285 U: Minnesota Is The Land Of 10,000 Heavyweights

285 U: Minnesota Is The Land Of 10,000 Heavyweights

Minnesota takes the final weight class, winning 285 U thanks to stars like Cole Konrad and Tony Nelson

Nov 11, 2016 by Wrestling Nomad
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The best heavyweights go to school in the Great White North. Minnesota closes out FloWrestling's series to find which schools are the best at each of the 10 weight classes by taking the title of 285 U in perhaps the most anticlimactic of all the weight classes. Six finals appearances help sew that up pretty convincingly. The next team there, with four finals appearances, wound up in fifth anyway.

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We decided to use the time frame of the past 15 years (2002-16, and will be going over number of times each program qualified for the NCAA tournament, as well as how many times those schools placed.

The Series So Far:
125U | 133U | 141U | 149U | 157U | 165U | 174U | 184U | 197U

In going through 15 years of Gophers heavyweights, the consistency is eerie. It's not that they place every year, even though they had 11 All-American finishes in that time. It's that Minnesota only used five guys, and each one used up his eligibility before being replaced. It speaks to a level of institutional trust and development that the Gophers get their guy, plug him in, and allow him to finish up his career to reach his full potential.

For the last time, a monster thank you and shoutout to Andrew Spey, aka @JaroslavWrestle, for his ability to make sense of these numbers. He will be involved again when the next likely review takes place, which is after the 2018 season when there has been 20 years of the current weight classes.

285 Pounds

NCAA Qualifiers and Placers (2002-16)

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We see the usual suspects at the top of the qualifier numbers: Oklahoma State and Minnesota with 15, Iowa with 14, and Penn State and Ohio State with 12 each. But then there's Oregon State, which only missed qualifying in the 2011 and 2015 seasons. Unfortunately for the Beavers, they will be without the services of Amar Dhesi, a 2016 All-American who was ranked fourth before his injury. 

Historically, Oregon State had some success at heavyweight with three NCAA champions around the 1970s. Larry Bielenberg was a four-time AA who won his title in 1975, and Howard Harris was the last person to pin his way through the tournament when he won his title in 1980. Most notably, it is the alma mater of Jess Lewis, who made the finals three straight years with two titles in the 1969-70 seasons.

Oklahoma State has used seven different guys these past 15 years, but every single one of them made it to the NCAA tournament. Looking back on the Cowboys' 285 pounders, the steady improvement of a guy like Jared Rosholt becomes obvious. Acknowledging that Steve Mocco was a free agent who didn't start in Stillwater, OK, Rosholt is the most accomplished homegrown talent for OSU coach John Smith at heavyweight.

NCAA Points Accrued (2002-16)

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Spey used the following system to break down the points here: 18 points for first place; 16 pts for second; 13 pts for third; 12 pts for fourth; 10 pts for fifth; nine pts for sixth; six pts for seventh; five pts for eighth; three pts for making the round of 12; two pts for making the round of 16; and one pt for making the round of 24.

Here are the five guys mentioned earlier who have been heavyweights for the Gophers: Garrett Lowney, Cole Konrad, Ben Berhow, Tony Nelson, and Michael Kroells. Konrad was one of the greatest heavyweights of all time and had a legendary rivalry going with Mocco, who ends up being a key scorer for both Oklahoma State and Iowa. Konrad's pin of Mocco at the 2006 national duals is one of the most iconic heavyweight moments of the past 15 years. The big question is if Minnesota will be continuing its run of dominance with or without super recruit Gable Steveson.

It seems rather terrifying that Ohio State gets two more years of Kyle Snyder, with Chase Singletary coming in right behind him. The time period used means the Buckeyes only missed one year of Tommy Rowlands, who to our younger fanbase may be known for his podcast with Ben Askren. But Rowlands was one of the best 285s going for years and is first in line when it comes to Buckeye heavies of this era.

This concludes our weight class U series. Thank you for reading and enjoy the 2016-17 college season. See you in St. Louis!

Top 10 Teams at 285lbs

1) Minnesota
2) Oklahoma State
3) Iowa
4) Northwestern
5) Ohio State
6) Michigan
7) Penn State
8) Iowa State
9) Missouri
10) Lehigh


Key Scorers for Minnesota

Cole Konrad (04-07): 4th, 2nd, 1st, 1st
Tony Nelson (11-14): 7th, 1st, 1st, 2nd
Michael Kroells (15-16): 8th, 7th

Key Scorers for Oklahoma State

Steve Mocco (05-06): 1st, 2nd
Jared Rosholt (07-10): DNP, 4th, 3rd, 2nd
Austin Marsden (2012, 14-16): DNP, 8th, R12, 8th

Key Scorers for Iowa

Steve Mocco (02-03): 2nd, 1st
Dan Erekson (09-10): 4th, 7th
Bobby Telford (2012-15): 5th, DNP, 4th, 5th


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