Wrestling Visits No. 4 Ohio State Friday, Hosts No. 28 Purdue Sunday

MINNEAPOLIS -- No. 7 Minnesota (8-1, 4-1 B1G) has a pair of duals this weekend as the regular season nears its end. Friday, the team travels to No. 4 Ohio State (12-1, 4-1) for a 6 p.m. dual, while Sunday sees the Gophers return home to take on No. 28 Purdue (8-4, 1-3) at noon. Both matches will stream on B1G+ with live results on TrackWrestling.com.

Sunday's home dual with Purdue serves as the Gophers' Takedown Cancer match. Plus, fans can go to the marketing table to sign up for a tailgate prize pack featuring a cooler, grilling utensils, a t-shirt, a pom pom and grilling apron.

Minnesota heads into the weekend with a 8-1 record in duals this season and an 4-1 mark in the Big Ten. After opening league action with that loss to Nebraska, the Golden Gophers have responded with four straight wins, starting with a win over then-No. 21 Michigan on Jan. 19, followed by dominant wins at Wisconsin and Northwestern, and most recently a 28-9 home win over then-No. 12 Rutgers. On the year, Minnesota has prevailed in 71 of the 90 individual matchups in duals and outscored opponents, 282-61.

The Gophers have won 14 of their last 15 duals dating back to last season. During the stretch, Minnesota has outscored opponents, 463-109, and has given up more than 12 points in a dual just once. Prior to the loss at Nebraska, Minnesota had won 10 in a row, the team's longest win streak since claiming 17 straight duals over the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons.

Ten Gopher wrestlers are ranked in at least two of the major polls with eight appearing in all five: Intermat, Win Magazine, FloWrestling, OpenMat and the Coaches Poll. Gable Steveson (285) is ranked No. 1 in four of the five polls (did not minimum matches needed by Coaches), while Max McEnelly (184) is fourth in each. Cooper Flynn (125), Vance VomBaur (141) and Isaiah Salazar (197) are all in the top-10 in each ranking.

Within the InterMat rankings, Minnesota and Ohio State are two of eight programs in the nation to have wrestlers ranked at all 10 weights, along with Nebraska, Northern Iowa, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Rutgers and Virginia Tech. In addition, the Gophers are joined by Penn State (10), Iowa (7), Oklahoma State (7), Nebraska (6) and Ohio State (6) as the only schools to have at least six wrestlers ranked in the top 10.

Steveson has been nothing but dominant this season. He's 8-0 with six wins by tech fall and two by pin. His Match Power rating of 5.250 team points per match leads the Big Ten and ranks tied for second in the country, according to WrestleStat.com. More on Steveson can be found on Page 4 of the notes.

McEnelly is 15-0 on the season with 13 bonus-points wins, including 10 by tech fall. Those 10 tech fall wins rank third in the nation behind only Purdue's Matt Ramos and Penn State's Mitchell Mesenbrink, who each have 12. More on McEnelly can be found on Page 5 of the notes.

Andrew Sparks is 17-4 on the year with eight of the wins coming by tech fall, including two in his last three matches. Those eight tech fall wins tie him for fourth in the country. More on Sparks can be found on Page 5 of the notes.

PROBABLE LINEUPS

WEIGHT	MINNESOTA	OHIO STATE	PURDUE
125	#9 Cooper Flynn (11-2 Overall, 6-1 Dual, 2-1 B1G) or Brandon Morvari (4-5, 0-1, 0-1)	#18 Brendan McCrone (17-6, 8-4, 2-3)	#1 Matt Ramos (14-3, 9-0, 4-0) or Isaiah Quintero (9-5, 0-0, 0-0)
133	#18 Tyler Wells (9-3, 5-2, 1-1)	#10 Nic Bouzakis (17-4, 8-2, 2-2)	Dustin Norris (7-7, 6-5, 1-2) or Jacob Macatangay (9-10, 0-1, 0-1)
141	#8 Vance VomBaur (18-2, 8-1, 4-1)	#1 Jesse Mendez (21-0, 12-0, 5-0)	#28 Greyson Clark (9-8, 5-5, 1-2) or Cole Solomey (3-6, 0-1, 0-0)
149	#29 Drew Roberts (9-4, 5-4, 1-4) or Theo Cha (6-7, 0-0, 0-0)	#8 Dylan D'Emilio (15-2, 10-2, 4-1)	Isaac Ruble (7-9, 6-6, 1-3)
157	#8 Tommy Askey (18-2, 7-1, 4-1)	#16 Sammy Sasso (12-7, 5-4, 1-3) or Brandon Cannon (7-1, 2-1, 0-0)	#7 Joey Blaze (14-3, 9-0, 4-0) or Kade Law (2-6, 1-2, 0-0)
165	#11 Andrew Sparks (17-4, 7-2, 3-2) or Blaine Brenner (10-5, 0-0, 0-0)	#9 Paddy Gallagher (11-4, 7-3, 1-2) or Brock Herman (13-4, 1-0, 0-0)	Delaney Ruhlman (3-2, 0-0, 0-0)
174	#22 Clayton Whiting (13-6, 6-3, 4-1)	#5 Carson Kharchla (9-0, 9-0, 5-0)	#27 Brody Baumann (14-6, 9-3, 1-3)
184	#4 Max McEnelly (15-0, 9-0, 5-0) or Gabe Nagel (9-2, 0-0, 0-0)	#19 Ryder Rogotzke (5-4, 5-4, 2-3)	Orlando Cruz (4-7, 3-4, 1-3)
197	#9 Isaiah Salazar (14-3, 8-1, 4-1)	#18 Seth Shumate (9-6, 2-6, 1-3)	#26 Ben Vanadia (13-8, 7-5, 1-3)
285	#1 Gable Steveson (8-0, 8-0, 5-0) or Bennett Tabor (9-4, 1-0, 0-0)	#9 Nick Feldman (12-5, 6-2, 3-2)	Hayden Filipovich (9-11, 5-7, 1-3)

FACING OHIO STATE

Friday will be the 59th all-time meeting between Minnesota and Ohio State. The Golden Gophers lead the all-time series 37-19-2, though the Buckeyes have taken the last five matchups.

In Columbus, Minnesota leads the series 16-4-0 with OSU prevailing in the last two meetings there. The .800 winning percentage at Ohio State is Minnesota's second best against opponents its faced at least 20 times on the road. The only better mark is a .958 percentage at Indiana (23-1-0). Minnesota has not competed at Ohio State since Jan. 12, 2018. That's currently its longest drought for not playing at a Big Ten school. The Gophers also last visited Penn State (Jan. 26) and Maryland (Feb. 11) in 2018; they've been to every other conference school at least once since 2021.

The Buckeyes enter the matchup with a 12-1 record on the season and 4-1 mark in the Big Ten. The only blemish on their schedule was a 24-13 loss at Iowa on Jan. 25. Minnesota and Ohio State have two common opponents this year in Rutgers and Michigan with both prevailing in each matchup. The Gophers beat the Scarlet Knights at home on Sunday, 28-9, while the Buckeyes also won a home matchup, 17-15, on Jan. 12. Minnesota topped the Wolverines, 25-10, on Jan. 19, while OSU won on Saturday in Ann Arbor, 25-14.

Ohio State has one Minnesota native in sophomore Ryder Rogotzke (184), who is from Lakeland and graduated from Stillwater High School. Minnesota has no Ohioans on its roster. Minnesota redshirt sophomore Hunter Lyden (174) was high school teammates with Rogotzke at Stillwater. During the 2023 high school season, Rogotzke moved up in weight from 182 pounds to 195 in order to face Minnesota's 184-pounder Max McEnelly, then a senior at Waconia High School. McEnelly, who had already won the in-season matchup between the two, prevailed in the state championship match over Rogotzke, 3-2, thanks to a takedown with 20 seconds to go.

Minnesota's Tommy Askey was the second state champion at Pine Bush High School in Pine Bush, N.Y. The first was Troy Bouzakis, the father of Ohio State's Nic Bouzakis.

RANKED MATCHUPS
Based on probable lineups and the latest rankings from InterMat, all 10 weights Friday could feature ranked matchups with each team having the higher ranked wrestler in five bouts.

At 125 pounds, No. 9 Cooper Flynn has not faced No. 1 Brendan McCrone in his career. Flynn is 5-2 against ranked opponents this year, tied for second on the team in ranked wins, while McCrone is 0-5 against top-25 opponents. Four of Flynn's wins have come against wrestlers ranked 18th or better at the time of the match. Flynn and McCrone have one common opponent this year as both lost to Nebraska's Caleb Smith. Flynn's was a 2-0 setback, while McCrone fell 6-3 in overtime.

At 133, No. 18 Tyler Wells would face No. 10 Nic Bouzakis for the first time. Wells is 4-3 against ranked opponents this year, tying for fourth on the team in ranked wins, while Shawver is 4-2 versus the top-25. Wells and Bouzakis have two common opponents this year in Rutgers' Dylan Shawver and Michigan's Nolan Wertanen. Both lost to Shawver by decision, while Wells majored Wertanen and Bouzakis posted a tech fall win.

At 141 pounds, No. 8 Vance VomBaur has not faced top-ranked Jesse Mendez before. VomBaur leads the Gophers with seven ranked wins this season (7-2), while Mendez is 9-0 against top-25 foes. VomBaur and Mendez have two common opponents this year with in Michigan's Sergio Lemley and Navy's Josh Koderhandt. Both VomBaur and Mendez defeated Lemley -- VomBaur by decision and Mendez by major -- while Mendez topped Koderhandt, 8-6, and VomBaur fell, 4-2.

The matchup at 149 between No. 29 Drew Roberts and No. 8 Dylan D'Emilio would be the first between the two. Roberts is 1-3 versus ranked opponents this year, while D'Emilio is 2-2 against the top 25. They have two common opponents this year in Rutgers' Andrew Clark and Michigan's Dylan Gilcher. Roberts was 0-2 against the pair, while D'Emilio was 2-0.

At 157, No. 8 Tommy Askey has not faced No. 16 Sammy Sasso in his career. Askey has won two straight ranked matchups, while Sasso is 0-5 against the top 25 this year. Both have recorded one-point wins over Rutgers' Conner Harer this season.

At 165, No. 11 Andrew Sparks has not taken on No. 9 Paddy Gallagher before. Sparks is 4-3 in ranked matchups this year, tying for fourth on the team in ranked wins, while Gallagher is 0-1 against the top 25. Both have losses to Iowa's Michael Caliendo this year with Sparks' being a two-point loss and Gallagher getting majored.

At 174 pounds, No. 25 Clayton Whiting has not battled No. 5 Carson Kharchla so far in his career. After starting 0-6 in ranked matchups this year, Whiting has won his last three. Turley is 5-0 versus the top 25. Whiting and Turley have three common opponents this year in Rutgers' Jackson Turley, Michigan's Joseph Walker and North Carolina's Joshua Ogunsanya. Kharchla was 3-0 in those matchups, while Whiting was 2-1 with the loss coming to Ogunsanya.

At 184, No. 4 Max McEnelly has not faced No. 19 Ryder Rogotzke in his career. McEnelly is 4-0 versus ranked opponents this year, including two over top-six foes, while Rogotzke is 1-3 against top-25 opponents. Both have defeated Michigan's Jaden Bullock, while McEnelly majored Rutgers' Shane Cartagena-Walsh and Rogotzke lost by decision to him.

At 197, No. 9 Isaiah Salazar could face No. 18 Seth Shumate for the first time in his career. Salazar is 3-1 in ranked matchups this year, while Shumate is 1-7 against the top 25. Both have lost to Michigan's Jacob Cardenas -- Salazar by decision and Shumate by major decision.

The heavyweight matchup could feature No. 1 Gable Steveson taking on No. 9 Nick Feldman for the first time. Steveson is 5-0 against ranked opponents this year, including at tech fall of then-No. 7 Taye Ghadiali of Campbell and pins of Michigan's then-No. 10 Josh Heindselman and Rutgers' then-No. 8 Yaraslau Slavikouski. Feldman is 2-5 versus top-25 foes this year. They have three common opponents this year in Nebraska's Harley Andrews, Heindselman and Slavikouski. Steveson was 3-0 versus the group with a tech fall of Andrews and pins over the other two, while Feldman was 2-1 with the loss coming to Heindselman.

LAST MEETING WITH OHIO STATE

Minnesota fell in their 2022 regular season finale against No. 8 Ohio State when the teams last met in February of 2022. The Buckeyes got off to a hot start by winning six of the first seven bouts. Minnesota did finish the dual strong, however, winning the final three bouts in the contest.

Minnesota got a win at 133 from Jake Gliva, while No. 20 Isaiah Salazar was the next competitor to put the Gophers on the board, after he defeated Rocky Jordan by 10-8 decision at 184 pounds. Michial Foy answered that match up with a big-time win at 197 pounds, knocking #21 Gavin Hoffman by a 5-2 score, earning a takedown in the final seconds to secure the upset win. That led to one final match at heavyweight as Gable Steveson earned an 18-3 technical over #13 Tate Orndorff.

Full results for the dual can be found on Page 2 of the notes.

FACING PURDUE

Minnesota is 43-10-2 all-time against Purdue. The .800 all-time win percentage is Minnesota's second best against any opponent it has faced at least 40 times. The only better percentage comes against Indiana (.900, 49-5-1). The Gophers have won 14 of the last 15 matchups dating to the 2004-05 season, including 12 straight from 2003-04 to 2020-21.

In Minneapolis, Minnesota is 21-2-2 all-time against Purdue. The .880 win percentage at home versus the Boilermakers is Minnesota's best against one active DI opponent it has hosted at least five times. The Golden Gophers have won six in a row at home over Purdue, tied for their longest active home win streak against a Big Ten program (Michigan State). Against all programs, the only longer win streaks currently are against South Dakota State (9) and Cornell (7). During the six-match win streak, Minnesota has outscored Purdue 164-62, an average score of 27-10.

Entering the weekend, Minnesota and Purdue have one common opponent in Northwestern. The Gophers defeated the Wildcats, 29-12, while the Boilermakers won by a score of 31-13. Friday night, Minnesota faces Ohio State, which beat Purdue, 34-10. Meanwhile, Purdue takes on Wisconsin Friday night, against whom Minnesota posted a 39-3 victory.

Minnesota redshirt junior Jager Eisch (133) and Purdue sophomore Greyson Clark (141) both attended Kaukauna High School in Kaukauna, Wis. Additionally, Gophers redshirt senior Theo Cha (149) and Purdue freshman RJ Powers (174) both attended South Anchorage High School in Anchorage, Alaska.

Purdue's Matt Ramos (125) spent two seasons at Minnesota but did not compete for the Gophers. He took a medical redshirt in 2019-20 and an Olympic redshirt in 2020-21. Purdue assistant coach Leroy Vega was a three-time All-American at Minnesota (1999-02) and was Big Ten champion at 125 pounds in 2002.

RANKED MATCHUPS

Based on probable lineups and the latest rankings from InterMat, five of the 10 weights Sunday could feature ranked matchups. Minnesota would have the higher ranked wrestler in three of the five matchups.

At 125 pounds, No. 9 Cooper Flynn has met top-ranked Matt Ramos once before at the 2023 Southern Scuffle when Flynn was at Virginia Tech. Ramos recorded a fall in overtime to get the win. Flynn enters the weekend 5-2 against ranked opponents this year, tied for second on the team in ranked wins, while Ramos is 8-0. Four of Flynn's wins have come against wrestlers ranked 18th or better at the time of the match. They have one common opponent this year in Virginia Tech's Eddie Ventresca. Flynn lost by decision, 4-1, while Ramos won, 7-4.

At 141 pounds, No.8 Vance VomBaur has not faced No. 28 Greyson Clark before. VomBaur enters the weekend leading the Gophers with seven ranked wins this season (7-2), while Clark is 1-5. He and Clark have four common opponents this year. Both defeated Missouri's Easton Hilton and Northwestern's Chris Cannon (bonus-point wins for VomBaur, decisions for Clark) and both lost to Navy's Josh Koderhandt by decision. The lone difference came against Missouri's Josh Edmond, whom VomBaur defeated, while Clark lost the matchup in overtime.

At 157, No. 8 Tommy Askey has not faced No. 7 Joey Blaze in his career. Askey enters the weekend having won two straight ranked matchups, while Blaze is 6-2 against ranked foes this year. They have no common opponents this season entering the weekend.

At 174 pounds, No. 25 Clayton Whiting has not battled No. 27 Brody Baumann so far in his career. After starting 0-6 in ranked matchups this year, Whiting has won his last three. Baumann is 3-5 against ranked wrestlers. Whiting and Baumann have two common opponents this year as both posted bonus-point wins over Northwestern's Aiden Vandenbush and Northern Illinois' Tommy Bennett.

At 197, No. 9 Isaiah Salazar could face No. 26 Ben Vanadia for the second time in his career. Salazar took the first matchup in the 2023 dual between the teams with a 10-3 decision. Salazar enters the weekend 3-1 in ranked matchups this year, while Vanadia is 1-7 against ranked foes. Both have faced Northwestern's Evan Bates this year with Salazar posting a 10-3 decision and Vanadia falling by major decision, 8-0.

LAST MEETING WITH PURDUE

The Gophers won 8 of 10 matches in a 36-6 win at Purdue last season. Seven wins were by bonus points, five of which were tech falls. In total, Minnesota scored 130 points in the match to just 32 for the Boilermakers, while 28 of the 31 takedowns in the dual were recorded by Gophers.

The match started at 174 pounds and Andrew Sparks opened with an 11-1 major decision over No. 32 Brody Baumann. A stretch of three straight tech falls began at 184 pounds as No. 5 Isaiah Salazar shut out James Rowley, 15-0, No. 20 Garrett Joles stopped Ben Vanadia at the 5:35 mark, 18-3, at 197 pounds, and No. 30 Bennett Tabor notched his first career tech fall with a 19-2 (4:21) victory over Mitch Hutmacher. At 133 pounds, Jake Gliva scored a 15-3 major decision over Dustin Norris, while No. 20 Vance VomBaur recorded the fourth tech fall of the day in a 17-2 (6:00) win against Christian White at 141 pounds. The fifth and final tech fall belonged to No. 17 Drew Roberts at 149 pounds as he topped Jaden Reynolds, 19-4 (5:33).

Full results for the dual can be found on Page 3 of the notes.

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Players Mentioned

Tommy Askey

Blaine Brenner

Theo Cha

Jager Eisch

Cooper Flynn

Jake Gliva

Garrett Joles

Hunter Lyden

Max McEnelly

Brandon Morvari

Gabe Nagel

Drew Roberts

Isaiah Salazar

Andrew Sparks

Gable Steveson

Bennett Tabor

Vance VomBaur

Tyler Wells

Clayton Whiting