University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, March 7
University Park, PA
4:00 PM
University of Minnesota
vs
Big Ten Championships - Session II
Players Mentioned
149 lbs.
/ Wrestling
285 lbs.
/ Wrestling
184 lbs.
/ Wrestling
184 lbs.
/ Wrestling
157 lbs.
/ Wrestling
197 lbs.
/ Wrestling
174 lbs.
/ Wrestling
149 lbs.
/ Wrestling
165 lbs.
/ Wrestling
174 lbs.
/ Wrestling
285 lbs.
/ Wrestling
125 lbs.
/ Wrestling
141 lbs.
/ Wrestling
141 lbs.
/ Wrestling
Volk, McEnelly Head to Big Ten Championship Matches
3/7/2026 9:48:00 PM | Wrestling
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Minnesota wrestling is sending a pair of Gophers to the finals of the Big Ten Championships following the opening day of competition Saturday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center on the campus of Penn State.
Reaching the finals Saturday were senior Jore Volk at 125 pounds and redshirt sophomore Max McEnelly at 184. Minnesota will have multiple finalists for the fourth year in a row, and it's looking to have multiple champions for the first time since Dylan Ness (149) and Tony Nelson (heavyweight) accomplished the feat in 2013.
As a team, the Gophers are currently tied for fifth place with Illinois at 69.5 points. They both trail Penn State (146.5), Nebraska and Ohio State (112.0 each) and Iowa (70.0). If the Gophers can climb into a fourth-place finish, it would tie for the best under head coach Brandon Eggum, finishing there last year and in 2019.
In addition, Minnesota has qualified six wrestlers to the NCAA Championships with a chance for three more to do the same Sunday.
The 2026 Big Ten Championships conclude Sunday, starting at 11 a.m. CT on Big Ten Plus with the ninth and 11th-place brackets, consolation semifinals and seventh-place matches. The finals, which include the championships, third-place and fifth-place matches, begin at 3:30 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network.
Volk reached a conference championship match for the second time in his career, also doing so in 2024 at Wyoming when he won the Big 12 Championship. The No. 6 seed, Volk got there again Saturday with a resounding 8-1 victory over No. 2 seed Nic Bouzakis, who was 14-1 on the season entering the weekend and whose previous season high in points allowed was in an 8-5 overtime win over Volk on Nov. 15. Saturday night, Volk struck first and had a 3-1 lead after one period then blew the match open with an escape and another takedown in the closing seconds of the second before accruing over 2:00 of riding time for the victory.
As the 6-seed, Volk tied for the highest-seeded Gopher to make a Big Ten final since 2000, joining Michael Blockhus (149) and Aaron Nagao (133) in 2023 and Manuel Rivera (141) in 2008. Volk will face top-seeded and undefeated Luke Lilledahl of Penn State in Sunday's final.
McEnelly is back in the 184-pound semifinals for the second year in a row. The No. 2 seed, he advanced via medical forfeit over Nebraska's No. 3 Silas Allred. McEnelly becomes the first Gopher to repeat as a finalist since heavyweight Gable Steveson did so in 2021 and 2022 and the first to do so in his freshman and sophomore seasons since Jayson Ness in 2007 and 2008 at 125 pounds.
Like Volk, McEnelly will face a top-ranked and undefeated Nittany Lion in the finals when he meets Rocco Welsh.
Two other Gophers lost in the semifinals.
In a rematch of last season's 141-pound championship match, No. 3 seed Vance VomBaur lost his semifinal bout to Nebraska's No. 2 Brock Hardy, 9-2. VomBaur will now take on Maryland's No. 11 Dario Lemus, whom he defeated by tech fall in the regular season, with a trip to the third-place match on the line.
Andrew Sparks reached the semifinals at 165 pounds, but the sixth-year senior and No. 5 seed was bested by defending national champion and No. 1 seed Mitchell Mesenbrink. A 19-4 (6:29) tech fall dropped Sparks to the consolation bracket where he'll face Purdue's Joey Blaze, the No. 2 seed, in the consolation semifinals.
The remaining six Gopher wrestlers will still be in action Sunday, including two who have reached the podium and four competing in extra matches for NCAA positioning and/or qualifying.
In his first trip to the Big Ten Championships, redshirt freshman Charlie Millard guaranteed himself a spot on the podium. Seeded sixth at 157 pounds, Millard got there with a 4-2 decision over Rutgers' No. 5 Tony White, avenging a regular season loss. In the consolation quarterfinals, Millard was stopped by Ohio State's No. 7 Brandon Cannon, 9-4, to send Millard to the seventh-place match versus Wisconsin's No. 8 Luke Mechler.
Like Millard, redshirt freshman Koy Hopke will wrestle for seventh place, as well, in his Championships debut. After a consolation bye, Hopke, the No. 7 seed, recorded his second two-point win over Rutgers' No. 8 Hunter Catka this season. Following a 4-2 win in the regular season, Hopke clinched his podium spot with a 2-0 win Saturday. Hopke was then bested by Wisconsin's No. 5 Braxton Amos, sending him to the seventh-place match against No. 6 Luke Luffman of Illinois.
Redshirt senior Drew Roberts is looking to clinch a spot at 149 pounds in the ninth-place bracket. The 10 seed, Roberts lost in the consolations to No. 9 Michael Gioffre of Illinois, 12-3, but shut out Northwestern's No. 14 August Hibler in the ninth-place quarterfinals, 5-0, to stay alive. With nine qualifying from the Big Ten, Roberts needs to win two matches Sunday, starting with No. 6 Chance Lamer of Nebraska, to earn the bid to the NCAAs.
Also looking to earn his auto-bid is redshirt sophomore Ethan Riddle, 174 pounds' No. 7 seed. He was bounced by Purdue's No. 8 Brody Baumann, 8-6, before earning a bye in the 11th-place bracket. With the top 10 going to NCAAs from the Big Ten, Riddle just needs a win over No. 12 Luke Condon of Wisconsin Sunday to move to the ninth-place match and clinch his spot in Cleveland.
Fellow redshirt sophomore Gavin Nelson is also trying to earn an automatic bid at 197 pounds. Seeded 11th, Nelson lost his consolation match to Maryland's No. 4 Branson Johns, 8-5 in overtime, but responded with his second win of the day over Northwestern's Alex Smith. After a 4-3 win Saturday morning, Nelson moved on with a 5-2 decision in the evening session over the No. 14 seed. Like Riddle, a win in the semis over Michigan State's No. 7 Kael Wisler will put Nelson in the 197 field at NCAAs.
At 133 pounds, redshirt senior Jager Eisch, the No. 14 seed, lost his consolation match to Wisconsin's No. 4 Zan Fugitt in overtime, 5-2. The weight is wrestling out to ninth place, though only the top eight earn auto bids to the NCAAs. In the extra match, Eisch defeated Michigan State's No. 11 Caleb Weiand for the second time this weekend, this time by a 4-0 final. He'll wrestle in the 9th-place semis Sunday morning against Maryland's No. 8 Braxton Brown.
Minnesota Results through Session II
125 Pounds
First Round: #6 Jore Volk TF #11 Kael Lauridsen (Nebraska), 16-0 5:31
Quarterfinals: #6 Jore Volk dec. #3 Spencer Moore (Illinois), 4-1 SV1
Semifinals: #6 Jore Volk dec. #2 Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State), 8-1
133 Pounds
First Round: #3 Ben Davino (Ohio State) TF #14 Jager Eisch, 18-2 3:43
Consolations: #14 Jager Eisch TF #11 Caleb Weiand (Michigan State), 15-0 6:55
Consolations: #4 Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin) dec. #14 Jager Eisch, 5-2 SV1
9th Place Quarterfinals: #14 Jager Eisch dec. #11 Caleb Weiand (Michigan State), 4-0
141 Pounds
First Round: #3 Vance VomBaur fall #14 Jaden Crumpler (Michigan State), 4:10
Quarterfinals: #3 Vance VomBaur TF #6 Braeden Davis (Penn State), 20-5 7:00
Semifinals: #2 Brock Hardy (Nebraska) dec. #3 Vance Vombaur, 9-2
149 Pounds
First Round: #10 Drew Roberts dec. #7 Andrew Clark (Rutgers), 4-3
Quarterfinals: #2 Ethan Stiles (Ohio State) dec. #10 Drew Roberts, 4-1
Consolations: #9 Michael Gioffre (Illinois) MD #10 Drew Roberts, 12-3
9th Place Quarterfinals: #10 Drew Roberts dec. #14 August Hibler (Northwestern), 5-0
157 Pounds
First Round: #6 Charlie Millard MD #11 Bryce Lowery (Indiana), 12-4
Quarterfinals: #3 Kannon Webster (Illinois) MD #6 Charlie Millard, 14-2
Consolation Quarters: #6 Charlie Millard dec. #5 Tony White (Rutgers), 4-2
Consolation Semis: #7 Brandon Cannon (Ohio State) dec. #6 Charlie Millard, 9-4
165 Pounds
First Round: #5 Andrew Sparks MD #12 Justin Gates (Michigan), 16-3
Quarterfinals: #5 Andrew Sparks dec. #4 LJ Araujo (Nebraska), 3-1
Semifinals: #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) TF #5 Andrew Sparks, 19-4 (6:29)
174 Pounds
First Round: #7 Ethan Riddle Dec. #10 Eddie Enright (Northwestern), 4-1
Quarterfinals: #2 Christopher Minto (Nebraska) MD #7 Ethan Riddle, 11-1
Consolations: #8 Brody Baumann (Purdue) dec. #7 Ethan Riddle, 8-6
184 Pounds
Quarterfinals: #2 Max McEnelly TF #7 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (Rutgers), 21-6 5:04
Semifinals: #2 Max McEnelly MFF #3 Silas Allred (Nebraska)
197 Pounds
First Round: #6 Wyatt Ingham (Wisconsin) dec. #11 Gavin Nelson, 5-1
Consolations: #11 Gavin Nelson dec. #14 Alex Smith (Northwestern), 4-3
Consolations: #4 Branson John (Maryland) dec. #11 Gavin Nelson, 8-5 SV1
9th Place Quarterfinals: #11 Gavin Nelson dec. #14 Alex Smith (Northwestern), 5-2
Heavyweight
First Round: #10 Ben Kueter (Iowa) dec. #7 Koy Hopke, 5-2
Consolations: #7 Koy Hopke dec. #8 Hunter Catka (Rutgers), 2-0
Consolations: #5 Braxton Amos (Wisconsin) dec. #7 Koy Hopke, 8-3
Reaching the finals Saturday were senior Jore Volk at 125 pounds and redshirt sophomore Max McEnelly at 184. Minnesota will have multiple finalists for the fourth year in a row, and it's looking to have multiple champions for the first time since Dylan Ness (149) and Tony Nelson (heavyweight) accomplished the feat in 2013.
As a team, the Gophers are currently tied for fifth place with Illinois at 69.5 points. They both trail Penn State (146.5), Nebraska and Ohio State (112.0 each) and Iowa (70.0). If the Gophers can climb into a fourth-place finish, it would tie for the best under head coach Brandon Eggum, finishing there last year and in 2019.
In addition, Minnesota has qualified six wrestlers to the NCAA Championships with a chance for three more to do the same Sunday.
The 2026 Big Ten Championships conclude Sunday, starting at 11 a.m. CT on Big Ten Plus with the ninth and 11th-place brackets, consolation semifinals and seventh-place matches. The finals, which include the championships, third-place and fifth-place matches, begin at 3:30 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network.
Volk reached a conference championship match for the second time in his career, also doing so in 2024 at Wyoming when he won the Big 12 Championship. The No. 6 seed, Volk got there again Saturday with a resounding 8-1 victory over No. 2 seed Nic Bouzakis, who was 14-1 on the season entering the weekend and whose previous season high in points allowed was in an 8-5 overtime win over Volk on Nov. 15. Saturday night, Volk struck first and had a 3-1 lead after one period then blew the match open with an escape and another takedown in the closing seconds of the second before accruing over 2:00 of riding time for the victory.
As the 6-seed, Volk tied for the highest-seeded Gopher to make a Big Ten final since 2000, joining Michael Blockhus (149) and Aaron Nagao (133) in 2023 and Manuel Rivera (141) in 2008. Volk will face top-seeded and undefeated Luke Lilledahl of Penn State in Sunday's final.
McEnelly is back in the 184-pound semifinals for the second year in a row. The No. 2 seed, he advanced via medical forfeit over Nebraska's No. 3 Silas Allred. McEnelly becomes the first Gopher to repeat as a finalist since heavyweight Gable Steveson did so in 2021 and 2022 and the first to do so in his freshman and sophomore seasons since Jayson Ness in 2007 and 2008 at 125 pounds.
Like Volk, McEnelly will face a top-ranked and undefeated Nittany Lion in the finals when he meets Rocco Welsh.
Two other Gophers lost in the semifinals.
In a rematch of last season's 141-pound championship match, No. 3 seed Vance VomBaur lost his semifinal bout to Nebraska's No. 2 Brock Hardy, 9-2. VomBaur will now take on Maryland's No. 11 Dario Lemus, whom he defeated by tech fall in the regular season, with a trip to the third-place match on the line.
Andrew Sparks reached the semifinals at 165 pounds, but the sixth-year senior and No. 5 seed was bested by defending national champion and No. 1 seed Mitchell Mesenbrink. A 19-4 (6:29) tech fall dropped Sparks to the consolation bracket where he'll face Purdue's Joey Blaze, the No. 2 seed, in the consolation semifinals.
The remaining six Gopher wrestlers will still be in action Sunday, including two who have reached the podium and four competing in extra matches for NCAA positioning and/or qualifying.
In his first trip to the Big Ten Championships, redshirt freshman Charlie Millard guaranteed himself a spot on the podium. Seeded sixth at 157 pounds, Millard got there with a 4-2 decision over Rutgers' No. 5 Tony White, avenging a regular season loss. In the consolation quarterfinals, Millard was stopped by Ohio State's No. 7 Brandon Cannon, 9-4, to send Millard to the seventh-place match versus Wisconsin's No. 8 Luke Mechler.
Like Millard, redshirt freshman Koy Hopke will wrestle for seventh place, as well, in his Championships debut. After a consolation bye, Hopke, the No. 7 seed, recorded his second two-point win over Rutgers' No. 8 Hunter Catka this season. Following a 4-2 win in the regular season, Hopke clinched his podium spot with a 2-0 win Saturday. Hopke was then bested by Wisconsin's No. 5 Braxton Amos, sending him to the seventh-place match against No. 6 Luke Luffman of Illinois.
Redshirt senior Drew Roberts is looking to clinch a spot at 149 pounds in the ninth-place bracket. The 10 seed, Roberts lost in the consolations to No. 9 Michael Gioffre of Illinois, 12-3, but shut out Northwestern's No. 14 August Hibler in the ninth-place quarterfinals, 5-0, to stay alive. With nine qualifying from the Big Ten, Roberts needs to win two matches Sunday, starting with No. 6 Chance Lamer of Nebraska, to earn the bid to the NCAAs.
Also looking to earn his auto-bid is redshirt sophomore Ethan Riddle, 174 pounds' No. 7 seed. He was bounced by Purdue's No. 8 Brody Baumann, 8-6, before earning a bye in the 11th-place bracket. With the top 10 going to NCAAs from the Big Ten, Riddle just needs a win over No. 12 Luke Condon of Wisconsin Sunday to move to the ninth-place match and clinch his spot in Cleveland.
Fellow redshirt sophomore Gavin Nelson is also trying to earn an automatic bid at 197 pounds. Seeded 11th, Nelson lost his consolation match to Maryland's No. 4 Branson Johns, 8-5 in overtime, but responded with his second win of the day over Northwestern's Alex Smith. After a 4-3 win Saturday morning, Nelson moved on with a 5-2 decision in the evening session over the No. 14 seed. Like Riddle, a win in the semis over Michigan State's No. 7 Kael Wisler will put Nelson in the 197 field at NCAAs.
At 133 pounds, redshirt senior Jager Eisch, the No. 14 seed, lost his consolation match to Wisconsin's No. 4 Zan Fugitt in overtime, 5-2. The weight is wrestling out to ninth place, though only the top eight earn auto bids to the NCAAs. In the extra match, Eisch defeated Michigan State's No. 11 Caleb Weiand for the second time this weekend, this time by a 4-0 final. He'll wrestle in the 9th-place semis Sunday morning against Maryland's No. 8 Braxton Brown.
Minnesota Results through Session II
125 Pounds
First Round: #6 Jore Volk TF #11 Kael Lauridsen (Nebraska), 16-0 5:31
Quarterfinals: #6 Jore Volk dec. #3 Spencer Moore (Illinois), 4-1 SV1
Semifinals: #6 Jore Volk dec. #2 Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State), 8-1
133 Pounds
First Round: #3 Ben Davino (Ohio State) TF #14 Jager Eisch, 18-2 3:43
Consolations: #14 Jager Eisch TF #11 Caleb Weiand (Michigan State), 15-0 6:55
Consolations: #4 Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin) dec. #14 Jager Eisch, 5-2 SV1
9th Place Quarterfinals: #14 Jager Eisch dec. #11 Caleb Weiand (Michigan State), 4-0
141 Pounds
First Round: #3 Vance VomBaur fall #14 Jaden Crumpler (Michigan State), 4:10
Quarterfinals: #3 Vance VomBaur TF #6 Braeden Davis (Penn State), 20-5 7:00
Semifinals: #2 Brock Hardy (Nebraska) dec. #3 Vance Vombaur, 9-2
149 Pounds
First Round: #10 Drew Roberts dec. #7 Andrew Clark (Rutgers), 4-3
Quarterfinals: #2 Ethan Stiles (Ohio State) dec. #10 Drew Roberts, 4-1
Consolations: #9 Michael Gioffre (Illinois) MD #10 Drew Roberts, 12-3
9th Place Quarterfinals: #10 Drew Roberts dec. #14 August Hibler (Northwestern), 5-0
157 Pounds
First Round: #6 Charlie Millard MD #11 Bryce Lowery (Indiana), 12-4
Quarterfinals: #3 Kannon Webster (Illinois) MD #6 Charlie Millard, 14-2
Consolation Quarters: #6 Charlie Millard dec. #5 Tony White (Rutgers), 4-2
Consolation Semis: #7 Brandon Cannon (Ohio State) dec. #6 Charlie Millard, 9-4
165 Pounds
First Round: #5 Andrew Sparks MD #12 Justin Gates (Michigan), 16-3
Quarterfinals: #5 Andrew Sparks dec. #4 LJ Araujo (Nebraska), 3-1
Semifinals: #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) TF #5 Andrew Sparks, 19-4 (6:29)
174 Pounds
First Round: #7 Ethan Riddle Dec. #10 Eddie Enright (Northwestern), 4-1
Quarterfinals: #2 Christopher Minto (Nebraska) MD #7 Ethan Riddle, 11-1
Consolations: #8 Brody Baumann (Purdue) dec. #7 Ethan Riddle, 8-6
184 Pounds
Quarterfinals: #2 Max McEnelly TF #7 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (Rutgers), 21-6 5:04
Semifinals: #2 Max McEnelly MFF #3 Silas Allred (Nebraska)
197 Pounds
First Round: #6 Wyatt Ingham (Wisconsin) dec. #11 Gavin Nelson, 5-1
Consolations: #11 Gavin Nelson dec. #14 Alex Smith (Northwestern), 4-3
Consolations: #4 Branson John (Maryland) dec. #11 Gavin Nelson, 8-5 SV1
9th Place Quarterfinals: #11 Gavin Nelson dec. #14 Alex Smith (Northwestern), 5-2
Heavyweight
First Round: #10 Ben Kueter (Iowa) dec. #7 Koy Hopke, 5-2
Consolations: #7 Koy Hopke dec. #8 Hunter Catka (Rutgers), 2-0
Consolations: #5 Braxton Amos (Wisconsin) dec. #7 Koy Hopke, 8-3
Cinematic Recap: Gophers Smash the Spartans on Senior Day
Thursday, February 19
Highlights: Gophers 37, Michigan State 6
Sunday, February 15
Cinematic Recap: Gophers Leave No Doubt at Maryland
Friday, February 13
Play in Focus: Max McEnelly
Thursday, February 12