Minnesota Picks Up 26-8 Win Over No. 15 Huskers
The No. 3 Minnesota wrestling team picked up a dominant win over its soon-to-be conference rivals on Thursday night as the Golden Gophers defeated No. 15 Nebraska 26-8 in Lincoln, Neb.
The Gophers tallied wins in 8-of-10 matches on Thursday evening at the NU Coliseum to improve its 2010 dual record to 4-1 and bring its all-time record against the Cornhuskers to 48-19.
All-American senior Mike Thorn picked up his fifth major decision of the year in the first match of the dual. Thorn, ranked fourth in the nation in his weight class, bested Nebraska’s Mike Koehnlein 15-4 in a 141 lbs. matchup to give the Gophers a 4-0 advantage in the opening bout. At 149 lbs., Danny Zilverberg added to Minnesota’s lead in the follow-up match to make it 7-0 when he scored a 6-2 decision over Ross Grande.
The Cornhuskers struck back in the third and fourth matches when Tyler Koehn edged Alec Ortiz with a 6-4 decision at 157 lbs. before No. 2 Jordan Burroughs scored a 23-7 technical fall (5:54) against No. 6 Cody Yohn in a meeting of two of the nation’s top 165 lbs. grapplers. The back-to-back wins for Nebraska gave the Cornhuskers an 8-7 lead, but that would be the only scoring of the night for the Big 12 team as Minnesota swept the remaining six matches.
At 174 lbs., No. 10 Scott Glasser put the Gophers back on top with a 3-1 decision over Caleb Kolk that made the team score 10-8 in Minnesota’s favor. No. 15 Kevin Steinhaus recorded his second-consecutive upset in the 184 lbs. matchup when he held off No. 8 Josh Ihnen to pick up a 3-2 decision. Steinhaus also picked up an 8-2 decision over then-No. 8 Chris Perry of Oklahoma State last Saturday in Minnesota’s 17-16 loss to the Cowboys.
With the Gophers already up 16-8 on the Huskers, Sonny Yohn, ranked fifth in the nation at 197 lbs., edged Andy Johnson in a low-scoring 2-0 match before No. 11 Tony Nelson scored an upset of his own when he bested No. 7 Tucker Lane with a 3-1 decision in overtime in the heavyweight match.
In the 125 lbs. match, No. 6 Zach Sanders scored a 24-12 major decision over David Klingsheim before Bart Reiter tallied a 4-3 overtime decision over Ridge Kiley in his dual debut at 133 lbs, rounding out the nights score 26-8 in favor of the Golden Gophers.
The third-ranked Gophers return to action this Saturday with a pair of duals in the Golden State. Minnesota takes on Cal State Bakersfield at 1 p.m. before traveling to Cal State Fullerton at 8 p.m. Both times are Central Standard.
Gophers Wrestling Results
No. 3 Minnesota at No. 15 Nebraska
Thursday, December 9, 2010 at Lincoln, Neb.
Attd: 812
Minnesota 26, Nebraska 8
141: No. 2 Mike Thorn (MINN) maj. Mike Koehnlein (NEB) 15-4
149: Danny Zilverberg (MINN) dec. Ross Grande (NEB) 6-2
157: Tyler Koehn (NEB) dec. Alec Ortiz MINN) 6-4
165: No. 2 Jordan Burroughs (NEB) tech. No. 6 Cody Yohn (MINN) 23-7; 5:54
174: No. 10 Scott Glasser (MINN) dec. Caleb Kolb (NEB) 3-1
184: No. 15 Kevin Steinhaus (MINN) dec. No. 8 Josh Ihnen (NEB) 3-2
197: No. 5 Sonny Yohn (MINN) dec. Andy Johnson (NEB) 2-0
HWT: No.11 Tony Nelson (MINN) SV dec. No. 7 Tucker Lane (NEB) 3-1
125: No. 6 Zach Sanders (MINN) maj. David Klingsheim (NEB) 24-12
133: Bart Reiter (MINN) SV dec. Ridge Kiley (NEB) 4-3