Minnesota sits third with 11 team points
The Minnesota Golden Gophers hold third place with 11 points after the morning session of the 2013 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. In a tight race for the top position, the Maroon and Gold only trail leader Penn State by three and a half points. Oklahoma sits in second with 13.
Eight of 10 Gophers made it past the opening round to advance in their respective brackets. Three individuals; Nick Dardanes, Kevin Steinhaus, and Scott Schiller, tallied major decisions to boost the team score with bonus points. Dardanes picked up his team-leading 12th major of the season with a 12-3 score against Luke Goettl (Iowa State). He will face Richard Durso of Franklin and Marshall in tonight’s session.
Steinhaus and Schiller each rallied for 10-1 marks; Steinhaus against Nick Vetterlein (Virginia Tech) at 184 lbs. and Schiller against Christian Boley (Maryland) at 197 lbs. Next up for Steinhaus is Iowa’s Ethen Lofthouse, a familiar opponent, while Schiller will take on Binghamton’s Nathan Schiedel for the first time.
The remaining five wrestlers advanced with strong decisions. At 133 lbs., Chris Dardanes came away with the 6-3 victory over Dylan Hyder of Air Force. He will face Rutgers’ Vincent Dellafave.
Down in the third period, Dylan Ness showed up in the clutch to come back for a 4-2 victory over Daniel Young (Army). Ness advances to face Missouri’s Drake Houdashelt, who upset No. 11 Andrew Alton of Penn State with a 4-1 decision.
Cody Yohn looks to Patrick Graham of Oklahoma tonight after his victory in the opening round. Yohn poured on an aggressive offense against Josh Houldsworth (Columbia) and it paid off as Yohn walked away with a 7-1 decision.
Logan Storley grabbed a solid win at 174 lbs. to start his journey off on the right foot. Storley won by a 3-1 decision over Bryce Hammond (Cal State Bakersfield) to move to the next round. Tonight, he will meet NIU’s Matt Mougin. Mougin upset Arizona State’s No. 11 Blake Stauffer in the morning.
At heavyweight, Tony Nelson closed out the competition as the final match of the afternoon. Nelson easily handled Steve Graziano (Penn) to a 4-0 finish for his advancement. Nelson’s next battle is against Odie Delaney of The Citadel in tonight’s competition.
David Thorn and Danny Zilverberg were Minnesota’s only losses of the day and they sure made it tough for their competitors. Thorn faced No. 1 seed Alan Waters (Missouri) at 125 lbs. and poured on the pressure. In the end, Waters notched a late takedown for the 5-2 decision. Zilverberg matched up against Georgi Ivanov (Boise State) and fell 11-5. With the double-elimination tournament, both wrestlers will continue their fight through wrestlebacks and are still able to finish as high as third place.
Session I
1. Penn State 14.5
2. Oklahoma St. 13.0
3. Minnesota 11.0
4. Iowa 10.0
5. Iowa St. 9.0
5. Northern Iowa 9.0
5. Oregon St. 9.0
8. Missouri 8.0
8. North Carolina 8.0
10. Oklahoma 7.5
125 #1 Alan Waters (Missouri) dec. David Thorn (Minnesota) 5-2
133 #5 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) dec. Dylan Hyder (Air Force) 6-3
141 #8 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota) maj. dec. Luke Goettl (Iowa State) 12-3
149 #6 Dylan Ness (Minnesota) vs Daniel Young (Army) 4-2
157 George Ivanov (Boise State) dec. Daniel Zilverberg (Minnesota) 11-5
165 #11 Cody Yohn (Minnesota) dec. Josh Houldsworth (Columbia) 7-1
174 #6 Logan Storley (Minnesota) dec. Bryce Hammond (CSU-Bakersfield) 3-1
184 #5 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota) maj. dec. Nick Vetterlein (Virginia Tech) 10-1
197 #10 Scott Schiller (Minnesota) maj. dec. Christian Boley (Maryland) 10-1
285 #2 Anthony Nelson (Minnesota) dec. Steven Graziano (Pennsylvania) 4-0
Tonight’s matchups:
Championship Bracket
133 #5 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) vs Vincent Dellafave (Rutgers)
141 #8 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota) vs Richard Durso (Franklin & Marshall)
149 #6 Dylan Ness (Minnesota) vs Drake Houdashelt (Missouri)
165 #11 Cody Yohn (Minnesota) vs #6 Patrick Graham (Oklahoma)
174 #6 Logan Storley (Minnesota) vs Matt Mougin (Northern Ill.)
184 #5 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota) vs #12 Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa)
197 #10 Scott Schiller (Minnesota) vs #7 Nathan Schiedel (Binghamton)
285 #2 Anthony Nelson (Minnesota) vs Odie Delaney (The Citadel)
Consolation Bracket
125 David Thorn (Minnesota) vs Mark Rappo (Pennsylvania)
157 Daniel Zilverberg (Minnesota) vs #3 Joseph Napoli (Lehigh)