Four Gophers reached the podium in Eau Claire, Wis., on Saturday for their performances in the Don Parker Open, led by Dylan Anderson and Rylee Streifel each winning individual titles, at 184 pounds and heavyweight, respectively. Dalton Lunde took third at 197 pounds, and Jose Champagne took fifth wrestling up at 165.
Streifel had not competed since the Southern Scuffle in early January but showed no signs of rust, rolling through Saturday’s bracket with a perfect 5-0 record. He opened his championship run with an 18-0 tech fall before adding a first-period pin in the second round. From there, Streifel marched through three decisions to claim the title, including a win over Division III No. 1 Donny Longendyke (Augsburg). In total, Streifel surrendered just three points in his five victories, all of which were scored by Justin Karkula (UW-Eau Claire) in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Streifel scored 38 points of his own, and that doesn’t include points scored in his second-round match prior to his pin. The title is the second career open title for Streifel, who also won last year’s Worthington Open.
Anderson won his first career collegiate title with a 4-0 showing on Saturday. After an opening round bye, Anderson earned two major decisions, knocking off his opponents by a combined 30-12 mark before finding himself in a tight one with Sean O’Neil (UW-La Crosse), the bracket’s top seed, in the semifinals. A takedown for Anderson in sudden victory overtime gave him the 4-2 win and propelled him to the finals, where he picked up his third major of the afternoon, a 9-0 shutout of Chevy Farris (St. Cloud State). For Anderson, Saturday was the third time in four collegiate tournaments that he reached the championship bout.
Though a one-point loss denied him a spot in the finals. Lunde looked impressive again after sharing the Worthington Open championship with teammate Will Balow in his last outing. Lunde won five matches (going 5-1 on the day) to take third. After winning his first three matches by an average score of 8-2, Lunde dropped a 3-2 decision in the semifinals to Rob Tait (St. John’s). He bounced back in wrestlebacks, picking up a 9-4 decision before getting his own 3-2 win in the third-place match.
In his first two career tournaments, Champagne had rung up a 10-1 record wrestling at 157 pounds. On Saturday, he bumped up to 165 and took fifth. He continued to pile up points at the heavier weight class, scoring six or fewer just once in five bouts – his 12-2 loss in the semifinals to Evan Wick (Wisconsin). In his three wins on the day, Champagne picked up a fall and two major decisions. In his 13 wins during his redshirt season, 12 have come with bonus points.
The fifth Gopher in Saturday’s field, Faris Karaborni, won his opening match before dropping a tight, 2-1 decision in the 184-pound quarterfinals. Karaborni was forced to medically forfeit his next match.
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Match-by-Match Results
165 – Jose Champagne (3-2, 5th Place)
Champ Rnd 1: Bye
Champ Rnd 2: Jose Champagne fall (4:06) Connor Waugh (North Central)
Quarters: Jose Champagne maj dec Logan Schlough (UW-La Crosse), 8-0
Semis: Evan Wick (Wisconsin) maj dec Jose Champagne, 12-2
Cons Semis: Lucas Jeske (Augsburg) dec Jose Champagne, 8-7
5th Place: Jose Champagne maj dec Clark Doyle (UW-La Crosse), 20-6
184 – Dylan Anderson (4-0, 1st Place)
Champ Rnd 1: Bye
Champ Rnd 2: Dylan Anderson maj dec Nick Sundberg (UW-Whitewater), 14-6
Quarters: Dylan Anderson maj dec Patrick Reilly (UW-Oshkosh), 16-6
Semis: Dylan Anderson dec (SV-1) Sean O’Neil (UW-La Crosse), 4-2
Finals: Dylan Anderson maj dec Chevy Farris (St. Cloud State), 9-0
184 – Faris Karaborni (1-1)
Champ Rnd 1: Bye
Champ Rnd 2: Faris Karaborni maj dec Alex Crowe (unattached), 14-1
Quarters: Chevy Farris (St. Cloud State) dec Faris Karaborni, 2-1
Round of 12: Evan Stingily (North Central) med. for. Faris Karaborni
197 – Dalton Lunde (5-1, 3rd Place)
Champ Rnd 1: Dalton Lunde dec Sebastian Hyta (St. Olaf), 10-3
Champ Rnd 2: Dalton Lunde dec Hunter Santamour (Concordia-Moorhead), 5-1
Quarters: Dalton Lunde dec Cecil Philson (UW-Eau Claire), 8-2
Semis: Rob Tait (St. John’s) dec Dalton Lunde, 3-2
Cons Semis: Dalton Lunde dec Michael Otomo (UW-La Crosse), 9-4
3rd Place: Dalton Lunde dec Sebastian Larson (Augsburg), 3-2
285 – Rylee Streifel (5-0, 1st Place)
Champ Rnd 1: Rylee Streifel tech fall Austen Hakes (Rochester Tech/Comm College), 18-0
Champ Rnd 2: Rylee Streifel fall (1:31) Bryan Scepaniak (St. John’s)
Quarters: Rylee Streifel dec Justin Karkula (UW-Eau Claire), 10-3
Semis: Rylee Streifel dec Keenan Feldpausch (Luther), 6-0
Finals: Rylee Streifel dec Donny Longendyke (Augsburg), 4-0