University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, December 29
Coralville, Iowa
All Day
University of Minnesota
vs
Soldier Salute
Players Mentioned
157 lbs.
/ Wrestling
165 lbs.
/ Wrestling
149 lbs.
/ Wrestling
133 lbs.
/ Wrestling
125 lbs.
/ Wrestling
197 lbs.
/ Wrestling
141 lbs.
/ Wrestling
184 lbs.
/ Wrestling
125 lbs.
/ Wrestling
125 lbs.
/ Wrestling
197 lbs.
/ Wrestling
197 lbs.
/ Wrestling
184 lbs.
/ Wrestling
165 lbs.
/ Wrestling
157 lbs.
/ Wrestling
285 lbs.
/ Wrestling
141 lbs.
/ Wrestling
174 lbs.
/ Wrestling
157 lbs.
/ Wrestling
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Eight Gophers Reach the Semis After Day One of Soldier Salute
12/29/2023 7:54:00 PM | Wrestling
MINNEAPOLIS – The No. 12 Minnesota wrestling team has sent eight wrestlers into the semifinals after action concluded Friday on the opening day of the second annual Soldier Salute in Coralville, Iowa.
Minnesota has two of the four semifinalists at 125 pounds in sixth-year senior Patrick McKee and freshman Brandon Morvari. McKee will next face No. 14 Drake Ayala in the semifinals, while Morvari will get No. 7 Jore Volk of Wyoming.
Ranked 20th in the latest Intermat rankings, McKee cruised through his first two matches. He first scored a 23-13 major decision over South Dakota State's Brady Roark, then pinned Iowa's Ethan Perryman at 1:20. The pin was the third of the season for McKee and the 24th of his career, tying him with Owen Elzen (1997-2002) for 22nd on the Gophers' all-time list.
Morvari, meanwhile, went 3-0 Friday, including an opening 16-5 major decision over Iowa State's Blake Gioimo. Morvari then scored decisions over Columbia's Nick Babin (7-4 SV1) and Iowa's Joey Cruz (4-3).
Like at 125 pounds, the Gophers also hold half the participants in the 184-pound semifinals.
No. 10 Isaiah Salazar dominated his two matches by a combined 32-3 score. First up was a 15-2 major decision over Columbia's Jack McGill, and he followed that with a 17-1 tech fall over Tyce Raddon of Wyoming. Salazar will meet Zyon Hall of Navy in the semis.
On the other side of the 184-pound bracket, freshman Max McEnelly remained undefeated on the season, pushing his record to 13-0. He opened with his first pin as a Gopher, stopping Bellarmine's Evan Grazzian at 2:23. McEnelly then took on his first ranked opponent of his career, but he emerged with a 12-8 decision over No. 29 Aaron Ayzerov of Columbia. McEnelly gets John Gunderson of Northern Iowa Saturday in the semifinals.
Redshirt sophomore Vance VomBaur reached the 141-pound semifinals after a pair of strong performances. Ranked 29th, he first defeated VMI's Freddy Junko by tech fall, 18-2, then scored a 4-2 decision over No. 7 Clay Carlson of South Dakota State in the quarterfinals. VomBaur advances to face fifth-ranked Lachlan McNeil of North Carolina in the semifinals.
The win over Carlson marked the highest-ranked win of the season for a Gopher wrestler, topping the previous best by Michael Blockhus against SDSU's Cael Swensen, who was ranked 11th at the time of the Gophers' dual with the Jackrabbits on Nov. 26.
Fellow redshirt sophomore Blaine Brenner reached the semifinals at 165 pounds. He posted a 7-0 shutout of Wyoming's Brett McIntosh and then a 9-5 decision over Northern Iowa's Jack Thomsen. Brenner will face Iowa's No. 7 Mikey Caliendo in Saturday's semifinals.
A pair of bonus-point victories propelled sixth-year senior Garrett Joles to reach the semifinals at 197 pounds. The No. 17 wrestler in the weight class, Joles picked up his second fall in as many matches when he pinned VMI's Josh Evans at 2:41. Joles then scored a 15-2 major decision over South Dakota State's Thomas Dineen in the quarterfinals. The semifinals will match Joles up with Iowa's Zach Glazier, who is ranked two spots behind Joles at No. 19.
The eighth Gopher to reach the semis was redshirt sophomore heavyweight Bennett Tabor. An 8-3 decision over Iowa's Easton Fleshman got the day started for Tabor, while he shut out Bellarmine's Thadd Huff, 5-0, in the quarters. The two wins earn Tabor a semifinal matchup with South Dakota State's Bowen McConville in a rematch of the Bison Open championship that Tabor won, 4-0, on Nov. 11.Â
Sixth-year senior Jake Gliva made his season debut Friday at 133 pounds. He scored a pair of major decisions to start his day before a 4-0 loss to No. 10 Brody Teske of Iowa in the quarterfinals sent Gliva to the consolation bracket. He stayed alive, though, with a 4-2 decision over Bellarmine's Trayce Eckman.
Also still alive in the consolation brackets are redshirt freshman Devin Wasley at 174 pounds and true freshman Gavin Nelson at 197. Wasley was pinned in his opening match, but he then came back with a pair of consolation-bracket wins. Nelson, meanwhile, lost to No. 22 Joey Novak in the second round but rattled off three straight wins, all by major decision, to advance through the consolations.
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Redshirt senior Sebas Swiggum (1-2 at 157 pounds), redshirt juniors Theo Cha (1-2 at 149 pounds), Ben Lunn (1-2 at 141) and Tim Stapleton (1-2 at 165), redshirt sophomore Gabe Nagel (1-0 at 197, but medically forfeited), and redshirt freshman Quincy Hulverson (0-2 at 125) and freshmen Rhett Koening (1-2 at 141) and Kyler Wong (1-2 at 157) all saw their tournament runs end on Friday.
Session III of the Soldier Salute starts at 11 a.m. Saturday, while the final session begins at 5 p.m. All matches are streaming on B1G+, and SmoothComp has live results.
Minnesota has two of the four semifinalists at 125 pounds in sixth-year senior Patrick McKee and freshman Brandon Morvari. McKee will next face No. 14 Drake Ayala in the semifinals, while Morvari will get No. 7 Jore Volk of Wyoming.
Ranked 20th in the latest Intermat rankings, McKee cruised through his first two matches. He first scored a 23-13 major decision over South Dakota State's Brady Roark, then pinned Iowa's Ethan Perryman at 1:20. The pin was the third of the season for McKee and the 24th of his career, tying him with Owen Elzen (1997-2002) for 22nd on the Gophers' all-time list.
Morvari, meanwhile, went 3-0 Friday, including an opening 16-5 major decision over Iowa State's Blake Gioimo. Morvari then scored decisions over Columbia's Nick Babin (7-4 SV1) and Iowa's Joey Cruz (4-3).
Like at 125 pounds, the Gophers also hold half the participants in the 184-pound semifinals.
No. 10 Isaiah Salazar dominated his two matches by a combined 32-3 score. First up was a 15-2 major decision over Columbia's Jack McGill, and he followed that with a 17-1 tech fall over Tyce Raddon of Wyoming. Salazar will meet Zyon Hall of Navy in the semis.
On the other side of the 184-pound bracket, freshman Max McEnelly remained undefeated on the season, pushing his record to 13-0. He opened with his first pin as a Gopher, stopping Bellarmine's Evan Grazzian at 2:23. McEnelly then took on his first ranked opponent of his career, but he emerged with a 12-8 decision over No. 29 Aaron Ayzerov of Columbia. McEnelly gets John Gunderson of Northern Iowa Saturday in the semifinals.
Redshirt sophomore Vance VomBaur reached the 141-pound semifinals after a pair of strong performances. Ranked 29th, he first defeated VMI's Freddy Junko by tech fall, 18-2, then scored a 4-2 decision over No. 7 Clay Carlson of South Dakota State in the quarterfinals. VomBaur advances to face fifth-ranked Lachlan McNeil of North Carolina in the semifinals.
The win over Carlson marked the highest-ranked win of the season for a Gopher wrestler, topping the previous best by Michael Blockhus against SDSU's Cael Swensen, who was ranked 11th at the time of the Gophers' dual with the Jackrabbits on Nov. 26.
Fellow redshirt sophomore Blaine Brenner reached the semifinals at 165 pounds. He posted a 7-0 shutout of Wyoming's Brett McIntosh and then a 9-5 decision over Northern Iowa's Jack Thomsen. Brenner will face Iowa's No. 7 Mikey Caliendo in Saturday's semifinals.
A pair of bonus-point victories propelled sixth-year senior Garrett Joles to reach the semifinals at 197 pounds. The No. 17 wrestler in the weight class, Joles picked up his second fall in as many matches when he pinned VMI's Josh Evans at 2:41. Joles then scored a 15-2 major decision over South Dakota State's Thomas Dineen in the quarterfinals. The semifinals will match Joles up with Iowa's Zach Glazier, who is ranked two spots behind Joles at No. 19.
The eighth Gopher to reach the semis was redshirt sophomore heavyweight Bennett Tabor. An 8-3 decision over Iowa's Easton Fleshman got the day started for Tabor, while he shut out Bellarmine's Thadd Huff, 5-0, in the quarters. The two wins earn Tabor a semifinal matchup with South Dakota State's Bowen McConville in a rematch of the Bison Open championship that Tabor won, 4-0, on Nov. 11.Â
Sixth-year senior Jake Gliva made his season debut Friday at 133 pounds. He scored a pair of major decisions to start his day before a 4-0 loss to No. 10 Brody Teske of Iowa in the quarterfinals sent Gliva to the consolation bracket. He stayed alive, though, with a 4-2 decision over Bellarmine's Trayce Eckman.
Also still alive in the consolation brackets are redshirt freshman Devin Wasley at 174 pounds and true freshman Gavin Nelson at 197. Wasley was pinned in his opening match, but he then came back with a pair of consolation-bracket wins. Nelson, meanwhile, lost to No. 22 Joey Novak in the second round but rattled off three straight wins, all by major decision, to advance through the consolations.
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Redshirt senior Sebas Swiggum (1-2 at 157 pounds), redshirt juniors Theo Cha (1-2 at 149 pounds), Ben Lunn (1-2 at 141) and Tim Stapleton (1-2 at 165), redshirt sophomore Gabe Nagel (1-0 at 197, but medically forfeited), and redshirt freshman Quincy Hulverson (0-2 at 125) and freshmen Rhett Koening (1-2 at 141) and Kyler Wong (1-2 at 157) all saw their tournament runs end on Friday.
Session III of the Soldier Salute starts at 11 a.m. Saturday, while the final session begins at 5 p.m. All matches are streaming on B1G+, and SmoothComp has live results.
Highlights: Gophers 14, SDSU 18
Tuesday, November 25
Coach's Corner with Brandon Eggum
Sunday, November 23
Highlights: Gophers 25, Virginia Tech 10
Sunday, November 16
Highlights: Gophers 15, Missouri 14
Sunday, November 16