The Golden Gophers will finish off their Big Ten schedule on Sunday February 17 when they take on the Indiana Hoosiers. The Gophers will also be hosting their final Youth Clinic of the year before the dual begins at 1 pm.
Previewing the Hoosiers
Under
Against common opponents North Carolina, Maryland, Purdue, and Rutgers, the Gophers are 4-0 while the Hoosiers are 2-2. The Hoosiers are coming off of a 30-7 victory over No.25 Stanford heading into a weekend trip against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Friday before the Gophers on Sunday.
Probable Lineups (Intermat Rankings):
Minnesota
125- No.6 Sean Russell (21-3) OR Steve Polakowski (5-4)
133- No.8 Ethan Lizak (21-4)
141- No.10 Mitchell McKee (14-3)
149- Tommy Thorn (14-8)
157- No.8 Steve Bleise (14-4) OR Miles Patton (2-3)
165- Carson Brolsma (16-8) OR Jake Allar(18-5)
174- No.12 Devin Skatzka (21-7)
184- Owen Webster (7-10) OR Brandon Krone (8-9)
197- Dylan Anderson (12-8)
285- No. 1 Gable Steveson (26-0)
Indiana
125- Liam Cronin (17-13) OR Elijah Oliver (21-11)
133- Garrett Pepple (13-10)
141- Kyle Luigs (8-9)
149- Fernie Silva (2-7) OR Breyden Bailey (9-10)
157- Jake Danishek (16-10)
165- Bryce Martin (17-7)
174- Jacob Covaciu (12-6)
184- Norman Conley (16-12)
197- Jake Kleimola (10-12)
285- Rudy Streck (4-12) OR Fletcher Miller (8-4)
Skatzka’s Dual
174-pound Devin Skatzka is having a great season in his first year as a Gopher after transferring from Indiana University. The redshirt junior has racked up 20 wins, including eight straight, to accompany his eight major decisions and four technical falls.
Originally from Richmond, Michigan, Skatzka attended Indiana before joining the Gophers this summer.
Freshman Legend
True freshman Gable Steveson is already climbing the Gophers all-time consecuive wins with a 26 match winning streak to begin his career. While most other Gophers accomplished their winning streaks in the midst of their careers, Steveson is already 16th on the list to begin his career.
Steveson is currently tied with Dave Dean, Dylan Ness, and Chris Dardanes. With one more victory he will tie head assistant coach Luke Becker as well as Damion Hahn.
Steveson remains seven matches outside of the top-ten where Jayson Ness sits with 33 straight. Two-time heavyweight champion Cole Konrad sits atop that list at 76 consecutive wins between Nov. 12, 2005 and March 16, 2007.
All-Time Pinner
With his 8th pin of the season against Maryland on Feb.10, Mitch McKee entered the top-25 of Gophers all-time pinners. McKee is now tied with Tyler Safratowich, Matt Nagel, Brock Lesnar, Zac Taylor, and Gary Lefebvre with 23 career pins.
McKee sits six pins behind head assistant coach Luke Becker who finished his career with 29 falls. Still with the remainder of this year and his senior season remaining, McKee remains 50 pins behind Jayson Ness, the all-time leader.
Next Time Out
Senior night against Rider University will be on February 21 and will be hosted in Northrop Auditorium on campus for the theatre’s first ever wrestling dual. Tickets are still available in the balconies.
The evening will honor all Gophers seniors including former All-Americans Ethan Lizak and Tommy Thorn as well as Brandon Krone, Steve Polakowski, Will Balow, James Berg, and Rylee Streifel.
Minnesota then hosts the Big Ten Wrestling Championships on March 9 and 10 at Williams Arena.
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