University of Minnesota Athletics
Three Gophers Earn Titles at Husky Open
12/14/2010 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
The 133 lbs. championship match was an all-Minnesota affair as freshman Drew Lexvold picked up his fourth win of the day in an 11-6 decision over Gophers redshirt freshman David Thorn. After a first-round bye, Lexvold pinned his first opponent, Julus Stone of Ridgewater, at 2:53 before scoring three wins via decision to claim his second individual title of the season. Thorn, who advanced to the second round with a bye, opened the day with a decision victory before scoring two-straight falls to get to the finals. Randy Hanson and Brandon Bigelbach also competed in the Husky Open for Minnesota, each finishing the event with a 1-2 record.
Freshman Nick Dardanes also picked up his second title of the season on Saturday, sprinting through the 141 lbs. bracket with a 4-0 record including a pair of major decisions. Dardanes, the No. 1 seed at 141 lbs., edged Augsburg's Cody Hansen in the finals with a 9-6 decision. Fellow Gophers freshman Seth Lange placed third in the weight class with a 5-1 record. Lange scored three-straight decision victories before falling to Hansen via decision in the semifinals. But the freshman bounced back with a 10-3 decision over teammate Thomas Giaimo, who posted a 4-2 record at the Husky Open, before scoring a 14-3 major decision over Robby Fisher in the consolation final.
Three members of the Minnesota contingent placed in the 149 lbs. bracket including Dylan Ness, who scored a fall at 2:22 over Augsburg's Tony Valek in the finals to cap an impressive day in St. Cloud. After a first-round bye, Ness opened the tournament with two-straight pins before scoring a 12-2 major decision over teammate Matt Mincey in the semifinals. Mincey would battle back however in the consolation bracket, earning a 4-3 decision over Minnesota's David Zilverberg in the semifinals and then scoring a 16-0 technical fall over Jesse Westphal to finish third. Zilverberg would go on to finish fifth after a 9-7 decision over Jacob Horn of SCSU. Austin Enoch and Ryan Blake also competed in the 149 lbs. bracket but did not place.
The Gophers also posted a pair of second-place finishes in the 197 and 285 lbs. brackets. Redshirt freshman Jake Kettler went 3-0 with a major decision to reach the heavyweight final, where he dropped a 4-0 decision to top-seeded Jake Kahnke of St. Cloud State. Meanwhile, freshman Scott Schiller scored a pair of falls and added an 11-3 major decision win in the semifinals of the 197 lbs. bracket before falling to St. Cloud's Lucas Munkelwitz, the top-seeded grappler in the bracket, via 3-1 decision in the finals.
Freshman Corey Hodowanic placed sixth as the Gophers lone representative in the 125 lbs. bracket. Hodowanic went 3-3 at the Husky Open including a loss via 9-3 decision to David Demo in the fifth-place match. In the 165 lbs. bracket, redshirt junior Brian Peterson bounced back from a first-round loss to place sixth in the weight class. Peterson finished the day with a 3-2 record.
Minnesota returns to action later this month at the Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C. The two-day event begins on Wednesday, Dec. 29.
Players Mentioned
