East Lansing, Mich – The University of Minnesota completed the first session at the 2018 Big Ten Championships at the Breslin Center in a tie for fifth place. The Gophers have two wrestlers still in the championship bracket, junior Ethan Lizak (125) and sophomore Mitch McKee (133).
Lizak, the 2017 NCAA runner-up, picked up a pair of victories over Johnny Jimenez of Wisconsin and then upset the No. 4 seed, Sebastian Rivera of Northwestern.
McKee was able to pick up a victory over Colin Valdiviez of Northwestern by pin at 1:55, and then advanced to his second straight Big Ten semifinals with a 9-4 decision over Corey Keener.
Other notable results for the Gophers was Steve Bleise upsetting No. 8 seed Malik Amine of Michigan, 6-1 in the first round of the 149-pound bracket.
The Gophers will return to the second session at the Breslin Center later tonight, at 5:00 p.m. (CT). Action can be caught on BTN Plus and FloWrestling.
Wrestlers to watch in the second session are Tommy Thorn, Steve Bleise, Jake Short, Nick Wanzek, Brandon Krone and Rylee Streifel. The remaining six wrestlers could all secure NCAA qualifying places with victories in the second session.
Match-by-Match:
125: Ethan Lizak
Rnd 1: Ethan Lizak dec Johnny Jimenez (Wisconsin), 3-1
Quarters: Ethan Lizak dec Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern), 3-2
Semis: Nick Suriano (Rutgers) Ethan Lizak
133: Mitch McKee
Rnd 1: Mitch McKee fall (1:55) Colin Valdiviez (Northwestern)
Quarters: Mitch McKee dec Corey Keener (Penn State), 9-4
Semis: Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) Mitch McKee
141: Tommy Thorn
Rnd 1: Bye
Quarters: Mike Carr (Illinois) dec Tommy Thorn, 8-6
Cons Rnd 2: Ryan Diehl (Maryland) Tommy Thorn
149: Steve Bleise
Rnd 1: Steve Bleise dec Malik Amine (Michigan), 6-1
Quarters: Zain Retherford (Penn State) maj dec Steve Bleise, 14-1
Cons Rnd 2: Steve Bleise vs Cole Martin (Wisconsin)
157: Jake Short
Rnd 1: Jake Short dec Kyle Langenderfer, 4-0
Quarters: Jason Nolf (Penn State) maj dec Jake Short, 15-2
Cons Rnd 2: Jake Short vs Griffin Parriott (Purdue)
165: Nick Wanzek
Rnd 1: Nick Wanzek dec Bryce Martin (Indiana), 5-2
Quarters: Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) maj dec Nick Wanzek, 18-10
Cons Rnd 2: Nick Wanzek vs Brendan Burnham (Maryland)
174: Chris Pfarr (0-2, DNP)
Rnd 1: Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin) dec Chris Pfarr, 4-0
Cons Rnd 1: Logan Ritchie (Michigan State) med Chris Pfarr
184: Brandon Krone
Rnd 1: Brandon Krone dec Mitch Sliga (Northwestern), 6-5
Quarters: Bo Nickal (Penn State) fall (1:25) Brandon Krone
Cons Rnd 2: Brandon Krone vs Max Lyon (Purdue)
197: Dylan Anderson (0-2, DNP)
Rnd 1: Kevin Beazley (Michigan) dec Dylan Anderson, 9-4
Cons Rnd 1: David-Brian Whisler (Maryland) dec Dylan Anderson, 3-1
HWT: Rylee Streifel
Rnd 1: Rylee Streifel dec Christian Rebottaro (Michigan State), 3-0
Quarters: Adam Coon (Michigan) maj dec Rylee Streifel, 12-2
Cons Rnd 2: Rylee Streifel vs Fletcher Miller (Indiana)
