No. 3 Gophers Upset No. 1 Penn State
MINNEAPOLIS – The No. 3 University of Minnesota Golden Gopher wrestling team upset No. 1 Penn State Nittany Lions in front of 5,603 fans at the Sports Pavilion on Sunday afternoon. With the victory over Penn State, the Gophers clinched a share of the 2014 Big Ten Dual Meet Championship.
The dual started with a bout at 125 between No. 2 Nico Megaludis of Penn State and Jordan Kingsley of Minnesota. Kingsley was unable to top second-ranked Megaludis and fell by major decision giving the Nittany Lions an opportunity to pull ahead by four early on.
No. 8 David Thorn won by decision over No. 16 Jimmy Gulibon allowing the Gophers to come within one of the Nittany Lions after the second bout.
No. 6 Chris Dardanes rejoined the starting lineup at 141 but ultimately fell to No. 2 Zain Retherford allowing Penn State to lead 7-3 going into 149. No. 3 Nick Dardanes came away with a victory in the second thirty second sudden victory, catching the Gophers up to the Nittany Lions 7-6.
No. 8 Dylan Ness had the crowd on its feet after an electrifying victory over No. 4 Dylan Alton of Penn State by fall at 5:23. The Gophers went into the intermission leading 12-7.
After the half, Danny Zilverberg fell by major decision to No. 1 David Taylor, 13-3 but the Gophers held onto the lead, 12-11.
No. 6 Logan Storley came up big for the Gophers as he defeated No. 3 Matt Brown by decision, 8-3, allowing the Golden Gophers to sit at a 14-11 advantage. The Gophers would go on to lose the next two duals as No. 8 Kevin Steinhaus and No. 1 Scott Schiller were unable to defeat their Penn State opponents. The loss for Schiller ended a 24-bout winning streak for the redshirt junior. After the two Gophers losses at 174 and 184, Minnesota was down by three with one bout to decide it all.
No. 5 Tony Nelson was able to win it for the Gophers with a 6-0 decision over Jonathan Gingrich. This victory broke a three-bout losing streak for the heavyweight redshirt senior. Nelson’s decision lifted the Gophers over No. 1 Penn State by just one, 18-17.
Next weekend, the Golden Gophers will travel to Columbus, Ohio to compete in the NWCA National Duals.
RESULTS:
| 125 | Nicholas Megaludis (Penn State) won by major decision over Jordan Kingsley (Minnesota) 19-5. | 0 | 4.00 |
| 133 | David Thorn (Minnesota) won by decision over James Gulibon (Penn State) 2-0. | 3.00 | 0 |
| 141 | Zain Retherford (Penn State) won by decision over Christopher Dardanes (Minnesota) 4-0. | 0 | 3.00 |
| 149 | Nick Dardanes (Minnesota) won in sudden victory 2 over Zachary Beitz (Penn State) 6-4. | 3.00 | 0 |
| 157 | Dylan Ness (Minnesota) won by pin over Dylan Alton (Penn State) 5:23. | 6.00 | 0 |
| 165 | David Taylor (Penn State) won by major decision over Daniel Zilverberg (Minnesota) 13-3. | 0 | 4.00 |
| 174 | Logan Storley (Minnesota) won by decision over Mathew Brown (Penn State) 8-3. | 3.00 | 0 |
| 184 | Edward Ruth (Penn State) won by decision over Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota) 7-1. | 0 | 3.00 |
| 197 | Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) won by decision over Scott Schiller (Minnesota) 8-4. | 0 | 3.00 |
| 285 | Anthony Nelson (Minnesota) won by decision over Jonathan Gingrich (Penn State) 6-0. | 3.00 | 0 |
- Minnesota’s Steveson earns No. 1 ranking at HWT in his return to college wrestling
- Starocci-Keckeisen will be featured NWCA All-Star Match
- Hughes Spearheads New ‘America’s Wrestling Cup’
- NCAA/Olympic champ Steveson is returning to college wrestling
- WIN’s First Regular-Season Rankings include 34 Newcomers, 9 Freshmen
