University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
NCAA Championships Session II
Minnesota Wraps Up Opening Day at NCAAs
3/15/2018 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Minnesota wrapped up the opening day of the 2018 NCAA Championships on Thursday with five members of its seven-man NCAA contingent still alive heading into Friday morning's third session.
"I thought we had a couple opportunities to win some matches and maybe we should have, and those are hard. We were in some rough spots from a seed standpoint, but from a draw standpoint, we thought we could win some of those matches," said Head Coach Brandon Eggum. "We lost some close ones on the front side. Our guys wrestled well in those losses, so it's about continuing to grow and build and learn from this so we can be better tomorrow."
In the day's opening session, the Gophers posted a 5-4 mark, headlined by bonus-point wins from No. 8 Ethan Lizak at 125 pounds and No. 12 Nick Wanzek at 165. While Lizak's major decision looked like so many other dominant victories for last year's national runner-up - an 11-0 drubbing of Barlow McGhee (Missouri) built on a series of near-falls - Wanzek broke his normal mold by picking up his first pin since November. Leading his match 6-1, Wanzek earned the fall with just five seconds remaining in his bout, adding two additional team points to his victory.
Three Gophers - Lizak, Wanzek and 133-pounder Mitch McKee - advanced to wrestle in the second round of the championship bracket on Friday evening. All three encountered tough match-ups, particularly McKee, whose 16 seed paired him against top-ranked and defending national champ, Seth Gross (South Dakota State). Similarly, Wanzek found himself in an underdog position, wrestling an opponent seven seeds above him. Both dropped their bouts, as did Lizak. Lizak's was a nail-biting contest decided on a controversial takedown call in sudden victory overtime for No. 9 Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State), who knocked off Lizak, 4-2.
Of the four Gophers who lost matches in the morning session and began the long journey through wrestlebacks, two picked up wins on Thursday night to keep their hopes of a podium finish alive. First was Steve Bleise at 149 pounds, who went 1-1 in the morning set with a win over Eleazar Deluca (Rutgers). Bleise went on to double up Cole Martin (Wisconsin), 6-3, for his second win of the day over a Big Ten opponent. Moments later, Jake Short took the mat and dispatched Justin Staudenmayer (Brown), 5-2, without allowing a takedown. Both Bleise and Short will need three more victories during tomorrow's sessions to earn All-America finishes.
"Tomorrow's a hard day for everyone on the backside of the bracket. For us, the big thing is to know other guys are going through the same thing and make that an advantage for us," said Eggum. "A lot of points can be scored on the backside, but it's tough. The way we train and the way we work, our guys are prepared to go through a grind like that. As long as we're positive, optimistic, we keep working hard, good things can happen."
Gophers Tommy Thorn, wrestling at 141 pounds, and Brandon Krone, at 184, were eliminated from the tournament on Friday night.
A full listing of match-by-match results for the Gophers is below.
The Gophers will be back on the mat tomorrow morning when Session III begins at 10 a.m. Central. Minnesota will start the day in 17th place, with eight team points.
Be sure to follow Gopher Wrestling on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay updated on the latest news around the program, including the latest results from the NCAA Championships.
NCAA Championships - Day One Results
125 - No. 8 Ethan Lizak
Champ Rnd 1: No. 8 Ethan Lizak maj dec Barlow McGhee (Missouri), 11-0
Champ Rnd 2: No. 9 Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State) dec (SV-1) No. 8 Ethan Lizak, 4-2
133 - No. 16 Mitch McKee
Champ Rnd 1: No. 16 Mitch McKee dec Josh Finesilver (Duke), 11-6
Champ Rnd 2: No. 1 Seth Gross (South Dakota State) maj dec No. 16 Mitch McKee, 13-5
141 - Tommy Thorn
Champ Rnd 1: No. 10 Mason Smith (Central Michigan) dec Tommy Thorn, 3-0
Cons Rnd 1: Chad Red (Nebraska) dec Tommy Thorn, 8-3
149 - Steve Bleise
Pigtail: Steve Bleise dec Eleazar Deluca (Rutgers), 5-3
Champ Rnd 1: No. 3 Grant Leeth (Missouri) dec Steve Bleise, 11-7
Cons Rnd 1: Steve Bleise dec Cole Martin (Wisconsin), 6-3
157 - Jake Short
Champ Rnd 1: No. 4 Josh Shields (Arizona State) dec Jake Short, 4-3
Cons Rnd 1: Jake Short dec Justin Staudenmayer (Brown), 5-2
165 - No. 12 Nick Wanzek
Champ Rnd 1: No. 12 Nick Wanzek fall (6:53) Keilan Torres (Northern Colorado)
Champ Rnd 2: No. 5 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) fall (6:15) Nick Wanzek
184 - Brandon Krone
Pigtail: Brandon Krone dec Alan Clothier (Appalachian State), 10-6
Champ Rnd 1: No. 5 Domenic Abounader (Michigan) dec Brandon Krone, 4-0
Cons Rnd 1: No. 12 Bryce Carr (Chattanooga) dec Brandon Krone, 7-1
Players Mentioned
