University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
NCAA Championships - Session II
Players Mentioned
Steveson, Bergeland Highlight Day One as Five Gophers Still Alive
3/17/2022 10:20:00 PM | Wrestling
DETROIT - The University of Minnesota wrestling program wrapped up the first day of the NCAA Championships on Thursday evening as five Gophers advanced to tomorrow morning's session, including a pair of quarterfinalists in Gable Steveson and Jake Bergeland.
Steveson continued to look the part as the top heavyweight in the land, as he dominated his competition on Thursday, earning technical falls over Tyrell Gordon (Northern Iowa) and Zach Elam (Missouri). Through his two matches on the day, Steveson earned 23 total takedowns and averaged 24 points per match to continue his 100% bonus rate streak.
Jake Bergeland was the other Gopher wrestler to reach the quarterfinals, as he handled Gabe Willochell of Edinboro in round one by major decision, before defeating Frankie Tal Shahar (Northwestern) for the third time this season in the evening session.
Isaiah Salazar reached the second round on the championship side by upsetting 14-seed Gavin Kane of North Carolina on Thursday morning, but a showdown against last year's NCAA finalist Trent Hidlay (NC State) in round two resulted in a tight 5-3 loss for Salazar and he drops to the consolations.
After dropping his opening bout against Appalachian State's Caleb Smith by decision, Patrick McKee would bounce back by defeating Purdue's Devin Schroder via 11-0 major decision to stay alive at 125 pounds.
Michael Blockhus fell in round one after falling in the close contest to No. 2 Tariq Wilson (NC State), but he would avenge an earlier season loss in the consolations by defeating Legend Lamer (Cal Poly) by a score of 5-1.
Jake Gliva, Cael Carlson, Bailee O'Reilly, and Michial Foy have all been eliminated from the tournament after going 0-2 on the day.
Day One Results
125: Patrick McKee
First Round: No. 25 Caleb Smith (APST) dec. No. 8 Patrick McKee (MINN), 8-5
Consolations: No. 8 Patrick McKee (MINN) dec. No. 9 Devin Schroder (PUR), 11-0
133: Jake Gliva
First Round: No. 4 Korbin Myers (VT) maj. dec. No. 29 Jake Gliva (MINN), 12-0
Consolations: No. 20 Chance Rich (CSUB) dec. No. 29 Jake Gliva (MINN), 7-4
141: Jake Bergeland
First Round: No. 10 Jake Bergeland (MINN) maj. dec. Gabe Willochell (EDIN), 9-1
Second Round: No. 10 Jake Bergeland (MINN) dec. No. 26 Frankie Tal Shahar (NW), 5-3
149: Michael Blockhus
First Round: No. 2 Tariq Wilson (NCST) dec. No. 31 Michael Blockhus (MINN), 5-3
Consolations: No. 31 Michael Blockhus (MINN) dec. No. 15 Legend Lamer (CP), 5-1
165: Cael Carlson
First Round: No. 5 Shane Griffith (STAN) tech. fall No. 28 Cael Carlson (MINN), 18-2
Consolations: No. 21 Thomas Bullard (NCST) tech. fall No. 28 Cael Carlson (MINN), 15-0
174: Bailee O'Reilly
First Round: No. 12 Cade DeVos (SDSU) dec. No. 21 Bailee O'Reilly (MINN), 9-2
Consolations: No. 26 Benjamin Pasiuk (ARMY) dec. No. 21 Bailee O'Reilly (MINN), 7-1
184: Isaiah Salazar
First Round: No. 19 Isaiah Salazar (MINN) dec. No. 14 Gavin Kane (UNC), 7-2
Second Round: No. 3 Trent Hidlay (NCST) dec. No. 19 Isaiah Salazar (MINN), 5-3
197: Michial Foy
First Round: No. 7 Rocky Elam (MIZZ) dec. No. 26 Michial Foy (MINN), 4-1
Consolations: No. 23 Braxton Amos (WISC) dec. No. 26 Michial Foy (MINN), 2-0
HWT: Gable Steveson
First Round: No. 1 Gable Steveson tech. fall No. 33 Tyrell Gordon (UNI), 25-10
Second Round: No. 1 Gable Steveson tech. fall No. 17 Zach Elam (MIZZ), 23-8