University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, March 21
Philadelphia, PA
7:00 PM
University of Minnesota
at
NCAA Championships - Sessions IV
Players Mentioned
157 lbs.
/ Wrestling
125 lbs.
/ Wrestling
184 lbs.
/ Wrestling
184 lbs.
/ Wrestling
174 lbs.
/ Wrestling
285 lbs.
/ Wrestling
141 lbs.
/ Wrestling
133 lbs.
/ Wrestling
174 lbs.
/ Wrestling
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Steveson Earns Spot in National Title Match
3/21/2025 11:33:00 PM | Wrestling
PHILADELPHIA – Gable Steveson will go for a record-setting third national title Saturday night after posting a semifinal victory in Session IV of the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships Friday in Philadelphia.
In addition, Max McEnelly and Vance VomBaur will both wrestle for podium spots Saturday.Â
With a 13-5 victory over No. 4 Owen Trephan of Lehigh, Steveson will now look to become the first three-time NCAA champion in Minnesota history and just the sixth heavyweight to win three titles in NCAA annals. In the finals, he'll match up with No. 2 Wyatt Hendrickson of Oklahoma State. They've met once before at the 2021 NCAA Championships when Hendrickson was at the Air Force Academy and Steveson won by tech fall, 18-2.
In his semifinal match with Trephan, Steveson built a 6-2 lead with a pair first-period takedowns. His lead was then 7-2 going to the third after an escape in the second period. Trephan escaped to start the third, cutting the lead to 7-3, but Steveson put him away with two takedowns in the final 45 seconds.Â
The other semifinal Friday night saw McEnelly go toe-to-toe with No. 2 and defending national champion Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa. Both recorded escapes in regulation, sending the match to overtime. In the extra session, it was Keckeisen who got the winning takedown for a 4-1 decision to send McEnelly, the No. 3 seed, to the consolation semifinals Saturday morning. For a spot in the third-place match, McEnelly will face Maryland's No. 8 Jaxon Smith.
For perspective, McEnelly's two career losses now have come in overtime to the wrestlers who will compete for the 184-pound national championship in Keckeisen and Penn State's Carter Starocci, who topped McEnelly in the Big Ten Championship earlier this month.Â
For the second straight season, VomBaur became an All-American in the Blood Round. The No. 6 seed, VomBaur met Rutgers' No. 15 Joseph Olivieri for the second time this season as the two met in a February dual in Minneapolis where VomBaur won 12-5. Friday night was the same outcome as VomBaur prevailed 5-3, becoming the 59th multi-time All-American in Gophers history and the fourth to do so at 141 pounds.
After a scoreless first period, Olivieri started down in the second period but reversed VomBaur to lead 2-0. An escape made it 2-1, which was the score going to the third period. VomBaur lodged a second escape 18 seconds into the third to even the match at 2-2 and then took down Olivieri with 45 seconds remaining in what proved to be the winning act.
VomBaur competed a second time Friday as he clashed with Penn's No. 10 CJ Composto. Scoreless after the first period, Composto outscored VomBaur 4-1 in the second stanza. In the third, VomBaur escaped and got a takedown to lead 5-4. Composto escaped, however, to even it at 5-5. With 39 seconds to go, Composto got the winning takedown for an 8-6 victory.
VomBaur moves to the seventh-place match Saturday against Iowa State's No. 9 Jacob Frost.
At 157 pounds, No. 9 Tommy Askey fell in the Blood Round for the second year in a row. Friday, he lost to No. 11 Matty Bianchi of Little Rock, 2-1, in a tiebreaker. Tied 1-1 through regulation and sudden victory, Bianchi escaped after only three seconds. Askey then chose neutral in his period but couldn't get the go-ahead takedown, bringing his season to an end.
Session V gets underway Saturday morning at 10 a.m. CT. ESPNU will have the television coverage, while ESPN+ will have mat-specific streams.
Minnesota Results through Session IV
125 Pounds
First Round: #14 Spence Moore (North Carolina) dec. #19 Cooper Flynn, 2-0
Consolation - R1: #19 Cooper Flynn fall #33 Caleb Weiand (Michigan State), 2:48
Consolation - R2: #19 Cooper Flynn dec. #13 Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton), 2-1
Consolation - R3: #22 Trevor Anderson (Northern Iowa) dec. #19 Cooper Flynn, 4-3
133 Pounds
First Round: #11 Evan Frost (Iowa State) dec. #22 Tyler Wells, 2-0
Consolation - R1: #22 Tyler Wells dec. #27 Ethan Berginc (Army), 5-1
Consolation - R2: #22 Tyler Wells dec. #5 Dominick Serrano (Northern Colorado), 4-1 SV1
Consolation - R3: #13 Tyler Knox (Stanford) dec. #22 Tyler Wells, 1-0
141 Pounds
First Round: #6 Vance VomBaur dec. #27 Greyson Clark (Purdue), 2-0
Round of 16: #6 Vance VomBaur dec. #11 Dylan Cedeno (Virginia), 4-0
Quarterfinals: #3 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) MD #6 Vance VomBaur, 17-5
Blood Round: #6 Vance VomBaur dec. #15 Joseph Olivieri (Rutgers), 5-3
Consolation - Qtrs: #10 CJ Composto (Penn) dec. #6 Vance VomBaur, 8-6
157 Pounds
First Round: #9 Tommy Askey dec. #24 Dylan Evans (Pitt), 7-2
Round of 16: #8 Joey Blaze (Purdue) dec. #9 Tommy Askey, 2-2 TB2
Consolation - R2: #9 Tommy Askey dec. #10 Ethen Miller (Maryland), 1-1 TB2
Consolation - R3: #9 Tommy Askey dec. #16 Cody Chittum (Iowa State), 4-3
Blood Round: #11 Matty Bianchi (Little Rock) dec. #9 Tommy Askey, 2-1 TB2
165 Pounds
First Round: #10 Andrew Sparks dec. #23 Thomas Snipes (The Citadel), 4-2
Round of 16: #7 Hunter Garvin (Stanford) MD #10 Andrew Sparks, 14-4
Consolation - R2: #25 Nick Hamilton (Virginia) dec. #10 Andrew Sparks, 4-2
174 Pounds
First Round: #5 Simon Ruiz (Cornell) TF #28 Clayton Whiting, 17-2 (7:00)
Consolation - R1: #28 Clayton Whiting dec. #12 Myles Takats (Bucknell), 11-9
Consolation - R2: #6 Brevin Cassella (Binghamton) MD #28 Clayton Whiting, 8-0
184 Pounds
First Round: #3 Max McEnelly TF #30 Colin Fegley (Lock Haven), 19-4 (3:52)
Round of 16: #3 Max McEnelly MD #14 DJ Parker (Oklahoma), 11-3
Quarterfinals: #3 Max McEnelly dec. #6 Chris Foca (Cornell), 10-7
Semifinals: #2 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) dec. #3 Max McEnelly, 4-1 SV1
197 Pounds
First Round: #23 Seth Shumate (Ohio State) fall #10 Isaiah Salazar, 4:12
Consolation - R1: #7 Wyatt Voelker (Northern Iowa) dec. #10 Isaiah Salazar, 4-1 SV1
Heavyweight
First Round: #1 Gable Steveson fall #33 Hayden Filipovich (Purdue), 1:25
Round of 16: #1 Gable Steveson DQ #16 Yaraslau Slavikouski (Rutgers)
Quarterfinals: #1 Gable Steveson TF #9 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State), 20-5 (6:23)
Semifinals: #1 Gable Steveson MD #4 Owen Trephan (Lehigh), 13-5
In addition, Max McEnelly and Vance VomBaur will both wrestle for podium spots Saturday.Â
With a 13-5 victory over No. 4 Owen Trephan of Lehigh, Steveson will now look to become the first three-time NCAA champion in Minnesota history and just the sixth heavyweight to win three titles in NCAA annals. In the finals, he'll match up with No. 2 Wyatt Hendrickson of Oklahoma State. They've met once before at the 2021 NCAA Championships when Hendrickson was at the Air Force Academy and Steveson won by tech fall, 18-2.
In his semifinal match with Trephan, Steveson built a 6-2 lead with a pair first-period takedowns. His lead was then 7-2 going to the third after an escape in the second period. Trephan escaped to start the third, cutting the lead to 7-3, but Steveson put him away with two takedowns in the final 45 seconds.Â
The other semifinal Friday night saw McEnelly go toe-to-toe with No. 2 and defending national champion Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa. Both recorded escapes in regulation, sending the match to overtime. In the extra session, it was Keckeisen who got the winning takedown for a 4-1 decision to send McEnelly, the No. 3 seed, to the consolation semifinals Saturday morning. For a spot in the third-place match, McEnelly will face Maryland's No. 8 Jaxon Smith.
For perspective, McEnelly's two career losses now have come in overtime to the wrestlers who will compete for the 184-pound national championship in Keckeisen and Penn State's Carter Starocci, who topped McEnelly in the Big Ten Championship earlier this month.Â
For the second straight season, VomBaur became an All-American in the Blood Round. The No. 6 seed, VomBaur met Rutgers' No. 15 Joseph Olivieri for the second time this season as the two met in a February dual in Minneapolis where VomBaur won 12-5. Friday night was the same outcome as VomBaur prevailed 5-3, becoming the 59th multi-time All-American in Gophers history and the fourth to do so at 141 pounds.
After a scoreless first period, Olivieri started down in the second period but reversed VomBaur to lead 2-0. An escape made it 2-1, which was the score going to the third period. VomBaur lodged a second escape 18 seconds into the third to even the match at 2-2 and then took down Olivieri with 45 seconds remaining in what proved to be the winning act.
VomBaur competed a second time Friday as he clashed with Penn's No. 10 CJ Composto. Scoreless after the first period, Composto outscored VomBaur 4-1 in the second stanza. In the third, VomBaur escaped and got a takedown to lead 5-4. Composto escaped, however, to even it at 5-5. With 39 seconds to go, Composto got the winning takedown for an 8-6 victory.
VomBaur moves to the seventh-place match Saturday against Iowa State's No. 9 Jacob Frost.
At 157 pounds, No. 9 Tommy Askey fell in the Blood Round for the second year in a row. Friday, he lost to No. 11 Matty Bianchi of Little Rock, 2-1, in a tiebreaker. Tied 1-1 through regulation and sudden victory, Bianchi escaped after only three seconds. Askey then chose neutral in his period but couldn't get the go-ahead takedown, bringing his season to an end.
Session V gets underway Saturday morning at 10 a.m. CT. ESPNU will have the television coverage, while ESPN+ will have mat-specific streams.
Minnesota Results through Session IV
125 Pounds
First Round: #14 Spence Moore (North Carolina) dec. #19 Cooper Flynn, 2-0
Consolation - R1: #19 Cooper Flynn fall #33 Caleb Weiand (Michigan State), 2:48
Consolation - R2: #19 Cooper Flynn dec. #13 Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton), 2-1
Consolation - R3: #22 Trevor Anderson (Northern Iowa) dec. #19 Cooper Flynn, 4-3
133 Pounds
First Round: #11 Evan Frost (Iowa State) dec. #22 Tyler Wells, 2-0
Consolation - R1: #22 Tyler Wells dec. #27 Ethan Berginc (Army), 5-1
Consolation - R2: #22 Tyler Wells dec. #5 Dominick Serrano (Northern Colorado), 4-1 SV1
Consolation - R3: #13 Tyler Knox (Stanford) dec. #22 Tyler Wells, 1-0
141 Pounds
First Round: #6 Vance VomBaur dec. #27 Greyson Clark (Purdue), 2-0
Round of 16: #6 Vance VomBaur dec. #11 Dylan Cedeno (Virginia), 4-0
Quarterfinals: #3 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) MD #6 Vance VomBaur, 17-5
Blood Round: #6 Vance VomBaur dec. #15 Joseph Olivieri (Rutgers), 5-3
Consolation - Qtrs: #10 CJ Composto (Penn) dec. #6 Vance VomBaur, 8-6
157 Pounds
First Round: #9 Tommy Askey dec. #24 Dylan Evans (Pitt), 7-2
Round of 16: #8 Joey Blaze (Purdue) dec. #9 Tommy Askey, 2-2 TB2
Consolation - R2: #9 Tommy Askey dec. #10 Ethen Miller (Maryland), 1-1 TB2
Consolation - R3: #9 Tommy Askey dec. #16 Cody Chittum (Iowa State), 4-3
Blood Round: #11 Matty Bianchi (Little Rock) dec. #9 Tommy Askey, 2-1 TB2
165 Pounds
First Round: #10 Andrew Sparks dec. #23 Thomas Snipes (The Citadel), 4-2
Round of 16: #7 Hunter Garvin (Stanford) MD #10 Andrew Sparks, 14-4
Consolation - R2: #25 Nick Hamilton (Virginia) dec. #10 Andrew Sparks, 4-2
174 Pounds
First Round: #5 Simon Ruiz (Cornell) TF #28 Clayton Whiting, 17-2 (7:00)
Consolation - R1: #28 Clayton Whiting dec. #12 Myles Takats (Bucknell), 11-9
Consolation - R2: #6 Brevin Cassella (Binghamton) MD #28 Clayton Whiting, 8-0
184 Pounds
First Round: #3 Max McEnelly TF #30 Colin Fegley (Lock Haven), 19-4 (3:52)
Round of 16: #3 Max McEnelly MD #14 DJ Parker (Oklahoma), 11-3
Quarterfinals: #3 Max McEnelly dec. #6 Chris Foca (Cornell), 10-7
Semifinals: #2 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) dec. #3 Max McEnelly, 4-1 SV1
197 Pounds
First Round: #23 Seth Shumate (Ohio State) fall #10 Isaiah Salazar, 4:12
Consolation - R1: #7 Wyatt Voelker (Northern Iowa) dec. #10 Isaiah Salazar, 4-1 SV1
Heavyweight
First Round: #1 Gable Steveson fall #33 Hayden Filipovich (Purdue), 1:25
Round of 16: #1 Gable Steveson DQ #16 Yaraslau Slavikouski (Rutgers)
Quarterfinals: #1 Gable Steveson TF #9 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State), 20-5 (6:23)
Semifinals: #1 Gable Steveson MD #4 Owen Trephan (Lehigh), 13-5
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