A week after upsetting No. 2 Penn State, the No. 3 Gophers wrestling team opened up the home portion of their schedule at the Sports Pavilion by defeating North Dakota State University 29-9.
Wrestling started at 197 pounds with Sonny Yohn defeating NDSUâÄôs John Gusewelle 7-1.
âÄúIâÄôve [led off] before,âÄù Yohn said. âÄúYou have to warm up a little differently but in the end youâÄôre stepping out there and wrestling the same match.âÄù
The Gophers won the next four matches and held the Bison scoreless at 18-0 going into the intermission.
âÄúI think our guys wrestled pretty hard,âÄù head coach J Robinson said. âÄúOne of the things weâÄôre trying to do is make improvements every match and some of the matches we did that in.âÄù
Tony Nelson (heavyweight), David Thorn (133) and Nick Dardanes (141) all recorded major-decision wins for the Gophers.
âÄúI came out pretty hard, I would like to be more relaxed,âÄù Dardanes said. âÄúIâÄôve got a lot of mistakes that I need to correct. A major decision is great but IâÄôm looking for those technical falls and pins too.âÄù
Zach Sanders (125) wrestled the closest match of the day against Trent Sprenkle. Sanders prevailed with a 4-2 decision.
Sanders was ranked No. 2 individually entering the weekend at the weight class, and Sprenkle was ranked No. 7.
After the break, Matt Mincey earned a 13-6 win, which stretched the GophersâÄô lead to 21-0
NDSU recorded its first win of the dual when Steven Monk (157) pinned Wesley Richard. Richard was wrestling in a spot usually occupied by Jake Deitchler, who sat out Sunday.
âÄúWe move guys around âÄî gave some guys time off âÄî weâÄôve got a couple guys that [have] a little injuries and a few nicks and stuff,âÄù Robinson said. âÄúWeâÄôve got a big one coming up this week with Central Michigan and Oklahoma State so we just move the lineup around from time to time.âÄù
After a Cody Yohn (165) win, the Bison won their second match when Kurtis Julson (174) defeated Steven Avalos.
The Gophers hope to have true freshman Logan Storley (174) back by next weekendâÄôs matches at Central Michigan and Oklahoma State. Storley sprained his ankle at the Bison Open earlier this season.
Kevin Steinhaus (184) ended the match on a high note, defeating Mac Stoll 12-3.
Even with the big win, Robinson said he still sees room for improvement before the Gophers face Central Michigan and Oklahoma State.
âÄúWe have to be more aggressive, we have to be more dominant, we have to get more takedowns,âÄù Robinson said. âÄúIn the first period weâÄôve got to score more.âÄù
