It’s a fresh group of Gophers that will converge on Northwestern’s Welsh-Ryan Arena this weekend for the Big Ten Wrestling Championships.

Fifth-ranked Minnesota, with everyone ranked between #1 and #23, including five top-10 wrestlers, hasn’t competed since a 23-11 loss to Iowa on Valentine’s Day.

“Yeah, that was intentional,” Minnesota coach Brandon Eggum explained. “Coming off Iowa, that first entire week was almost more of a recovery week. We did some individuals … really light. It's kind of managing health and some of those things. 

“It was just nice to kind of get away from it, and then to get into training. I think our guys appreciated it, too. We're hoping that that’s a benefit; we've done it in the past and we’ve thought it’s been good for us.”

Eggum said the Gophers left the Iowa match healthy and have stayed that way. 

“We’ve been wrestling well this entire season with good success and scoring lots of points. We’re going in with good momentum and we just want to stay healthy through the Big Ten. If we can accomplish that, I think we’re in a good spot at the NCAA tournament,” he said.

Minnesota won 10 of 12 dual meets — six of eight in the B1G — and is taking a balanced team to Evanston. And it’s one with a few more point-scorers than last season.

“We have more firepower than we’ve had in the past,” Eggum said. “Last year, we had a really good dual meet season as well. The difference with this team, we just have some guys that score a lot more bonus points. I think as a team, we've done a better job of that; there's a lot more this year. The offense has been good. I feel like we're in a better spot this season as well.”

Eggum believes from the points the Gophers scored this season — a 348-107 advantage — that Minnesota can be a good tournament team. 

“The Big Ten is going to be tight between a lot of these teams,” he said. “Sometimes you see a team that could be fifth in the Big Ten and then fourth in the NCAA tournament — that's how tight it is and close. There are going to be some one-point matches, so depending on when you flip them and how that goes, is gonna be a big difference for where you finish at the NCAAs and in the Big Tens.

“I know you’ve got the heavy favorite in Penn State but I do feel like we are capable of having a great tournament. Guys like (#1 heavyweight) Gable (Steveson), he's done an amazing job of just kind of being an extra spark for the lineup, and I think he's helped elevate everybody to another level.

“And then you’ve got a young guy like Max (#4 McEnelly at 184), who's been scoring a lot of points. It's been a long time since we had two undefeated guys through the Big Ten season like that. Based on the schedule we compete against and stuff, that's impressive.”

Battle Of The Big Guys

One of the tournament’s most anticipated matchups will be a likely 285-pound final between Steveson, a two-time NCAA champion and 2021 Olympic gold medalist and defending NCAA champion Greg Kerkvliet of Penn State.

Steveson has won 63 straight matches despite a lengthy layoff, and Kerkvliet owns a 36-bout streak. Steveson likely will have a 25- to 30-pound size advantage to complement his quickness and athleticism.

“Greg is great competition,” Eggum said. “Our plan is just to make sure that he’s reacting to us and Gable just does what he does, and that’s go out and look for points and work hard. The biggest thing for Gable is just to continue to be physical and wrestle at a really, really high pace. I know that's something that he wants; he wants to make it a real physical match … lots of energy out there, lots of action.”

A Record On the Line

Minnesota is the only program since the NCAA tournament’s inception in 1928 to place each of its 10 wrestlers among the top eight and earn All-America status.

The Gophers did that in 2001, one season after Eggum graduated from Minnesota, and he continued to train with that team.

If Penn State, as expected but barring injury, qualifies all 10 wrestlers for the NCAAs through the Big Tens, that mark possibly could be equaled.

When told that the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the NFL’s last unbeaten team, celebrate each season when each of the league’s teams finally sustains a loss, Eggum chuckled, knowing what was coming.

Acknowledging that Penn State would have a “solid shot,” Eggum said that while it hasn’t been a conversation, that it is a “really cool” record to have, being a part of the University of Minnesota and its history. He also cited that there were few, if any, transfers in those days and that it was difficult to fill any holes in the lineup.

“I was just thinking that it could make it more likely that that record gets broken, and a team accomplishes it sooner than it would have been if things had stayed the same,” Eggum said.

But, Eggum said, like with most records, it's just a matter of time. 

“That was a long time ago, but it's pretty cool that it always comes up,” he said. “So each year, you wonder if this is the year that it gets (matched) or not. It kind of shows you how difficult it is. Even looking at some of the teams that are together and where guys are ranked, some of the teams that even Penn State has had, something crazy always happens at the national tournament.

“It’s happened one time, I guess everybody kind of recognizes how unique it is and difficult it is to accomplish even if you have 10 guys that went in ranked #1. I'm sure if it doesn't happen again this year, there will be a thought or some of the old Gopher alumni will be talking about, especially the guys that were part of that team, that it made it another year.”