EAST LANSING, Mich. – At the conclusion of Saturday’s action at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships, Minnesota has a sizable lead over the rest of the pack with 121 team points.

The nearest competitors are Wisconsin and Penn State with 81.5 and 80.5 points, respectively.

Individually, the Gophers have five wrestlers in championship matches, including redshirt freshman Jayson Ness (125 pounds), sophomore Dustin Schlatter (149), junior C.P. Schlatter (157), junior Roger Kish (184) and senior Cole Konrad (Hwt.).

Top-seeded Ness had the most dominant day for the Gophers, first picking up a fall in 11 seconds over junior Brandon Tucker of Purdue then following it with a fall over Illinois sophomore Gabe Flores, ranked No. 6 in the country, one round later.

The biggest blow to the Gophers came when top-seeded Manuel Rivera, winner of 35 straight matches and battling a minor knee injury, dropped the 141-pound match to Wisconsin freshman Kyle Ruschell, ranked No. 15 in the nation.

Minnesota responded when C.P. Schlatter, the fourth seed, came up with an overtime win over the top-ranked wrestler in the country at 157, sophomore Michael Poeta of Illinois.

Aside from those in the championship matches Sunday, four Gophers wrestlers still have a shot at third place including third-seeded Mack Reiter (133), Rivera (141), third-seeded Tyler Safratowich (165) and fourth-seeded Gabe Dretsch (174), who battled top-seeded James Yonushonis to an overtime loss.

The only Minnesota wrestler whose season ended was sophomore Yura Mulamura at 197 pounds – a weight the Gophers had difficulties with all season.