MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota wrestling claimed two individual titles Sunday at the Daktronics Open in Brookings, S.D., as redshirt freshman Hunter Lyden (165) and true freshmen Max McEnelly (184) won their championships at Frost Arena.
Lyden captured the Daktronics Open title at 165 pounds. Facing off with Northern Iowa’s Evan Yant, Lyden trailed 4-1 going into the final period, but he escaped within the first 20 seconds to cut the margin to 4-2 and then used a takedown before riding out Yant over the final 1:22 to claim the victory.
Lyden opened the day with a 4-1 sudden victory over South Dakota State’s Brock Fettig, then held off Iowa State’s Connor Euton, 8-7, to reach the finals.
McEnelly rolled through the competition at 184 pounds by a combined score of 44-12. He opened the day with two tech falls, running his total to six in six matches at that point of the season. In the finals, he faced his toughest competition yet but a first-period takedown was enough in a 5-4 decision over CJ Walrarth of Northern Iowa. It’s the second title of the season for McEnelly, who also won 184 at the Bison Open to kick off the season.
True freshman Gavin Nelson was the runner-up at 197 pounds. He scored a pair of major decisions in the quarterfinals and semifinals to earn a spot against Northern Iowa’s Wyatt Voelker in the finals. Voelker’s first period takedown and escape in the third was enough to combat Nelson’s escape in the second stanza. Nelson also finished as runner-up at 197 at the Bison Open.
Three Gophers reached the fifth-place matches at their respective weights.
Theo Cha finished with a 1-3 record on the day as he took sixth place. He got his first win of the season in the quarterfinals with a 7-5 decision over Cael Rahnavardi (Northern Iowa).
Redshirt junior Tim Stapleton also ended in sixth place at 165 pounds. He went 1-3, including a win by injury default against Northern Iowa’s Christian Minto in the quarterfinals.
Freshman Kyler Wong had to medically forfeit his fifth-place match. He was 2-2 at Daktronics, picking up the first two wins of his collegiate career with decisions over Wade Mitchell (Northern Iowa) and Christian Stanek (Iowa State).
Redshirt freshman Quincy Hulverson went 1-2 on the day at 125 pounds, tallying his first win of the season in a 12-9 decision over Iowa State’s Caleb Fuessley.
True freshman Ethan Riddle dropped his opening match at 174 pounds and then bowed out due to medical forfeit in the consolation bracket.
The Golden Gophers open their home schedule next Sunday with a visit from No. 12 South Dakota State. The match is scheduled to start at 12 p.m. on B1G+.
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