A contingent of 16 Gophers participated unattached in the tournament on Saturday, producing 13 place winners across seven weight classes
From a group of 16 Gophers that competed unattached in the North County Open on Saturday at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minn., 13 place winners emerged across seven weight classes, including individual titles for Tommy Thorn at 141 and a shared title for Darius Wright and Dylan Urbach at 165.
The 141 and 165 weight classes were dominated by Minnesota wrestlers. Thorn, en route to capturing his third tournament title of the season, rattled off five convincing victories – two pins, two tech falls and a major decision. Ben Morgan finished second, winning three matches before falling to Thorn in the championship match, and Gannon Volk placed fourth, his second-best tournament finish this season. At 165, Wright and Urbach defaulted the championship bout after each won a pair of matches. It’s the second consecutive tournament Wright has shared the 165 individual title, while Saturday’s finish was the best of Urbach’s young collegiate career. Brandon Krone placed third, winning four of his five matches and suffering his only defeat at the hands of Wright, who took their semifinal match 2-0 in overtime. Krone has now posted top-three finishes in his last four tournaments.
Five additional Gophers placed top-three at their respective weights. At 157, Jack Bass finished third, a career-best finish for him. At 174, Colin Carr posted his third straight second-place finish. A pair of Minnesota grapplers finished in the top three at 184, with Dalton Lunde placing a career-best second and Chris Pfarr matching his best finish this season by placing third. At 285, Luke Destiche placed third, his second top-three this season.
Additional place winners included Jordon Rothers, who won a team-high six matches on the day to earn a fourth-place finish but saw his streak of three consecutive first-place finishes snapped, and Broc Berge, who placed fourth at 197 in his first action this season since transferring from Iowa.
A listing of placement and tournament records for each Minnesota wrestler is included below.
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141
1st: Tommy Thorn (5-0)
2nd: Ben Morgan (3-1)
4th: Gannon Volk (3-2)
157
3rd: Jack Bass (4-1)
DNP: Brad Dolezal (1-2)
165
Tied 1st: Darius Wright (2-0)
Tied 1st: Dylan Urbach (2-0)
3rd: Brandon Krone (4-1)
174
2nd: Colin Carr (4-1)
4th: Jordon Rothers (6-2)
DNP: Tijani Karaborni (0-2)
184
2nd: Dalton Lunde (2-1)
3rd: Chris Pfarr (4-1)
DNP: Will Balow (1-2)
197
4th: Broc Berge (2-2)
285
3rd: Luke Destiche (4-1)