No. 7 Minnesota (10-1, 6-1 B1G) closes out the 2024-25 regular season Friday night as it hosts No. 3 Iowa (11-1, 5-1) at a sold-out Maturi Pavilion. The match will be broadcasted by Big Ten Network with live results on TrackWrestling.com.
The Golden Gophers’ 6-1 conference record puts them one game back of first-place Penn State, putting Minnesota in play for a chance at a dual season conference title. The Gophers can clinch a share with a win Friday and a Penn State loss earlier in the night at Ohio State. A win Friday for Minnesota plus losses Friday and Sunday for Penn State would give the Gophers the title outright. Minnesota could also share the title with a loss Friday if Penn State loses both of its matches and Iowa also loses Sunday versus Northwestern.
After opening league action with a loss at Nebraska, the Golden Gophers have responded with six straight wins, starting with a win over then-No. 21 Michigan on Jan. 19, followed by dominant wins at Wisconsin and Northwestern, ranked wins over then-No. 12 Rutgers and at then-No. 4 Ohio State, and most recently a 35-6 win over Purdue. In league action, Minnesota has prevailed in 46 of the 70 individual matchups in duals and outscored opponents, 189-78.
The Gophers have won 16 of their last 17 duals dating back to last season. During the stretch, Minnesota has outscored opponents, 518-132, and has given up more than 12 points in a dual just twice. Prior to the loss at Nebraska, Minnesota had won 10 in a row, the team’s longest win streak since claiming 17 straight duals over the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons.
Ten Gopher wrestlers are ranked in at least three of the major polls with eight appearing in all five: Intermat, Win Magazine, FloWrestling, OpenMat and the Coaches Poll. Gable Steveson (285) is ranked No. 1 in four of the five polls (did not minimum matches needed by Coaches), while Max McEnelly (184) is fourth in each. Vance VomBaur (141), Tommy Askey (157) and Isaiah Salazar (197) are all in the top-10 in each ranking.
Within the InterMat rankings, Minnesota is one of eight programs in the nation to have wrestlers ranked at all 10 weights, along with Nebraska, Northern Iowa, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Rutgers and Virginia Tech. In addition, the Gophers are joined by Penn State (10), Nebraska (7), Oklahoma State (7), Iowa (6) and Ohio State (5) as the only schools to have at least five wrestlers ranked in the top 10.
Steveson, the reigning Big Ten Wrestler of the Week, has been nothing but dominant this season. He’s 10-0 with seven wins by tech fall, two by pin and one by major decision. His Match Power rating of 5.100 team points per match leads the Big Ten and ranks second in the country, according to WrestleStat.com.
McEnelly is 17-0 on the season with 15 bonus-points wins, including 11 by tech fall. Those 11 tech fall wins rank third in the nation behind only Penn State’s Mitchell Mesenbrink (13) and Purdue’s Matt Ramos (12).
Andrew Sparks is 19-4 on the year with 10 of the wins coming by tech fall, including each of his last three matches and four of his last five. Those 10 tech fall wins have him fourth in the country.
LET’S GO BRANDON!
Gopher head coach Brandon Eggum spoke with MNN sports director Mike Grimm in advance of tonight’s big meet:
Brandon Eggum
PROBABLE LINEUPS
125 #13 Cooper Flynn (12-3 Overall, 7-2 Dual, 3-2 B1G) or Brandon Morvari (4-6, 0-2, 0-2) #26 Joey Cruz (12-8, 5-4, 4-2)
133 #19 Tyler Wells (9-4, 5-3, 1-2) #3 Drake Ayala (13-1, 9-1, 4-0)
141 #8 Vance VomBaur (19-3, 9-2, 5-2) Cullan Schriever (4-7, 1-4, 1-2)
149 #29 Drew Roberts (10-5, 6-5, 2-5) #3 Kyle Parco (15-1, 11-1, 5-1)
157 #8 Tommy Askey (20-2, 9-1, 6-1) or Charlie Millard (11-1, 1-0, 0-0) #3 Jacori Teemer (3-2, 3-2, 1-1)
165 #11 Andrew Sparks (19-4, 9-2, 5-2) #2 Michael Caliendo (15-1, 11-1, 5-1)
174 #22 Clayton Whiting (14-7, 7-4, 5-2) #11 Patrick Kennedy (9-3, 5-3, 3-3) or Nelson Brands (3-1, 3-1, 0-0)
184 #4 Max McEnelly (17-0, 11-0, 7-0) #8 Gabe Arnold (12-2, 9-1, 4-1)
197 #8 Isaiah Salazar (15-3, 9-1, 5-1) #1 Stephen Buchanan (16-0, 12-0, 6-0)
285 #1 Gable Steveson (10-0, 10-0, 7-0) #11 Ben Kueter (12-3, 8-3, 4-2)
FACING IOWA
Friday night marks the 111th all-time meeting between Minnesota and Iowa. The 110 all-time dual matches are the most in Minnesota history. The only other series in program history even above 80 meetings is the 107 versus Wisconsin.
Iowa holds the all-time series lead over Minnesota with a record of 79-29-2 in a series that dates back to the 1920-21 season.
The Gophers are looking for their first win in the series since 2014, when they went into Carver-Hawkeye Arena and claimed a 19-15 victory.
Friday will mark the 54th time the teams have competed in Minneapolis, which will tie the Hawkeyes with the Badgers for the program the Gophers have hosted the most in their history. Minnesota trails at home against Iowa, 38-14-1. The Gophers are looking for their first home win in the series since a 22-15 triumph in 2013.
Iowa enters Friday with an 11-1 record on the season and a 5-1 mark in conference play. The only loss was a 30-8 setback at Penn State on Jan. 31. The Gophers and Hawkeyes have had three common opponents this season. Both teams defeated Wisconsin and Ohio State. Minnesota lost at Nebraska, 21-13, on Jan. 11, while Iowa won at home over the Huskers, 19-16 on Feb. 7.
Iowa has two Minnesotans on its roster in senior Patrick Kennedy (165) and freshman Joseph Kennedy (157). Both are from Kasson-Mantorville and attended Kasson-Mantorville High School, about 80 miles south of campus. Minnesota has no Iowans on its roster.
Minnesota assistant coach Michael Kemerer was the first five-time All-American in the history of Iowa wrestling and was an NCAA finalist in 2021. He posted a 100-12 career record, going 55-12 against ranked opponents. More on Kemerer can be found on Page 8 of the notes.
RANKED MATCHUPS
Based on probable lineups and the latest rankings from InterMat, nine of the 10 weights Friday could feature ranked matchups with Minnesota having the higher ranked wrestler in three of the nine bouts.
At 125 pounds, No. 13 Cooper Flynn has not faced No. 26 Joey Cruz in his career. Flynn is 5-3 against ranked opponents this year, tied for third on the team in ranked wins, while McCrone is 3-5 in such matches. Four of Flynn’s wins have come against wrestlers ranked 18th or better at the time of the match. Flynn and Cruz have three common opponents this year. Both defeated Wisconin’s Nicolar Rivera and both lost to Nebraska’s Caleb Smith, while Cruz defeated Ohio State’s Brendan McCrone, 6-5, and Flynn lost to him, 9-0.
At 133 pounds, No. 19 Tyler Wells would meet No. 3 Drake Ayala for the first time. Wells is 4-3 versus ranked foes this year, while Ayala is 5-1. Wells and Ayala have one common opponent this year in Nebraska’s Jacob Van Dee. Wells fell 4-1, while Ayala won 4-2.
The matchup at 149 between No. 29 Drew Roberts and No. 3 Kyle Parco would be the first between the two. Roberts is 1-4 versus ranked opponents this year, while Parco is 8-1 against ranked foes. They have three common opponents this year. They both defeated Wisconsin’s Royce Nilo by tech fall, while Parco defeated Nebraska’s Ridge Lovett and Ohio State’s Dylan D’Emilio, and Roberts lost to both.
At 157, No. 8 Tommy Askey has faced No. 3 Jacori Teemer once before at the 2021 Mountaineer Invite when Askey was at Appalachian State and Teemer was at Arizona State. Teemer won by major decision, 14-5. They have no common opponents this year. Askey is 2-2 against ranked wrestlers this year, while Teemer is 1-2.
At 165, No. 11 Andrew Sparks has an extensive history with No. 2 Michael Caliendo, facing him four times, including once earlier this year at the Solider Salute where Caliendo prevailed 7-6. The pair also met three times when Caliendo was at North Dakota State. Caliendo has won all four matchups with Sparks by decision, though the four matches have been decided by a total of six points, including three decided by one point. Sparks is 4-3 in ranked matchups this year, while Caliendo is 6-1. Both have faced Nebraska’s Christopher Minto this year with Sparks falling 5-4 and Caliendo winning by a 5-1 decision.
At 174 pounds, No. 22 Clayton Whiting has not battled No. 11 Patrick Kennedy so far in his career. After starting 0-6 in ranked matchups this year, Whiting has won four of his last five such matchups. Kennedy is 5-3 versus ranked foes. Whiting and Kennedy have five common opponents this year. Both defeated Wyoming’s Ethan Ducca and Wisconsin’s Lucas Condon, and both lost to Nebraska’s Lenny Pinto and Ohio State’s Carson Kharchla. The only different result came against North Carolina’s Josh Ogunsanya, who beat Whiting but lost to Kennedy.
At 184, No. 4 Max McEnelly has not faced No. 8 Gabe Arnold in his career. McEnelly is 5-0 versus ranked opponents this year, including two over top-six foes, while Arnold is 4-1. Both have defeated Bellarmine’s Devan Hendricks (Arnold has done so twice), Wisconsin’s Dylan Russo and Ohio State’s Ryder Rogotzke. McEnelly majored Nebraska’s Silas Allred, while Arnold lost 4-1 in sudden victory.
At 197, No. 8 Isaiah Salazar could face No. 1 Stephen Buchanan for the first time in his career. Salazar is 4-1 in ranked matchups this year, while Buchanan is 8-0. They have five common opponents this year. Both defeated Camden McDanel of Nebraska, Niccolo Colucci of Wisconsin and Seth Shumate of Ohio State. Salazar lost to Missouri’s Aeoden Sinclair and Oklahoma State’s Cody Merrill, while Buchanan beat both.
The heavyweight matchup could feature No. 1 Gable Steveson taking on No. 11 Ben Kueter for the first time. Steveson is 6-0 against ranked opponents this year, including four top-10 bonus-point victories. Kueter is 4-3 versus ranked foes this year. They have two common opponents this year in Nebraska’s Harley Andrews and Ohio State’s Nick Feldman. Steveson posted a tech fall over Andrews and majored Feldman, while Kueter majored Andrews and posted a 5-4 decision over Feldman.
LAST MEETING WITH IOWA
Minnesota was dealt a 22-9 setback at Iowa in the Gophers’ Big Ten opener last year. The Golden Gophers won three of the 10 matches in a dual that featured six ranked matchups, including four top-20 contests. The Hawkeyes prevailed in five of the six ranked bouts. Only one match on the night was decided by bonus points.
After an 8-5 loss for No. 18 Patrick McKee to No. 5 Drake Ayala at 125 pounds to start the evening, Minnesota got on the board and evened the match at 3-3 when No. 29 Tyler Wells topped Kale Petersen at 133 pounds, 6-3. No. 19 Vance VomBaur battled No. 1 Real Woods at 141 pounds, but he fell 5-2. The lead grew to 9-3 for the Hawkeyes after No. 12 Caleb Rathjen defeated No. 13 Drew Roberts, 7-3, at 149 pounds.
The biggest win for Minnesota came at 157 pounds as No. 11 Michael Blockhus upset No. 2 Jared Franek in a 5-4 decision. Franek led 4-1 through two periods and was up 4-2 with 20 seconds to go when Blockhus took him down and held on for the win.
Iowa took the next two matches as No. 7 Michael Caliendo defeated No. 30 Blaine Brenner, 5-1, at 165 pounds, while Patrick Kennedy posted a 13-2 major decision over Sam Skillings at 174.
Trailing 16-6, Minnesota picked up its final victory of the night at 184 as No. 10 Isaiah Salazar posted a 7-0 shutout of Aiden Riggins.
The evening concluded with No. 24 Garrett Joles falling to No. 16 Zach Glazier, 4-2, at 197 pounds to clinch the dual for Iowa, while No. 29 Bennett Tabor dropped a 5-3 decision to Ben Kueter at heavyweight.
(info and photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)
