Gopher Wrestling Club

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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Italian Ranking Tournament Awaits Gophers Wrestling Club

Three members of the Gopher Wrestling Club are heading to Rome for the Matteo Pellicone ranking series event this upcoming week from January 15-18.

The list includes Tony Nelson, Pat Smith, and Hayden Zillmer. Nelson and Zillmer will compete in freestyle wrestling while Smith continues the proud Minnesota tradition of Greco-Roman grapplers.

The group will be competing under the Gopher Wrestling Club and will be coached by Dustin Schlatter, accomplished on the international stage in his own right.

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Gopher Wrestling Club to send ten to Fort Worth for Senior Nationals

The Gopher Wrestling Club Regional Training Center will be well represented as ten freestyle athletes are set to compete at this weekend’s Senior Nationals/Olympic Team Trials Qualifier in Fort Worth, Texas.

Eight Gopher Wrestling Club athletes earned pre-seeds heading into the event. Top-seeded wrestlers for the club are Nazar Kulchytskyy at 74kg and Tony Nelson at 125kg. Hayden Zillmer is seeded #2 at 97kg. Other freestyle wrestlers receiving pre-seeds are Zach Sanders – #8 at 57kg, Brett Pfarr – #8 at 86kg, Sean Russell – #9 at 57kg, Dylan Ness – #11 at 74kg, and Jayson Ness – #12 at 65kg. Non-seeded Gopher Wrestling Club wrestlers are Daniel Deshazer at 57kg and Elroy Perkin at 74kg. Men’s Freestyle competes on Saturday and Sunday.

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McKee Qualifies for U23 World Championships

Akron, Ohio – For the second straight year, the University of Minnesota’s Mitch McKee will represent the United States at the U23 World Championships, with the 2018 location being Bucharest, Romania.

McKee, who will be a junior for the Gophers in 2018, went into the tournament as the No. 1 seed and did not experience any hiccups along the way to his 8-0 record in Akron Ohio.

The eight participating Gophers experienced a lot of success in Akron, with Carson Brolsma finishing in fifth place, Skyler Petry added a sixth-place finish and Steve Polakowski in eighth place.

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