The Gophers will finish third at the national tournament
Minnesota Wrestling boasts a tournament-high of eight All-Americans at the 2013 NCAA Championships as the event is nearing its end. This is the second year in a row the Gophers have topped the All-American numbers at the NCAAs.
Minnesota has locked in third place with 99 team points and is out of contention of winning of the team title. Penn State and Oklahoma State sit ahead with 114.5 and 111.5 team points, respectively. The national championship team will be determined by tonight’s final bouts. At fourth, Iowa sits a full 30 points behind the Gophers with 69 team points and Cornell sits closely behind with 61.
Four Gophers earned All-American honors for the first time in their careers; David Thorn, Nick Dardanes, Cody Yohn, and Scott Schiller.
David Thorn took seventh at 125 lbs. after being unseeded to begin the competition. He capped off a fantastic season in style, pinning No. 12 Tyler Cox (Wyoming) at the 1:17 mark in the match’s first round. Nick Dardanes outscored Zach Neibert (Virginia Tech), 9-5, to earn his seventh-place finish.
As the team’s only starting senior, Yohn closes out his career with a seventh-place finish at the NCAA championships. He defeated Virginia’s Nicholas Sulzer by a score of 8-5 to go out on a high note to loud cheers and congratulations from the Gopher crowd.
After being picked at No. 10, Schiller disputed his original seed by placing fifth at 197 lbs. After falling 11-3 to Oregon State’s Taylor Meeks (No. 5) in the consolation semifinals, Schiller rebounded to push past No. 6 Kyvon Gadson and win 6-2.
Chris Dardanes, Dylan Ness, Logan Storley each became two-time All-Americans by placing in the top eight of their brackets. Ness and Storley found themselves battling third place but both has to settle for fourth after tough losses. Ness dropped a 7-3 decision to Steve Santos of Columbia, while Storley lost a 3-1 sudden victory to fellow South Dakota native Robert Kokesh (Nebraska). Dardanes took sixth after a 0-2 day on the mat.
Three-time All-American heavyweight Tony Nelson is the last man standing for the Maroon and Gold. He will defend his 2012 National Championship Title against Northwestern’s Mike McMullan tonight.
The championship matches will be live on ESPN starting at 7 p.m. In an experimental new format, competition will begin at 174 lbs. and circle back around to end with a marquee match at 165 lbs.
Watch more video of NCAA Wrestling Championships 2013 on flowrestling.org
Top-10 Team Scores going into the finals
1. Penn State 114.5
2. Oklahoma St. 111.5
3. Minnesota 99.0
4. Iowa 69.0
5. Cornell 61.0
6. Missouri 56.5
7. Ohio St. 55.5
8. Oregon St. 48.5
9. Virginia Tech 43.5
10. Illinois 41.5
10. Iowa St. 41.5
Saturday Session 5 Recap:
Consolation Semifinals
133 #3 Tyler Graff (Wisconsin) dec. #5 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) 7-4
149 #6 Dylan Ness (Minnesota) dec. Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) 4-2
174 #6 Logan Storley (Minnesota) dec. #8 Nick Heflin (Ohio St.) 3-2
197 #5 Taylor Meeks (Oregon St.) maj. dec. #10 Scott Schiller (Minnesota) 11-3
Medal Round
3rd Place:
149 #5 Steve Santos (Columbia) dec. #6 Dylan Ness (Minnesota) 7-3
174 #4 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) dec. #6 Logan Storley (Minnesota) 3-1 sv
5th Place:
133 #7 Jon Morrison (Oklahoma State) dec. #5 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) 6-4
197 #10 Scott Schiller (Minnesota) dec. #6 Kyven Gadson (Iowa State) 6-2
7th Place:
125 David Thorn (Minnesota) fall #12 Tyler Cox (Wyoming) 1:17
141 #8 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota) dec. Zach Neibert (Virginia Tech) 9-5
165 #11 Cody Yohn (Minnesota) vs #8 Nicholas Sulzer (Virginia) 8-5
Championship Finals (7:00 pm)
125: #2 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) vs. #4 Nico Megaludis (Penn State)
133: #1 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) vs. #2 Tony Ramos (Iowa)
141: #2 Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) vs. #4 Mitchell Port (Edinboro)
149: #1 Jordan Oliver (Okie State) vs. #2 Jason Chamberlain (Boise State)
157: #1 Jason Welch (Northwestern) vs. #2 Derek St. John (Iowa)
165: #1 Kyle Dake (Cornell) vs. #2 David Taylor (Penn State)
174: #1 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) vs. #2 Matt Brown (Penn State)
184: #1 Ed Ruth (Penn State) vs. #3 Robert Hamlin (Lehigh)
197: #1 Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) vs. #2 Quentin Wright (Penn State)
285: #2 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) vs. #5 Mike McMullan (Northwestern)