University of Minnesota Athletics
Sunday, November 2
Salem, VA
8:00 AM
University of Minnesota
vs
Southeast Open
Players Mentioned
157 lbs
/ Wrestling
133 lbs.
/ Wrestling
125 lbs.
/ Wrestling
184 lbs.
/ Wrestling
149 lbs.
/ Wrestling
197 lbs.
/ Wrestling
165 lbs.
/ Wrestling
285 lbs.
/ Wrestling
133 lbs.
/ Wrestling
149 lbs.
/ Wrestling
125 lbs.
/ Wrestling
141 lbs.
/ Wrestling
174 lbs.
/ Wrestling
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Wrestling Season Kicks Off Sunday at Southeast Open
11/1/2025 10:15:00 AM | Wrestling
MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota wrestling begins its 117th season of competition this weekend as it heads to Salem, Va., for the 16th annual Southeast Open. Doors open to the public at 7 a.m. CT and competition starts at 8 a.m. CT. FloWrestling will stream the event, and live stats will be available on FloArena.
The Golden Gophers enter the weekend ranked 10th in both Intermat's dual team and tournament rankings, and ranked ninth in the NWCA Coaches Poll.
Nine Gopher wrestlers are ranked in at least two of the major polls with five appearing in all four: Intermat, Flo, Win and OpenMat. Returning All-American Max McEnelly is the top-ranked wrestler at 184 pounds in all four polls, while fellow All-American Vance VomBaur (141) and Wyoming transfer Jore Volk (125) appear in the top-8 of each publication.
The Gophers are one of six programs to have someone ranked at all 10 weights in the latest InterMat Poll along with Iowa, Iowa State, Nebraska, Ohio State and South Dakota State. In addition, Minnesota has four wrestlers ranked in the top nine of their weight classes, one of eight teams nationally that can make that claim.
Minnesota is coming off of a 2024-25 campaign that saw it finish tied for fifth place at the NCAA Championships with 51.5 points. It was the team's best placement under head coach Brandon Eggum and was the best since a runner-up finish in 2014. Overall, it was the 19th top-five finish in program history.
At the Big Ten Championships, Minnesota saw eight Gophers to reach the podium as it finished in fourth place with 108.5 points, tying for the team's best finish under Eggum. Gable Steveson took home the heavyweight title, becoming the first heavyweight in Big Ten history to win four titles. McEnelly and VomBaur were also finalists at 184 and 141 pounds, respectively. Minnesota had multiple finalists for the third year in a row, while it was the first time since 2015 that the Gophers put three into the finals. Also reaching the podium were fourth-place finishers Andrew Sparks (165) and Isaiah Salazar (197), Tommy Askey, who was fifth at 157, as well as seventh-placers Cooper Flynn (125) and Clayton Whiting (174).
In the dual season, the Maroon & Gold went 10-2 with the losses coming to Iowa and Nebraska, who were ranked second and fifth, respectively, in the final InterMat Dual Poll last year. Highlighting the dual season were wins over then-No. 17 South Dakota State (30-3), No. 21 Michigan (25-10), No. 12 Rutgers (28-9) and No. 4 Ohio State (20-17).
Minnesota returns five starters from last season's squad, including All-Americans in McEnelly and VomBaur. The Gophers also bring back national qualifiers in Sparks, a sixth-year senior at 165, and Whiting, a redshirt junior at 174, plus last year's starter at 149 pounds Drew Roberts, a redshirt senior.
In addition, the team welcomes in a pair of transfers in two-time All-American Chris Cannon from Northwestern and Volk, a 2024 All-American from Wyoming, plus true freshmen Brett Swenson and Charles Vanier.
The Golden Gophers enter the weekend ranked 10th in both Intermat's dual team and tournament rankings, and ranked ninth in the NWCA Coaches Poll.
Nine Gopher wrestlers are ranked in at least two of the major polls with five appearing in all four: Intermat, Flo, Win and OpenMat. Returning All-American Max McEnelly is the top-ranked wrestler at 184 pounds in all four polls, while fellow All-American Vance VomBaur (141) and Wyoming transfer Jore Volk (125) appear in the top-8 of each publication.
The Gophers are one of six programs to have someone ranked at all 10 weights in the latest InterMat Poll along with Iowa, Iowa State, Nebraska, Ohio State and South Dakota State. In addition, Minnesota has four wrestlers ranked in the top nine of their weight classes, one of eight teams nationally that can make that claim.
Minnesota is coming off of a 2024-25 campaign that saw it finish tied for fifth place at the NCAA Championships with 51.5 points. It was the team's best placement under head coach Brandon Eggum and was the best since a runner-up finish in 2014. Overall, it was the 19th top-five finish in program history.
At the Big Ten Championships, Minnesota saw eight Gophers to reach the podium as it finished in fourth place with 108.5 points, tying for the team's best finish under Eggum. Gable Steveson took home the heavyweight title, becoming the first heavyweight in Big Ten history to win four titles. McEnelly and VomBaur were also finalists at 184 and 141 pounds, respectively. Minnesota had multiple finalists for the third year in a row, while it was the first time since 2015 that the Gophers put three into the finals. Also reaching the podium were fourth-place finishers Andrew Sparks (165) and Isaiah Salazar (197), Tommy Askey, who was fifth at 157, as well as seventh-placers Cooper Flynn (125) and Clayton Whiting (174).
In the dual season, the Maroon & Gold went 10-2 with the losses coming to Iowa and Nebraska, who were ranked second and fifth, respectively, in the final InterMat Dual Poll last year. Highlighting the dual season were wins over then-No. 17 South Dakota State (30-3), No. 21 Michigan (25-10), No. 12 Rutgers (28-9) and No. 4 Ohio State (20-17).
Minnesota returns five starters from last season's squad, including All-Americans in McEnelly and VomBaur. The Gophers also bring back national qualifiers in Sparks, a sixth-year senior at 165, and Whiting, a redshirt junior at 174, plus last year's starter at 149 pounds Drew Roberts, a redshirt senior.
In addition, the team welcomes in a pair of transfers in two-time All-American Chris Cannon from Northwestern and Volk, a 2024 All-American from Wyoming, plus true freshmen Brett Swenson and Charles Vanier.
Coach's Corner with Brandon Eggum
Thursday, October 30
Behind the Scenes: Media Day
Thursday, October 16
Gopher Wrestling Tries Gymnastics
Thursday, May 29
Steveson Advances to NCAA Title Match
Friday, March 21