final deficit to 21-18.
Nord Captures Big Ten's Weekly Award
By virtue of his upset victory over the Huskers’ 12th-ranked Tucker Lane at heavyweight, Joe Nord was named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week on Dec. 23.
Nord, who has split time with fellow sophomore Ben Berhow at heavyweight this season, improved his season record to 8-2 with the victory. The Waconia, Minn. native rallied from a 1-0 deficit with a reversal in the opening moments of the third period. A nearfall later in the final stanza helped the sophomore to gain the 6-2 victory.
King Pin
Two-time All-American Jayson Ness has lived up to his reputation for piling up pins again this season. A year after tying former head assistant coach Marty Morgan’s school record with 20 pins, the Bloomington, Minn. native has picked up right where he left off a year ago.
In spite of moving up a weight class from 125 pounds to 133 this season, Ness has stuck 11 of his 16 opponents thus far this season.
In The Rankings
Both the Gophers and the Cowboys boast mutliple wrestlers in their respective starting lineups ranked among the nation’s top-20 in a major poll. The Gophers will run out ranked wrestlers in four of the five lightest weight classes, while the five of the Cowboys’ six heaviest starters are ranked.
Potential matches featuring two ranked combantans include the bouts at 125 (#6 Zach Sanders vs. #14 Obenson Blanc), 133 (#5 Jayson Ness vs. #15 Tyler Shinn), 141 (#7 Mike Thorn vs. #18 Jamal Parks), 157 (#14 Tyler Safratowich vs. #10 Newly McSpadden) and 165 (#15 Scott Glasser vs. #12 Brandon Mason).
Players Mentioned
