FARGO, N.D. – The University of Minnesota wrestling program wrapped up a dominant performance at the Bison Open, as the Gophers claimed eight of the ten weight classes on the day.
Saturday’s performance was the most amount of weight classes won at the Bison Open won by the Maroon & Gold since 2013, when the Gophers crowned eight champions during that season’s tournament – David Thorn, Nick Dardanes, Chris Dardanes, Dylan Ness, Logan Storley, Brett Pfarr, Scott Schiller, and Tony Nelson.
At 125 pounds, Patrick McKee and Troy Spratley both ran through the weight class with a 2-0 record to become co-champions of the weight class. McKee collected a pair of falls on the day, while Spratley impressed with a pair of clutch decision victories.
Aaron Nagao rolled the 133-pound weight class with a 3-0 record on the day. The redshirt freshman earned two bonus-point victories on the day, including a dominant 8-0 major decision win over North Dakota State’s McGwire Midkiff in the finals.
The 141-pound finals was a battle between Gopher teammates, as Jake Bergeland prevailed over Vance VomBaur in the finals via 5-1 decision to take the title.
At 149 pounds, Michael Blockhus had himself one of the most impressive performances of the day, going 4-0 with two technical falls and two pins en route to his second career Bison Open win.
Sebas Swiggum kept the streak going for Minnesota at 157 pounds, as he defeated North Dakota State’s Mason Gode, 6-4, to close out a 2-0 day and give the Gophers a sweep of the first five weights.
The Maroon & Gold’s next champion came at 174 pounds, as Jared Krattiger repeated as the Bison Open champion at that weight class after defeating North Dakota State’s Gaven Sax by 4-2 decision for the title.
Yet another all-Gopher finals showdown, where Isaiah Salazar win 5-1 over Michial Foy, who competed at 184 pounds for the first time in his career. Foy had an impressive day in his own right, defeating No. 27 DJ Parker (North Dakota State) in the semifinals.
197 pounds saw yet another impressive performance from a Gopher competitor, as Garrett Joles capped off a 3-0 day, including two bonus-point victories, by dominating ranked opponent Owen Pentz (North Dakota State) in the finals with a 7-0 victory.
Andrew Sparks was Minnesota’s only other finalist of the day at 165 pounds, as his third-period comeback bid fell short against NDSU’s Mikey Caliendo, and he fell in an 11-10 barn burner.
Minnesota returns to action next Sunday for their home opener against Binghamton at 1:00 pm CST.
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