Gophers Finish South Beach Duals Undefeated
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fl. – The University of Minnesota finished off the South Beach Duals in historic fashion with a 51-0 rout over Kent State followed by a 36-6 victory over No. 22 Utah Valley.
The Gophers 51-0 victory was the program’s first time scoring over 50 points since a Nov. 29, 2008 dual against Portland State and the first time notching a shutout since Nov. 24, 2012 against Itasca Community College.
Eight Gophers went 2-0 on the day. Three of them, 125-pound Sean Russell, 133-pound Ethan Lizak, and heavyweight Gable Steveson went undefeated throughout the weekend of duals.
The Gophers were one of only two teams at the South Beach Duals that went 4-0 on the weekend, including three victories over ranked teams. Minnesota finished the weekend winning 32 of their possible 40 bouts.
Kent State Dual
The Gophers routed Kent State in historic fashion as described above. With five pins and nine total bonus point victories the Gophers cruised to victory.
133-pound Ethan Lizak didn’t even need a minute to get his first takedown and four-point nearfall. Lizak continued to scramble and ended up with the second period pin to begin a string of pins.
Directly after 141-pound No. 5 Mitch McKee one-upped Lizak wasting no time in getting his first period pin after only 1:20.
157-pound Steve Bleise joined the pin party after he got the first period nearfall points and got the actual fall in the second period at the 4:29 mark
174-pound Devin Skatzka also got the fall with only three seconds to spare before the end of the first period.
Heavyweight Gable Steveson continued his run of dominance with the Gophers fifth pin of the day and his second consecutive first period pin after finishing off No. 15 Cory Daniel of North Carolina on Saturday.
125-pound Sean Russell continued to hit on his shots with several takedowns in the first period and a couple of four-point nearfalls in the second en route to a 17-2 technical fall.
184-pound Brandon Krone was one of the only Gophers to give up the first points in his bout, but he made sure they were the last points scored by Kent State. Once he got the reversal and was back on top Krone repeatedly turned his opponent for the 17-2 technical fall.
149-pound Tommy Thorn notched his shutout, major decision with a great first period and relentless action throughout the rest of the bout. Thorn’s takedown and four-point nearfall to begin the battle wound up being crucial to his victory.
197-pound Rylee Streifel got his third straight dual victory at his new weight and his first with bonus points. He got three takedowns as well as a two-point nearfall on the last two seconds of the second period to lead the way towards a 11-0 major decision
165-pound Carson Brolsma battled against Isaac Bast and he secured the Gophers lone regular decision on the day by a score of 10-4.
Utah Valley Dual
The Gophers continued to roll in their afternoon dual with eight victories in their ten bouts against Utah Valley.
Both Russell and Lizak continued to roll, each earning a technical fall to start the Gophers off quick once again. Russell now has a seven match winning streak while Lizak’s streak sits at five.
McKee followed their routs up with a hard fought battle with No. 11 Matt Findlay and wound up on top due to a quick reversal and nearfall after starting on bottom.
Thorn notched his second victory of the day with a dominant 14-4 major decision over Landon Knutzen that gave him three victories and only one loss on the weekend. Bleise accomplished the same feat due to a Utah Valley injury while he was leading.
Skatzka calmly took control of his match with a spladle that lasted nearly 30 seconds but couldn’t get the fall. He finished with a 13-4 major decision.
Krone got his second victory of the day with a high-scoring decision, 12-4, over Will Sumner with several nearfalls and over three minutes of riding time
Steveson continued his undefeated season due to a forfeit.
The Gophers two losses came in close battles from Brolsma and Streifel against two of Utah Valley’s ranked wrestlers. Both wrestlers had leads going into the third period but couldn’t close out the upsets.
South Beach Duals Results on TrackWrestling.com
Final Match-By-Match Results:
#8 Minnesota 51 Kent State 0
125 – #6 Sean Russell (Minnesota) over Jake Ferri (Kent State) TF 17-2
133 – #8 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) over Tim Rooney (Kent State) Fall 3:18
141 – #5 Mitchell McKee (Minnesota) over Cory Simpson (Kent State) Fall 1:20
149 – #20 Thomas Thorn (Minnesota) over Kody Komara (Kent State) Maj 9-0
157 – #11 Steve Bleise (Minnesota) over richard Jackson (Kent State) Fall 4:29
165 – Carson Brolsma (Minnesota) over Isaac Bast (Kent State) Dec 9-4
174 – #15 Devin Skatzka (Minnesota) over Dylan Barreiro (Kent State) Fall 2:57
184 – Brandon Krone (Minnesota) over Lane Hinkle (Kent State) TF 17-2
197 – Rylee Streifel (Minnesota) over Shane Mast (Kent State) Maj 11-0
285 – #2 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) over Spencer Berthhold (Kent State) Fall 1:44
#8 Minnesota 36 #22 Utah Valley 6
125 – #6 Sean Russell (Minnesota) over Josh Jensen (Utah Valley) TF 20-3
133 – #8 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) over Isaiah Delgado (Utah Valley) TF 16-1
141 – #5 Mitchell McKee (Minnesota) over Matt Findlay (Utah Valley) Dec 11-6
149 – #20 Tommy Thorn (Minnesota) over Landon Knutzen (Utah Valley) Maj 14-4
157 – #11 Steve Bleise (Minnesota) over Grant LaMont (Utah Valley) Inj 5:47
165 – #11 Demetrius Romero (Utah Valley) over Carson Brolsma (Minnesota) SV-1 12-10
174 – #15 Devin Skatzka (Minnesota) over #18 Kimball Bastian (Utah Valley) Maj 13-4
184 – Brandon Krone (Minnesota) over Will Sumner (Utah Valley) Dec 12-8
197 – #13 Tanner Orndorff (Utah Valley) over Rylee Streifel (Minnesota) Dec 5-4
285 – #2 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) over Unknown (Utah Valley) Forf
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