In this week’s trip to the Coach’s Corner, Brandon Eggum looks back at three different tournaments involving Gophers – whether those were redshirts, starters or alums – and then offers his thoughts on the team’s dual season opener this Saturday against No. 20 South Dakota State.
Minnesota had 11 wrestlers, competing unattached, in the field of last Sunday’s Harold Nichols Open in Ames, Iowa. For the second straight weekend, 125-pounder Ethan Lizak led the way, following up on his Daktronics Open title with a runner-up finish in the Harold Nichols. The title bout was a rematch with Nebraska’s Tim Lambert, a top-ten opponent.
Also on Sunday, the Gopher varsity squad wrestled in Troy, N.Y., as part of the Journeymen/Asics Collegiate Classic. Four Minnesota wrestlers won their pools: Mitch McKee (133A), Sam Brancale (133B), Chris Pfarr (184D) and Brett Pfarr (197A). Nick Wanzek (174A) and Michael Kroells (285A) each took third in their pools.
Gopher alums had a strong showing in New York City at the Bill Farrell Open, where both volunteer assistant coach Zach Sanders (57kg) and Jayson Ness (61kg) placed third and Tony Nelson (125kg) captured an individual title.
In his preview of this weekend’s contest with South Dakota State, Eggum shares his expectations for an exciting dual with a lot of toss-up matches before profiling several of the night’s top tilts, including contests at 133, 174 and 197 pounds.
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