Andrew Sparks

Photo by: Brad Rempel

Photo by: Jamie Bergeland

Photo by: Bjorn Franke

Photo by: Bjorn Franke

Photo by: Brad Rempel

Big 10 Wrestling Championships 2021
Session 1

(Photo by Steve Manuel) 2021 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, Bryce Jordan Center

Photo by: Brad Rempel

Class:
Fifth Year
Hometown:
Costa Mesa, Calif.
High School:
Calvary Chapel HS
Position:
165 lbs.

CAREER HONORS AND AWARDS

4x national qualifier for the NCAA Championships (2021, '23, '24, '25)
Named Most Improved at 2025 team banquet
2025 CSC Academic All-District Selection
2025 NWCA Scholar All-American
4x Academic All-Big Ten honoree (2022-25)

2024-25: FIFTH-YEAR SENIOR (165 LBS) - Match List

Went 1-2 as the No. 10 seed at the NCAA Championships
- Opened with a decision over No. 23 Thomas Snipes of The Citadel before losses to No. 7 Hunter Garvin of Stanford and No. 25 Nick Hamilton of Virginia
Earned a career best fourth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships; posted wins over No. 9 Paddy Gallagher of Ohio State and No. 14 Braeden Scoles of Illinois in the wrestlebacks
Recorded a 20-4 (6:32) tech fall of Purdue's Stoney Buell
Carded an 18-1 (6:35) tech fall against Ohio State's Brock Herman
Posted an 18-3 (7:00) tech fall over Rutgers' No. 25 Anthony White
Majored No. 20 Maxx Mayfield, 11-3, in the dual at Northwestern
Earned a 20-2 (6:02) tech fall of Cale Anderson in the dual at Wisconsin
Came in second at the Soldier Salute; opened with tech fall in opening round and win by fall in quarters, while loss in championships was a 7-6 decision to No. 2 Michael Caliendo of Iowa
Won the Cougar Clash with a 4-0 record; posted tech falls in opening round and quarterfinals and then shut out No. 30 Clayton Ulrey of Northern Colorado in the finals, 5-0
Handed No. 25 Drake Rhodes an 8-4 loss in a dual at South Dakota State
Recorded a 25-9 (6:56) tech fall against Ryan Bolletino in the Campbell dual
Majored Boeden Greenley, 16-2, in the North Dakota State dual
Scored a 22-7 (6:21) tech fall over Riley Bower in the Bucknell dual
Reached the finals of the Mountaineer Invite and posted a 3-1 record with the lone loss coming to No. 14 Will Miller of Appalachian State
Tied for 10th in the country and was second on the team in tech fall wins (11)
Tied for the team lead in matches wrestled (33)
Placed third on the roster in dual team points scored (41) and tied for third in bonus point wins (15) and Big Ten dual team points scored (24)
Ranked fourth on the team in overall wins (24) and tied for fourth in dual wins (9)
Tied for fifth at Minnesota in Big Ten dual wins (5)
Named Most Improved at team banquet
CSC Academic All-District Selection
NWCA Scholar All-American
Academic All-Big Ten honoree

2023-24: SENIOR (174 LBS) - Match List

Went 1-2 at the NCAA Championships as the No. 24 seed at 174 pounds
Placed career-best sixth at the Big Ten Championships with a 2-3 record; scored a win over No. 25 Donnell Washington of Indiana
Won the Patriots Last Chance Open with a 3-0 record, including one pin and one major decision
Posted an 11-1 major decision over No. 32 Brody Baumann of Purdue (2/11)
Topped Northwestern's Joseph Martin, 7-1 (2/4)
Notched 5-2 decision over Maryland's Dom Solis for first B1G win of season (2/2)
Cougar Clash champion with a 3-0 record, including a tech fall victory and major decision
Finished runner-up at 174 pounds at Bison Open with a 2-1 record; loss was via injury to teammate Sam Skillings in the finals
Academic All-Big Ten honoree

2022-23: JUNIOR (165 LBS)

Tallied a 17-11 record in his return to the starting lineup at 165 pounds
Went 1-2 at the NCAA Championships, inlcuding a bonus-point win over Gerrit Nijenhuis (Oklahoma)
Earned an at-large bid at 165 pounds to qualify for second career NCAA Championships
Placed 9th at Big Ten Championships with a 3-2 record on the weekend
Defeated seven ranked foes in his second year as a starter for the Gophers
Went 7-4 in dual competition on the season, going 2-2 in Big Ten duals.
Beat Purdue's Stoney Buell, 4-0, to help Minnesota defeat the Boilermakers (1/22)
Defeated ranked opponent Bubba Wilson (Nebraska) for first conference win of the season (1/13)
Placed fifth at the Southern Scuffle with a 4-2 record on the weekend, including one ranked win
Went 2-0 in his home state with dual wins over Kaden Charboneau (Lindenwood) and #30 Legend Lamer (Cal Poly)
Upset #16 Wyatt Sheets by 5-4 decision to kick off dual against Oklahoma State (12/4)
Returned to starting lineup in season opener vs. Binghamton, defeating Dimitri Gamkrelidze by 3-2 decision
Took 2nd Place at Bison Open, falling to #17 Mikey Caliendo (North Dakota State) by 11-10 decision in the finals
Opened the season as the No. 25 165-pounder in the InterMat preseason polls
Academic All-B1G Selection

2021-22: SOPHOMORE (165 LBS)

Went 4-3 as a sophomore for the Gophers before his season was cut short due to injury
Wrestled one match at Southern Scuffle, defeating Augustine Garcia (CSU-Bakersfield) by 15-2 major decision
Went 0-2 in dual competition, dropping both matches to ranked non-conference opponents
Took 2nd Place at Bison Open, falling to #14 Luke Weber (North Dakota State) in the finals
Academic All-Big Ten pick

2020-21: FRESHMAN (165 LBS)

Went 9-5 as the Gophers starting 165-pounder as a true freshman
Was a 2021 NCAA qualifier as a true freshman
Appeared in first Big Ten Championships at 165 pounds, going 1-2 before injury defaulting
Went 8-1 during the dual season, with lone dual loss to top-ranked Alex Marinelli (Iowa)
Upset #19 Jake Tucker (Michigan State) in just his third-career match
Made Gopher debut with 7-6 upset of No. 10 Peyton Robb of Nebraska (1/8)

HIGH SCHOOL

A 2020 graduate of Calvary Chapel High School, under high school coach Dane Valdez,
2020 California state champion, defeating Cael Valencia, the nation's second-ranked 160 pounder, in state finals by 7-1 decision
Compiled 34-3 record during senior year
Four-year letterwinner
Four-time league champion
Two-time CIF Southern Section champion
Named Orange Coast athlete of the year
Orange County first-team selection

PERSONAL

Son of Barry and Linda Sparks
Has three brothers
Began wrestling as a freshman in high school
Majoring in kinesiology

YEAR	OVERALL W-L	DUAL W-L	BIG TEN W-L	PINS	TFs	MDs	B1G FINISH	NCAA FINISH
2020-21	9-5	8-1	8-1	0-1	1-0	2-0	DNP	DNP
2021-22	4-3	0-2	0-2	0-2	0-0	2-0	---	---
2022-23	17-11	7-4	2-2	1-2	1-0	2-2	9th	DNP
2023-24	14-10	3-4	3-3	1-0	2-0	3-1	6th	DNP
2024-25	24-9	9-3	5-3	1-1	11-1	3-1	4th	DNP
CAREER	68-38	27-14	18-11	3-6	15-1	12-4	---	4x NQ