Seventh-ranked Minnesota (10-1, 6-1 B1G) won its sixth dual in a row with a 35-6 blowout of No. 28 Purdue (9-5, 2-4) Sunday afternoon at Maturi Pavilion.
The Golden Gophers prevailed in eight of the 10 matches and posted six bonus-point victories in front of a home crowd that featured reigning UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who had Minnesota heavyweight Gable Steveson in his most recent fight camp.
Minnesota defeated the Boilermakers for the third year in a row and 15th time in the last 16 matchups. Minnesota is now 22-2-2 at home against Purdue all-time, its best winning percentage against any school it’s hosted at least five times. In addition, it marked the seventh straight win at home over the Boilermakers, the Gophers’ longest active home win streak against a Big Ten opponent.
The action started at 165 pounds with 11th-ranked Andrew Sparks posting the first of five tech falls on the day for the Gophers. He stopped Stoney Buell at the 6:32 mark by a score of 20-4. A first-period takedown and four nearfall points set the tone early. The lead grew to 11-2 after two periods and Sparks closed it out with three more takedowns in the third period. It was his 10th tech fall of the season and his fourth of his current five-match win streak.
The lone ranked matchup of the day came at 174 pounds with No. 22 Clayton Whiting taking on No. 27 Brody Baumann. Both registered escapes in regulation, sending the match to overtime. In the extra frame, Whiting fended off an attack from Baumann and drove through him for the winning takedown. It was Whiting’s fifth win in his last six matches and his fourth ranked win of the year.
Minnesota’s team lead grew to 13-0 as No. 4 Max McEnelly posted the second tech fall of the day 184. Facing Orlando Cruz, McEnelly left no doubt with three first-period takedowns and built a 16-3 through two periods. In the third, McEnelly allowed an escape before another takedown resulted in a 20-4 victory at the 5:39 mark. It was McEnelly’s team leading 12th tech fall of the season as he improved to 17-0 on the year and 32-0 in his career.
Purdue got its first win of the dual at 197 pounds as 26th-ranked Ben Vanadia topped redshirt junior Gabe Nagel, who was making his collegiate dual debut. Nagel’s point came on an escape in the third period.
Steveson, the nation’s No. 1 heavyweight, needed less than three minutes to take care of Hayden Filipovich. It was the fourth first-period tech fall for Steveson this season and his seventh overall in 10 matches. Four takedowns and a pair of three-point nearfalls gave him his 62nd straight win and got him to 95-2 in his career.
At 125 pounds, No. 9 Cooper Flynn earned a 5-2 decision over Isaiah Quintero. After a scoreless first period, Flynn got an escape in the second and recorded what turned out to be the winning takedown to lead 4-0 after two periods. He’s now 12-3 this year, including 5-0 against unranked opponents.
Purdue’s second and final win came at 133 pounds as Brandon Morvari bumped up from 125 pounds for the first time in his career. Conceding nearly seven pounds to Dustin Norris, Morvari was able to tie the match at 4-4 going into the second period. Norris took control from there, though, in a 14-7 decision.
Eighth-ranked Vance VomBaur tallied his third tech fall win in conference and fifth on the year by besting Cole Solomey, 22-6 at 6:12. Leading 3-1 after three minutes, VomBaur put it into high gear in the second period with three takedowns and three more in the third. He’s 19-3 on the season, 9-2 in duals and 5-2 in the Big Ten.
No. 29 Drew Roberts ended a three-match skid by defeating Isaac Ruble by major decision, 13-3. Roberts led 3-0 after the first period and 4-0 through two. He picked up the pace in the third period with three more takedowns to record his third major of the year.
The dual closed out at 157 pounds as No. 8 Tommy Askey provided the exclamation point in a 21-2 tech fall at 4:56. Picking up his team-leading 20th win of the season, Askey had a 3-0 advantage through the opening period then used three takedowns, including two that were followed by four-point nearfalls, to defeat Wyatt Krejsa. It was Askey’s first tech fall win of the year.
Minnesota closes out the regular season next Friday as it hosts No. 3 Iowa. Match time is set for 8 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
Match Results
#7 Minnesota 35, #28 Purdue 6
Feb. 9, 2025 | Minneapolis | Maturi Pavilion | Attendance: 2,602
165 #11 Andrew Sparks TF Stoney Buell (PU), 20-4 (6:32) | MINN 5, PU 0
174 #22 Clayton Whiting dec. #27 Brody Baumann (PU), 4-1 SV1 | MINN 8, PU 0
184 #4 Max McEnelly TF Orlando Cruz (PU), 20-4 (5:39) | MINN 13, PU 0
197 #26 Ben Vanadia (PU) dec. Gabe Nagel, 7-1 | MINN 13, PU 3
285 #1 Gable Steveson TF Hayden Filipovich (PU), 18-3 (2:35) | MINN 18, PU 3
125 #9 Cooper Flynn dec. Isaiah Quintero (PU), 5-2 | MINN 21, PU 3
133 Dustin Norris (PU) dec. Brandon Morvari, 14-7 | MINN 21, PU 6
141 #8 Vance VomBaur TF Cole Solomey (PU), 22-6 (6:12) | MINN 26, PU 6
149 #29 Drew Roberts MD Isaac Ruble (PU), 13-3 | MINN 30, PU 6
157 #8 Tommy Askey TF Wyatt Krejsa (PU) 21-2 (4:56) | MINN 35, PU 6
(info and photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)
