University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, January 24
Madison, WI
7:00 PM
University of Minnesota
39
at
3
Wisconsin
Players Mentioned
157 lbs.
/ Wrestling
125 lbs.
/ Wrestling
125 lbs.
/ Wrestling
184 lbs.
/ Wrestling
149 lbs.
/ Wrestling
184 lbs.
/ Wrestling
174 lbs.
/ Wrestling
285 lbs.
/ Wrestling
141 lbs.
/ Wrestling
174 lbs.
/ Wrestling
Minnesota Routs Wisconsin, 39-3, for Largest Victory in Madison
1/24/2025 9:55:00 PM | Wrestling
MINNEAPOLIS – No. 7 Minnesota (6-1, 2-1 B1G) had one of its most dominant victories in series history Friday night at the UW Field House with a 39-3 rout of Wisconsin (4-8, 0-4).
Winning nine of 10 matches, the Gophers posted their largest margin of victory ever in Madison, surpassing a 40-6 win in 2003. It also marked the sixth straight win at Wisconsin for Minnesota, its longest in series history. The cumulative score during the stretch is 163-59.
The point total was the fourth highest for the Gophers in 107 all-time matchups against the Badgers and the most since that 40-6 win in 2003. The three points allowed were the team's fewest in the series since 2012.
It was the 70th all-time win in the Border Battle rivalry for Minnesota, 18 more than it has over any other program. The Golden Gophers have now taken 12 of the last 13 meetings between the schools.
The tone was set right from the start at 197 pounds as No. 9 Isaiah Salazar tech falled Niccolo Colucci, 15-0, in just 2:11. It was the first of six tech falls on the night for Minnesota, its most since also posting six in the second dual of the season last year against Morgan State. Salazar only needed one takedown of Colucci, tacking on four separate instances of four nearfall points for his fifth tech fall win of the year and pushing his record to 12-3 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten.
Top-ranked heavyweight Gable Steveson made it two straight tech falls with a 21-5 triumph over Brooks Empey in 3:09. Steveson hit six takedowns in the opening period and a match-clinching seventh just nine seconds into the second period for his fifth tech fall win in six matches this year.
The win was the 58th straight victory for Steveson. That ties for the third longest winning streak in program history, matching Tim Hartung who won the final 58 matches of his career from January of 1998 through the 1999 NCAA Championships. The only Gophers ahead of Steveson and Hartung are Dustin Schlatter, who won 65 in a row from 2005-07, and Cole Konrad, who holds the record with 76 straight victories from 2005 to 2007.
Arguably the most exciting match of the night came at 125 pounds with No. 8 Cooper Flynn facing No. 18 Nicolar Rivera in the first of two ranked matchups in the dual. Scoreless after the first period, Rivera rode out Flynn in the second and picked up an additional point on Flynn's second stall call. In the third, Rivera started down and escaped to lead 2-0 plus he had the riding time locked up. However, with less than 10 seconds to go, Flynn swept Rivera's right leg for a takedown and scored four nearfall points for the dramatic, 7-3, decision. It was Flynn's fifth ranked-win of the season, tying teammate Vance VomBaur for most on the team.
Wisconsin got its lone win of the night at 133 pounds as Minnesota true freshman Blake Beissel stepped up a weight class and made his dual debut against No. 24 Zan Fugitt in an 8-4 loss.
VomBaur got Minnesota back on track at 141, though, with a 22-7 tech fall of Brock Bobzien in 5:52. Bobzien actually got the first takedown of the match, but VomBaur claimed the next five. Leading 4-3 after the opening period, VomBaur started down and got a reversal before blowing the match open and taking a 15-6 lead into the final period. There, he got his final takedown and four nearfall points to go to 16-2 on the season, the most wins on the team.
Leading 18-3 coming out of intermission, No. 23 Drew Roberts got his first conference win of the season in a 17-2 tech fall of Royce Nilo at the 6:16 mark at 149. This one was never in doubt as Roberts led 6-1 through one period and 10-1 through the second period. It was Roberts' second tech fall win of the season.
With a 10-3 decision at 157 pounds over Luke Mechler, Askey matched VomBaur with his team-leading 16th win of the year. Askey led 3-0 after the first period and 7-1 through two. He's now 16-2 on the season, 5-1 in duals and 2-1 in the Big Ten.
Like Roberts, No. 11 Andrew Sparks also used a tech fall to record his first Big Ten win of the season in a 20-2 triumph over Cale Anderson in 6:02 at 165 pounds. Picking up his seventh tech fall win on the year, Sparks jumped out to a 6-1 lead through the first period. That advantage grew to 10-1 through two, and he poured it on with two more takedowns and four nearfall points in the third.
Fittingly, the second and final ranked contest of the night also featured another down-to-the-wire finish. The match at 174 pounds saw No. 25 Clayton Whiting come from behind for an 8-5 overtime win over No. 33 Luke Condon. Scoreless through the first period, Whiting escaped but Condon took him down. Whiting escaped again to trail 3-2 through two periods. Condon started down and escaped to start the third, but a powerful takedown from Whiting gave him a brief 5-4 lead, while a second escape in the period from Condon forced overtime. In the sudden-victory session, Whiting completed the comeback by getting in on Condon's left leg and dropping him for his second straight ranked win.
In the final match, fourth-ranked Max McEnelly earned the sixth tech fall in a dominant 22-6 win at the 4:25 mark. McEnelly had four first-period takedowns and three more in the second for his team-leading ninth tech fall of the season. He's now 13-0 on the year and 28-0 in his career.
Minnesota stays on the road to close out the weekend as it travels to Northwestern to take on the Wildcats Sunday at noon. The match will stream on B1G+.
Match Results
#7 Minnesota 39, Wisconsin 3
Jan. 24, 2025 | Madison, Wis. | UW Field House | Attendance: 1,695
197 #9 Isaiah Salazar TF Niccolo Colucci (UW), 15-0 (2:11) | MINN 5, UW 0
285 #1 Gable Steveson TF Brooks Empey (UW), 21-5 (3:09) | MINN 10, UW 0
125 #8 Cooper Flynn dec. #18 Nicolar Rivera (UW), 7-3Â | MINN 13, UW 0
133 #24 Zan Fugitt (UW) dec. Blake Beissel, 8-4 | MINN 13, UW 3
141 #8 Vance VomBaur TF Brock Bobzien (UW), 22-7 (5:52) | MINN 18, UW 3
149 #23 Drew Roberts TF Royce Nilo (UW), 17-2 (6:16) | MINN 23, UW 3
157 #8 Tommy Askey dec. Luke Mechler (UW), 10-3 |Â MINN 26, UW 3
165 #11 Andrew Sparks TF Cale Anderson (UW), 20-2 (6:02) | MINN 31, UW 3
174 #25 Clayton Whiting dec. #33 Luke Condon (UW), 8-5 SV1 | MINN 34, UW 3
184 #4 Max McEnelly TF Dylan Russo (UW), 22-6 (4:25) | MINN 39, UW 3
Winning nine of 10 matches, the Gophers posted their largest margin of victory ever in Madison, surpassing a 40-6 win in 2003. It also marked the sixth straight win at Wisconsin for Minnesota, its longest in series history. The cumulative score during the stretch is 163-59.
The point total was the fourth highest for the Gophers in 107 all-time matchups against the Badgers and the most since that 40-6 win in 2003. The three points allowed were the team's fewest in the series since 2012.
It was the 70th all-time win in the Border Battle rivalry for Minnesota, 18 more than it has over any other program. The Golden Gophers have now taken 12 of the last 13 meetings between the schools.
The tone was set right from the start at 197 pounds as No. 9 Isaiah Salazar tech falled Niccolo Colucci, 15-0, in just 2:11. It was the first of six tech falls on the night for Minnesota, its most since also posting six in the second dual of the season last year against Morgan State. Salazar only needed one takedown of Colucci, tacking on four separate instances of four nearfall points for his fifth tech fall win of the year and pushing his record to 12-3 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten.
Top-ranked heavyweight Gable Steveson made it two straight tech falls with a 21-5 triumph over Brooks Empey in 3:09. Steveson hit six takedowns in the opening period and a match-clinching seventh just nine seconds into the second period for his fifth tech fall win in six matches this year.
The win was the 58th straight victory for Steveson. That ties for the third longest winning streak in program history, matching Tim Hartung who won the final 58 matches of his career from January of 1998 through the 1999 NCAA Championships. The only Gophers ahead of Steveson and Hartung are Dustin Schlatter, who won 65 in a row from 2005-07, and Cole Konrad, who holds the record with 76 straight victories from 2005 to 2007.
Arguably the most exciting match of the night came at 125 pounds with No. 8 Cooper Flynn facing No. 18 Nicolar Rivera in the first of two ranked matchups in the dual. Scoreless after the first period, Rivera rode out Flynn in the second and picked up an additional point on Flynn's second stall call. In the third, Rivera started down and escaped to lead 2-0 plus he had the riding time locked up. However, with less than 10 seconds to go, Flynn swept Rivera's right leg for a takedown and scored four nearfall points for the dramatic, 7-3, decision. It was Flynn's fifth ranked-win of the season, tying teammate Vance VomBaur for most on the team.
Wisconsin got its lone win of the night at 133 pounds as Minnesota true freshman Blake Beissel stepped up a weight class and made his dual debut against No. 24 Zan Fugitt in an 8-4 loss.
VomBaur got Minnesota back on track at 141, though, with a 22-7 tech fall of Brock Bobzien in 5:52. Bobzien actually got the first takedown of the match, but VomBaur claimed the next five. Leading 4-3 after the opening period, VomBaur started down and got a reversal before blowing the match open and taking a 15-6 lead into the final period. There, he got his final takedown and four nearfall points to go to 16-2 on the season, the most wins on the team.
Leading 18-3 coming out of intermission, No. 23 Drew Roberts got his first conference win of the season in a 17-2 tech fall of Royce Nilo at the 6:16 mark at 149. This one was never in doubt as Roberts led 6-1 through one period and 10-1 through the second period. It was Roberts' second tech fall win of the season.
With a 10-3 decision at 157 pounds over Luke Mechler, Askey matched VomBaur with his team-leading 16th win of the year. Askey led 3-0 after the first period and 7-1 through two. He's now 16-2 on the season, 5-1 in duals and 2-1 in the Big Ten.
Like Roberts, No. 11 Andrew Sparks also used a tech fall to record his first Big Ten win of the season in a 20-2 triumph over Cale Anderson in 6:02 at 165 pounds. Picking up his seventh tech fall win on the year, Sparks jumped out to a 6-1 lead through the first period. That advantage grew to 10-1 through two, and he poured it on with two more takedowns and four nearfall points in the third.
Fittingly, the second and final ranked contest of the night also featured another down-to-the-wire finish. The match at 174 pounds saw No. 25 Clayton Whiting come from behind for an 8-5 overtime win over No. 33 Luke Condon. Scoreless through the first period, Whiting escaped but Condon took him down. Whiting escaped again to trail 3-2 through two periods. Condon started down and escaped to start the third, but a powerful takedown from Whiting gave him a brief 5-4 lead, while a second escape in the period from Condon forced overtime. In the sudden-victory session, Whiting completed the comeback by getting in on Condon's left leg and dropping him for his second straight ranked win.
In the final match, fourth-ranked Max McEnelly earned the sixth tech fall in a dominant 22-6 win at the 4:25 mark. McEnelly had four first-period takedowns and three more in the second for his team-leading ninth tech fall of the season. He's now 13-0 on the year and 28-0 in his career.
Minnesota stays on the road to close out the weekend as it travels to Northwestern to take on the Wildcats Sunday at noon. The match will stream on B1G+.
Match Results
#7 Minnesota 39, Wisconsin 3
Jan. 24, 2025 | Madison, Wis. | UW Field House | Attendance: 1,695
197 #9 Isaiah Salazar TF Niccolo Colucci (UW), 15-0 (2:11) | MINN 5, UW 0
285 #1 Gable Steveson TF Brooks Empey (UW), 21-5 (3:09) | MINN 10, UW 0
125 #8 Cooper Flynn dec. #18 Nicolar Rivera (UW), 7-3Â | MINN 13, UW 0
133 #24 Zan Fugitt (UW) dec. Blake Beissel, 8-4 | MINN 13, UW 3
141 #8 Vance VomBaur TF Brock Bobzien (UW), 22-7 (5:52) | MINN 18, UW 3
149 #23 Drew Roberts TF Royce Nilo (UW), 17-2 (6:16) | MINN 23, UW 3
157 #8 Tommy Askey dec. Luke Mechler (UW), 10-3 |Â MINN 26, UW 3
165 #11 Andrew Sparks TF Cale Anderson (UW), 20-2 (6:02) | MINN 31, UW 3
174 #25 Clayton Whiting dec. #33 Luke Condon (UW), 8-5 SV1 | MINN 34, UW 3
184 #4 Max McEnelly TF Dylan Russo (UW), 22-6 (4:25) | MINN 39, UW 3
Gopher Wrestling Tries Gymnastics
Thursday, May 29
Steveson Advances to NCAA Title Match
Friday, March 21
Gable Steveson: NCAA Quarterfinals
Friday, March 21
Gable Steveson: NCAA Pin
Thursday, March 20