No. 7 Minnesota takes down Northwestern, 29-12 for second Big Ten win of the weekend
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by JD Rader, USA Wrestling
With both teams coming off of Big Ten wins Friday night, the No. 7 ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers were able to pick up a second Big Ten win of the weekend, defeating the Northwestern Wildcats 29 -12 inside Welsh Ryan Arena on Sunday
Minnesota won seven out of 10 matches to pick up their 10th win of the season, while Northwestern fell to 3 – 6 on the year. Northwestern was coming off a big victory over No. 11 Wisconsin on Friday.
At 125 lbs. fans missed out on the chance to see a top 10 match up go down when Sean Russell of Minnesota did not compete due to injury, giving #1 ranked Sebastian Rivera the win by forfeit.
At 133 lbs., No. 9 ranked Ethan Lizak of Minnesota lived up to his “backpack” nickname by picking up a fall in the first period over Colin Valdiviez.
#7 ranked Mitch McKee bounced back from a loss to #4 ranked Mike Carr of Illinois on Friday by following in his teammate’s steps and picking up a first period fall of his own. It took McKee just 58 seconds to secure a snap down to a cow catcher and put Alec McKenna away.
The decision to wrestle sophomore Yahya Thomas up a weight class from his usual 141 lbs. spot did not pay off for Northwestern as Thomas dropped a 6 – 2 decision to Tommy Thorn. Thomas scored the first takedown of the match but was unable to score after that.
In the most highly anticipated matchup that happened of today, No. 3 ranked Ryan Deakin of Northwestern took out No. 7 Steve Bleise of Minnesota at 157 pounds. After trading takedowns and escapes in the first period to go into the second period tied at 3, Deakin found his rhythm and was able to pick up two more takedowns and 2:47 of riding time to win 8 – 4.
The most exciting match of the day came at 165 when Tyler Morland of Northwestern defeated Carson Brolsma of Minnesota 9 -7 in overtime. Brolsma found himself down 4 – 3 and giving up riding time at the beginning of the third period. Morland chose to go in the down position. Using two intentional escapes and two takedowns, Brolsma showed his toughness to send in the match into overtime. However, Morland recovered and used a double leg takedown to secure the victory in sudden victory 1.
No. 11 ranked Devin Skatzka was able to pick up a comeback victory for Minnesota. Despite giving up a first period takedown and entering the third period down 2 – 1, Skatzka was able to ride Johnny Sebastian of Northwestern out the entire period while picking up four near fall points in the process to win 6 – 2.
At 184 lbs. Brandon Krone, the senior from Minnesota, picked up his fifth win of the season, defeating the freshman Brendan Devine of Northwestern 16 – 0 in 5:54. Krone used a variety of takedowns and turns to get the tech fall.
The Golden Gophers kept the ball rolling and secured the dual meet victory at 197 lbs when Dylan Anderson of Minnesota defeated Zach Chakonis of Northwestern by 8 – 4 decision. Anderson used three takedowns, an escape, and a riding time point to tally his eight points.
At heavyweight No. 1 ranked Gable Steveson of Minnesota had his one of his closest matches of the year. The standout freshman defeated #19 ranked Conan Jennings of Northwestern 9 – 5 with 4:28 riding time. His closest battle was an overtime win over Tanner Hall at the Bison Open back in November.
MINNESOTA 29, NORTHWESTERN 12
At Evanston, Ill.
125: #1 Sebastian Rivera (NW) by forfeit) | Northwestern 6-0
133: #9 Ethan Lizak (MN) fall (2:29) Colin Valdiviez | Tied 6-6
141: #7 Mitch McKee (MN) fall (0:58) Alec McKenna | Minnesota 12-6
149: Tommy Thorn (MN) dec. Yahya Thomas (6 -2) | Minnesota 15-6
157: #3 Ryan Deakin (NW) dec. #7 Steve Bleise (9-4) | Minnesota 15-9
165: Tyler Morland (NW) SV-1 Carson Brolsma (9-7) | Minnesota 15-12
174: #11 Devin Skatzka (MN) dec. Johnny Sebastian (6-2) | Minnesota 18-12
184: Brandon Krone (MN) tech. fall Brendan Devine (18-0) | Minnesota 23-12
197: Dylan Anderson (MN) dec. Zack Chakonis (8-4) | Minnesota 26-12
HWT: #1 Gable Steveson (MN) dec. #19 Conan Jennings (9-5) l Minnesota 29-12
Minnesota won seven out of 10 matches to pick up their 10th win of the season, while Northwestern fell to 3 – 6 on the year. Northwestern was coming off a big victory over No. 11 Wisconsin on Friday.
At 125 lbs. fans missed out on the chance to see a top 10 match up go down when Sean Russell of Minnesota did not compete due to injury, giving #1 ranked Sebastian Rivera the win by forfeit.
At 133 lbs., No. 9 ranked Ethan Lizak of Minnesota lived up to his “backpack” nickname by picking up a fall in the first period over Colin Valdiviez.
#7 ranked Mitch McKee bounced back from a loss to #4 ranked Mike Carr of Illinois on Friday by following in his teammate’s steps and picking up a first period fall of his own. It took McKee just 58 seconds to secure a snap down to a cow catcher and put Alec McKenna away.
The decision to wrestle sophomore Yahya Thomas up a weight class from his usual 141 lbs. spot did not pay off for Northwestern as Thomas dropped a 6 – 2 decision to Tommy Thorn. Thomas scored the first takedown of the match but was unable to score after that.
In the most highly anticipated matchup that happened of today, No. 3 ranked Ryan Deakin of Northwestern took out No. 7 Steve Bleise of Minnesota at 157 pounds. After trading takedowns and escapes in the first period to go into the second period tied at 3, Deakin found his rhythm and was able to pick up two more takedowns and 2:47 of riding time to win 8 – 4.
The most exciting match of the day came at 165 when Tyler Morland of Northwestern defeated Carson Brolsma of Minnesota 9 -7 in overtime. Brolsma found himself down 4 – 3 and giving up riding time at the beginning of the third period. Morland chose to go in the down position. Using two intentional escapes and two takedowns, Brolsma showed his toughness to send in the match into overtime. However, Morland recovered and used a double leg takedown to secure the victory in sudden victory 1.
No. 11 ranked Devin Skatzka was able to pick up a comeback victory for Minnesota. Despite giving up a first period takedown and entering the third period down 2 – 1, Skatzka was able to ride Johnny Sebastian of Northwestern out the entire period while picking up four near fall points in the process to win 6 – 2.
At 184 lbs. Brandon Krone, the senior from Minnesota, picked up his fifth win of the season, defeating the freshman Brendan Devine of Northwestern 16 – 0 in 5:54. Krone used a variety of takedowns and turns to get the tech fall.
The Golden Gophers kept the ball rolling and secured the dual meet victory at 197 lbs when Dylan Anderson of Minnesota defeated Zach Chakonis of Northwestern by 8 – 4 decision. Anderson used three takedowns, an escape, and a riding time point to tally his eight points.
At heavyweight No. 1 ranked Gable Steveson of Minnesota had his one of his closest matches of the year. The standout freshman defeated #19 ranked Conan Jennings of Northwestern 9 – 5 with 4:28 riding time. His closest battle was an overtime win over Tanner Hall at the Bison Open back in November.
MINNESOTA 29, NORTHWESTERN 12
At Evanston, Ill.
125: #1 Sebastian Rivera (NW) by forfeit) | Northwestern 6-0
133: #9 Ethan Lizak (MN) fall (2:29) Colin Valdiviez | Tied 6-6
141: #7 Mitch McKee (MN) fall (0:58) Alec McKenna | Minnesota 12-6
149: Tommy Thorn (MN) dec. Yahya Thomas (6 -2) | Minnesota 15-6
157: #3 Ryan Deakin (NW) dec. #7 Steve Bleise (9-4) | Minnesota 15-9
165: Tyler Morland (NW) SV-1 Carson Brolsma (9-7) | Minnesota 15-12
174: #11 Devin Skatzka (MN) dec. Johnny Sebastian (6-2) | Minnesota 18-12
184: Brandon Krone (MN) tech. fall Brendan Devine (18-0) | Minnesota 23-12
197: Dylan Anderson (MN) dec. Zack Chakonis (8-4) | Minnesota 26-12
HWT: #1 Gable Steveson (MN) dec. #19 Conan Jennings (9-5) l Minnesota 29-12
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