CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The Gophers wrapped up the first half of their season on Saturday as they brought home four tournament champions, along with six total finalists and twelve placers at the UNI Open.
Patrick McKee claimed the 125-pound bracket after sweeping his bracket in a round-robin format to go 3-0 on the day. In the final round, McKee faced off against highly-touted freshman Drake Ayala of Iowa and would go on to win by an 8-4 decision.
Jake Bergeland earned his first open title of the season after he defeated a tough competitor in Northern Iowa’s Cael Happel, who had come off a top-10 win the weekend prior. Happel secured the opening takedown, but Bergeland controlled the rest of the way and took a 12-9 finals win en route to the 141-pound title.
Brayton Lee once again had the feature bout of the tournament as he took on No. 14 Jarrett Jacques of Missouri. Lee, who had been dominant on the feet all day, continued to roll in the finals match by securing the match’s only two takedowns in a 6-3 decision victory. The win marked Lee’s third-ranked victory of the young season.
Michial Foy rounded out the Gopher champions in the 197-pound final, where he dominated South Dakota State opponent Cody Donnelly in an 11-1 major decision win. It was Foy’s third major decision of the day as he outscored his opponents 34-5 on the day.
Michael Blockhus and Cael Carlson were the Gophers’ other two finalists, but they fell to Northern Iowa’s Colin Realbuto and Iowa’s Patrick Kennedy, respectively, to place second.
Minnesota will resume competition on Jan. 1 when they participate in the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga Tenn., before heading to conference action on the road against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Jan. 7
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