Gopher Wrestling Club

Gopher Wrestling Club Places Sixth at RTC Cup

CINCINNATI – Minnesota junior Gable Steveson followed up Friday’s win against the No. 1 ranked United States heavyweight with a 10-0 victory against Jordan Wood of Spartan Combat RTC at the 2020 RTC Cup. The Gopher Wrestling Club (GWC) finished in sixth place following a loss by criteria in the quarterfinals against Spartan Combat and a 5-1 defeat against Ohio RTC in the fifth-place match.

Steveson needed just 3:26 to finish off a 10-0 win against Wood, a former two-time All-American at Lehigh. On Friday, Steveson earned a 4-1 decision against Nick Gwiazdowski from Wolfpack RTC. A two-time World bronze medalist, Gwiazdowski will be the top seed at the U.S. Olympic Trials in University Park, Pa., in April when the pair are likely to meet again.

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Steveson Defeats Gwiazdowski, 4-1, in Potential Olympic Trial Preview

In a potential preview of April’s U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Minnesota junior Gable Steveson defeated Nick Gwiazdowski, 4-1, at the 2020 RTC Cup in Cincinnati, Ohio. A two-time World bronze medalist, Gwiazdowski clinched the No. 1 seed at the trials prior to Steveson’s victory on Friday night.

The RTC Cup is a dual-team tournament featuring six of the nation’s top regional training centers. Steveson, along with sophomore Brayton Lee, have joined several Minnesota alums as part of the Gopher Wrestling Club (GWC).

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Gopher Wrestling Club Set to Compete at RTC Cup

The RTC Cup is a new senior-level freestyle dual meet format competition that includes teams from many of the best Regional Training Centers from around the country. The event is scheduled to go down on Friday-Saturday, December 4th-5th in Ohio without fans in attendance.

“Adding the team component to senior level wrestling will make for an incredible atmosphere,” said Gopher Wrestling Club Coach Dustin Schlatter. “As one of the largest RTCs we are thrilled to represent the University of Minnesota, the Twin Cities and the state of Minnesota in such a high level competition.”

The Gopher Wrestling Club will be competing against NJRTC/Southeast RTC (New Jersey, Rutgers, Princeton/Virginia Tech), SpartanCombat RTC (New York/Cornell), Ohio RTC (Ohio State), Wolfpack Wrestling Club (North Carolina State), and Cliff Keen Wrestling Club (University of Michigan).

With $200,000 total prize money invested, including $50,000 going to the winning team, every match and every point will be important.

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Smith, Ortiz and Russell Lead Gophers at US Senior Nationals

Current and former Gophers led a Minnesota contingent at the US Senior Nationals this past weekend at Xtream Arena & GreenState Family Fieldhouse in Coralville, Iowa. Pat Smith and Alec Ortiz finished second and third in Greco-Roman, respectively, while Sean Russell placed fourth in freestyle.

Smith and Ortiz advanced to a semifinal matchup at 77kg with Smith moving on to the finals with a 4-1 victory. Smith fell in the championship bout against No. 3 Kendrick Sanders, while Ortiz rallied for a third-place finish.

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Skatzka to Train With Gopher Wrestling Club

Four-time NCAA qualifier Devin Skatzka will join the Gopher Wrestling Club Regional Training Center, a training site for elite athletes pursing national and international success.

A native of Richmond, Mich., Skatzka competed the last two years for the Golden Gophers after beginning his career at Indiana University. Wrestling at 174 pounds, he was a two-time All-American and compiled a 58-21 record with the Maroon and Gold. Skatzka had four straight top-eight finishes at the Big Ten Championships, including third- and fourth-place finishes with Minnesota.

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McKee to Train With Gopher Wrestling Club

Former Minnesota 141-pounder Mitch McKee has joined the Gopher Wrestling Club Regional Training Center, a training site for elite athletes pursing national and international success.

McKee finished his Gopher career this past March as a two-time All-American and four-time NCAA Championship qualifier. He posted a 91-42 career record with 33 pins, a total that ranks 12th in school history. McKee was a Big Ten All-Academic and two-time NWCA All-Academic honoree.

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Nolf beats Oliver in Main Event of Rumble On The Rooftop; Lugo and Rau win their Co-Main Event battles

CHICAGO, Ill. – Wrestling Is Back.

In a match where neither wrestler was able to get an offense untracked, Jason Nolf of the Nittany Lion WC edged Jordan Oliver of the Sunkist Kids, 4-1, in the main event of the Rumble On The Rooftop in Chicago on Sunday night.

Nolf led 1-0 after the first period when Oliver was put on a shot clock and could not score. Early in the second period, Nolf was put on the shot clock and did not score, making it 1-1. Later in the period, Oliver was again placed on a shot clock and did not score, giving Nolf a 2-1 advantage. Nolf scored a takedown in the closing seconds as Oliver tried to force a shot, and finished with the 4-1 victory.

Nolf won three NCAA titles for Penn State, while Oliver was a two-time NCAA champion for Oklahoma State. Both are top contenders for the 2021 Olympic Team, Nolf at 74 kg and Oliver at 65 kg.

“I think we can put on a better show than that. Three points, with no offensive points. It kind of stunk. I told him I want to wrestle him again sometime. Maybe we can set up a round two and get some points on the mat,” said Nolf. Continue reading at teamusa.org

Gopher Wrestling Club wrestlers back to the mat on Sunday

FITE digital sports network will showcase some of the nation’s best freestyle wrestlers streamed live on Sunday, June 28 at 6 p.m. CT. The event is deemed ‘Rumble on the Rooftop FITE Klub’ and will take place in downtown Chicago.

Matchups include the main event, two-time national champ Jordan Oliver wrestling three-time national champ Jason Nolf. Other matches include two wrestlers who finished the year ranked No. 1 in the nation, Pat Lugo and Luke Pletcher, and current world team member Pat Downey versus World Greco team member Joe Rau.

Gopher WC wrestlers Dylan Ness, Zach Sanders, Brett Pfarr, Nazar Kulchytskyy, and Mitch McKee (against former Gopher Nick Dardanes) are also scheduled to compete.

“It’s been 100 days since we’ve last wrestled, our guys are thrilled to return to the mat and put on a show for the fans,” said Gopher Wrestling Club Coach Dustin Schlatter.

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