FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: WRESTLING                                                                                             March 9, 2013

Contact: Kate Wadman (wadma005@umn.edu / o: 612.624.4345, c: 612.203.3028)

 

Minnesota Sits Third after First Session

Five Gophers remain alive for individual titles

The Minnesota wrestling team sits in third place after the first session of the 2013 Big Ten Championships. The Golden Gophers collected 49.0 team points in the morning competition at Assembly Hall at the University of Illinois. Iowa holds the top spot with 79.0 points, while defending champion Penn State holds 62.0 points.

After two rounds of action, five Gopher individuals remain alive for an individual title, including defending Big Ten Champions Kevin Steinhaus (184 lbs.) and Tony Nelson (285 lbs.). In addition, Nick Dardanes (141 lbs.), Dylan Ness (149 lbs.), and Scott Schiller (197 lbs.) will compete in tonightÂ’s semifinals. The remaining five will compete in wrestlebacks in pursuit of third place.

After receiving a bye in the first round, N. Dardanes faced NorthwesternÂ’s Pat Greco in the quarterfinals. Dardanes came out on top with a 6-2 decision. As the No. 2 seed in the tournament, he will face No. 3 Mark Ballweg of Iowa.

Ness (No. 3 seed) worked through two rounds to earn his spot in the semifinals. He went up against NorthwesternÂ’s Dylan Marriott in the opening round of the tournament and came out to a 9-3 decision. In the second round, he earned bonus points for the team effort with a pin over Caleb Ervin (ILL) at the 4:07 mark. Ness will meet MSUÂ’s Dan Osterman who upset second-seeded Ivan Lopouchanski (PUR), 3-2, in the second tiebreaker.

Steinhaus showed up and excelled to help Minnesota earn bonus points headed into the second session. The No. 2 seed competed in two matches this morning and earned technical falls in both. First, facing NorthwesternÂ’s Jacob Berkowitz, he tallied a 19-1 finish at the 7:00 mark after multiple three-point near falls. Steinhaus continued his dominance in the quarterfinals and defeated IndianaÂ’s Luke Sheridan by a 16-1 score, ending it even faster at 4:26. Up next, he will see Josh Ihnen of Nebraska.

Also receiving a bye in the first round of competition, second-seeded Schiller came out strong in the quarterfinals against WisconsinÂ’s No. 7 Jackson Hein. After two quieter periods, Schiller made his move in the third to gather the 5-3 victory. Schiller awaits No. 6 Nate Burak in the semifinals.

As the third Gopher with a first-round bye, Nelson overcame MichiganÂ’s Ben Apland by a 4-0 decision. His heavyweight semifinal will consist of a flashback to last yearÂ’s title match as Nelson is set to face IowaÂ’s Bobby Telford. Telford advances after a 4-0 decision over Mike McClure (MSU).

David Thorn (125 lbs.), Chris Dardanes (133 lbs.), Danny Zilverberg (157 lbs.), Cody Yohn (165 lbs.), and Logan Storley (174 lbs.) will continue competition in the consolation. Storley, the No. 1 seed headed into the weekend fell in a heartbreaker to No. 8 Dan Yates in the quarterfinals.

Session II will take place tonight at 5 p.m. Make sure to tune into the live blog and Gopher All-Access for updates.

2013 Big Ten Wrestling Championships Results for Minnesota
125 - David Thorn (11-8) place is unknown and scored 3.00 team points.
    Champ. Round 1 - David Thorn (MINN) 11-8 won by pin over Joe Duca (IND) 13-15 (Pin 1:57)
    Quarterfinal - Nicholas Megaludis (PSU) 22-2 won by decision over David Thorn (MINN) 11-8 (Dec 4-2)

133 - Chris Dardanes (14-5) place is unknown and scored 0.00 team points.
    Champ. Round 1 - Chris Dardanes (MINN) 14-5 received a bye
    Quarterfinal - Tyler Graff (WIS) 26-4 won by decision over Chris Dardanes (MINN) 14-5 (Dec 8-6)

141 - Nick Dardanes (23-6) will place at least 6th and scored 8.00 team points.
    Champ. Round 1 - Nick Dardanes (MINN) 23-6 received a bye
    Quarterfinal - Nick Dardanes (MINN) 23-6 won by decision over Pasquale Greco (NU) 12-9 (Dec 6-2)

149 - Dylan Ness (12-4) will place at least 6th and scored 10.00 team points.
    Champ. Round 1 - Dylan Ness (MINN) 12-4 won by decision over Dylan Marriott (NU) 7-18 (Dec 9-3)
    Quarterfinal - Dylan Ness (MINN) 12-4 won by pin over Caleb Ervin (ILL) 18-10 (Pin 4:07)

157 - Danny Zilverberg (13-11) place is unknown and scored 0.00 team points.
    Champ. Round 1 - Danny Zilverberg (MINN) 13-11 received a bye
    Quarterfinal - Derek St. John (IOWA) 24-1 won by decision over Danny Zilverberg (MINN) 13-11 (Dec 5-1)

165 - Cody Yohn (20-11) place is unknown and scored 1.00 team points.
    Champ. Round 1 - Cody Yohn (MINN) 20-11 won by decision over Nick Proctor (MSU) 13-17 (Dec 1-0)
    Quarterfinal - Nick Moore (IOWA) 16-6 won by decision over Cody Yohn (MINN) 20-11 (Dec 5-4)

174 - Logan Storley (22-2) place is unknown and scored 0.00 team points.
    Champ. Round 1 - Logan Storley (MINN) 22-2 received a bye
    Quarterfinal - Dan Yates (MICH) 21-6 won by decision over Logan Storley (MINN) 22-2 (Dec 3-2)

184 - Kevin Steinhaus (25-1) will place at least 6th and scored 11.00 team points.
    Champ. Round 1 - Kevin Steinhaus (MINN) 25-1 won by tech fall over Jacob Berkowitz (NU) 7-19 (TF 19-1)
    Quarterfinal - Kevin Steinhaus (MINN) 25-1 won by tech fall over Luke Sheridan (IND) 21-12 (TF 17-1)

197 - Scott Schiller (23-3) will place at least 6th and scored 8.00 team points.
    Champ. Round 1 - Scott Schiller (MINN) 23-3 received a bye
    Quarterfinal - Scott Schiller (MINN) 23-3 won by decision over Jackson Hein (WIS) 18-9 (Dec 5-3)

285 - Tony Nelson (26-1) will place at least 6th and scored 8.00 team points.
    Champ. Round 1 - Tony Nelson (MINN) 26-1 received a bye
    Quarterfinal - Tony Nelson (MINN) 26-1 won by decision over Ben Apland (MICH) 16-10 (Dec 4-0)

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