Five freshmen traveled to Worthington, Minn. and three came back champions of the Worthington Open. Brent Jones, Jakob Bergeland and Alex Crowe each finished the day undefeated for the University of Minnesota.
Between the three champions, they combined for four pins and outscored their opponents 113-25. Between all five Worthington Open participants, they had eight pins and outscored their opponents 182-54.
It was a consistent day from freshman Brent Jones at 141-pounds. The Shakopee, Minn. native opened the day with a 15-0 dominating performance. He followed that up with another big offensive showcase, a 16-3 major decision.
Jones final two matches would become tighter, but the composed freshman wrapped up the day with two decisions to earn him his first open title.
Jakob Bergeland also was able to garner Worthington Open honors. The Hugo, Minn. product made his time in Worthington a business trip with three pins and a tech fall on the way to a 4-0 record at 149-pounds and a first-place finish. Bergeland’s fastest pin came in the quarterfinals, at 1:30.
Minnesota’s third title came at 157-pounds. Crowe wrestled four matches, and had a tough final against Hunter Shelton of South Dakota State to earn his title. Crowe’s offense was on full display, outscoring his four opponents 45-7, not including his pin in his first match of the day at 3:31.
Two other Gophers also participated in the tournament. Spearfish, S.D. native Tyler Waterson wrestled his way to the 149 (B-bracket) finals. Waterson had a pin in the opening round, followed by a major decision and decision in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Waterson finished with a 3-1 record on the day after he dropped his final match, an 8-4 decision.
The final Gopher participating was Bailee O’Reilly. The freshman that hails from Goodhue, Minn. started the day off with a pair of pins at 4:47 and 1:34 before falling in the quarterfinals in a tight 6-3 decision. O’Reilly didn’t waste much time bouncing back. He went on to outscore his next two opponents 39-8 in a pair of tech fall victories before pinning his opponent in the fifth-place match at 1:28.
The five Worthington Open wrestlers will return to the Twin Cities and be at Maturi Pavilion tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. as the Gophers will take on No. 8 Michigan.
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Match-By-Match Results:
141: Brent Jones (4-0, 1st Place)
Rnd 1: Bye
Rnd 2: Brent Jones tech fall Tanner Pasvogel (St. Cloud State), 15-0
Quarters: Brent Jones maj dec Joe Eads (William Penn), 16-3
Semis: Brent Jones dec Travis Swanson (St. Cloud State), 8-5
Finals: Brent Jones dec Austin Anderly (North Iowa), 5-1
149(A): Jakob Bergeland (4-0, 1st Place)
Rnd 1: Jakob Bergeland fall (1:44) Sean Mendlik (Morningside)
Rnd 2: Jakob Bergeland tech fall Matthew Shuka (Northwestern Co), 24-9
Quarters: Jakob Bergeland fall (1:30) A-Darius Pruitt (Iowa Lakes)
Semis: Jakob Bergeland fall (3:59) Alexander Skaare (Concordia College)
Finals: Jakob Bergeland med Riley Palmer (Iowa Central)
149(B): Tyler Waterson (3-1, 2nd Place)
Rnd 1: Bye
Rnd 2: Tyler Waterson fall (2:18) Kionte Crocker (William Penn)
Quarters: Tyler Waterson maj dec Robert Rodriguez (North Iowa Area), 16-5
Semis: Tyler Waterson dec Tanner Day (Augsburg Unattached), 7-2
Finals: Mark Voss dec Tyler Waterson, 8-4
157: Alex Crowe (4-0, 1st Place)
Rnd 1: Bye
Rnd 2: Alex Crowe fall (3:31) Josh Verbeten (Augsburg)
Quarters: Alex Crowe tech fall Tyson Dowler (Iowa Central), 19-2
Semis: Alex Crowe tech fall Alfred Daniel (Rocheseter CC), 16-0
Finals: Alex Crowe dec Hunter Shelton (SDSU), 10-5
174: Bailee O’Reilly (5-1, 5th Place)
Rnd 1: Bailee O’Reilly fall (4:47) Tyler Helfrich-Meyers (Iowa Central)
Rnd 2: Bailee O’Reilly fall (1:34) Tucker Bassinger (Morningside)
Quarters: Tone Fuenffinger (Augsburg) dec Bailee O’Reilly, 6-3
Cons Quarters: Bailee O’Reilly tech fall Eric Vigo (Iowa Lakes), 18-2
Cons Semis: Bailee O’Reilly tech fall Tanner Smith (Jamestown), 21-6
5th Place: Bailee O’Reilly fall (1:28) Alexander Thompson (Morningside)