Two of our suspended starters won titles at the UNI Open, a very strong tournament with some major wrestling schools participating. Ethan Lizak and Tommy Thorn are getting in top form so they are ready to get started again on January 1st. They will really help us during the last half of the season!!
It's early, but we are almost ready-to-go!!!
Gophers Win Two Titles at UNI Open
Ethan Lizak and Tommy Thorn won the 125- and 141-pound titles, respectively, leading a group of 10 Gopher placewinners in Cedar Falls
Gophersports.com
Dec. 3, 2016
Redshirt sophomores
Ethan Lizak and
Tommy Thorn led the way for a group of 17 Gophers who competed in the UNI Open in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on Saturday, winning titles at 125 and 141 pounds, respectively. In all, 10 Gophers placed in the event, including a runner-up finish from Rylee Strefiel at heavyweight and a third-place performance from
Brandon Krone at 174.
Lizak’s second consecutive UNI Open title was his second open title so far this season, adding to his Daktronics Open championship from earlier this season. His run to the top of the podium was built on nothing but bonus point wins – a pair of major decisions and a pair of tech falls. In his four victories, Lizak overwhelmed his opponents by a total score of 58-4. Lizak has reached the finals in all three opens in which he’s participated this season.
Thorn made his season debut on Saturday and looked strong throughout, not allowing any of his five opponents to score more than three points in any match. Thorn scored two major decisions on his way to the title and had only one match, the championship bout, decided by fewer than five points. Today’s title was the fifth open tournament Thorn has won in his collegiate career, adding to three he won while redshirting his freshman season and a Daktronics Open title last year.
The other finalist for Minnesota, Streifel, put together a 3-1 day. After one-sided wins in his first two contests, he endured two sets of tiebreakers to outlast Carter Isley (Northern Iowa) with a rideout, 4-3. In the finals, Streifel fell to sixth-ranked Brooks Black (Illinois).
The third-place finish for Krone at 174 was the other top-three finish for Minnesota.
Chris Pfarr also reached the third-place match at 184, but dropped a narrow decision, 6-4. Five other Gophers fought in fifth-place matches, with 149-pounder
Hunter Marko and 157-pounder
Carson Brolsma winning those matches while
Sam Brancale (133),
Larry Early III (165) and
Darius Wright (184) fell and finished sixth. In the cases of Brancale and Early, those matches were medical forfeits.
In all, 17 Gophers made the three-hour trip south to the UNI Dome. As a collective, they posted a 42-27 record for the day.
Full match-by-match results are listed below.
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Match-by-Match Results
125
Ethan Lizak (4-0, 1st Place)
Champ Rnd 1: Bye
Champ Rnd 2:
Ethan Lizak tech fall Brenden Baker (Iowa State), 18-2
Quarters:
Ethan Lizak maj dec Nicholas Brennan (Missouri), 14-1
Semis:
Ethan Lizak maj dec Kyle Larson (Iowa State), 10-1
Finals:
Ethan Lizak tech fall Travis Piotrowski (Illinois), 16-0
133
Sam Brancale (2-1, 6th Place)
Champ Rnd 1:
Sam Brancale dec Jarred Oftedahl (St. Cloud State), 4-2
Quarters:
Sam Brancale fall (5:53) Jack Wagner (Iowa)
Semis: No. 10 Jaydin Eierman (Missouri) dec
Sam Brancale, 15-10
Cons Semis: John Erneste (Missouri) med. for.
Sam Brancale
5th Place: Eduardo Penha (St. Cloud State) med. for.
Sam Brancale
Gresh Jones (2-2)
Champ Rnd 1: Shiquan Hall (unattached) dec (SV-1)
Gresh Jones, 3-1
Cons Rnd 1:
Gresh Jones fall (0:44) Devon Berry (St. Cloud State)
Round of 12:
Gresh Jones dec Francis Edelen (Illinois), 8-2
Cons Rnd of 4: Eduardo Penha (St. Cloud State) maj dec
Gresh Jones, 11-0
141
Tommy Thorn (5-0, 1st Place)
Champ Rnd 1:
Tommy Thorn maj dec Paul Glynn (Iowa), 12-3
Champ Rnd 2:
Tommy Thorn dec Dylan Thurston (Illinois), 7-2
Quarters:
Tommy Thorn maj dec Alex Hrisopoulos (Michigan State), 11-0
Semis:
Tommy Thorn dec Carter Happel (Iowa), 9-3
Finals:
Tommy Thorn dec Kanen Storr (Iowa State), 4-1
Ben Brancale (1-2)
Champ Rnd 1: Zach Synon (Missouri) dec
Ben Brancale, 8-4
Cons Rnd 1:
Ben Brancale dec (TB-1) Mousa Jodeh (Illinois), 3-2
Cons Rnd 2: Gabe Moreno (Iowa State) fall (4:40)
Ben Brancale
149
Hunter Marko (4-2, 5th Place)
Champ Rnd 1: No. 17 Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa) maj dec
Hunter Marko, 12-4
Cons Rnd 1:
Hunter Marko fall (2:14) Cole Race (Unattached)
Round of 12:
Hunter Marko maj dec Hunter Washburn (Northern Iowa), 12-2
Cons Rnd of 4: Hunter Mark dec Jake Barzowski (St. Cloud State), 6-0
Cons Semis: Gabriel Grahek (Wisconsin) dec
Hunter Marko, 7-3
5th Place:
Hunter Marko inj. (0:18) Bryce Briceno (Iowa State)
James Berg (1-2)
Champ Rnd 1: Zander Wick (Wisconsin) dec
James Berg, 12-5
Cons Rnd 1:
James Berg dec Keegan Shaw (Iowa), 6-4
Round of 12: Bryce Briceno (Iowa State) dec
James Berg, 5-3
157
Carson Brolsma (4-2, 5th Place)
Champ Rnd 1:
Carson Brolsma dec Cameron Lopez (Northern Iowa), 11-4
Champ Rnd 2:
Carson Brolsma dec Colten Carlson (South Dakota State), 6-4
Quarters:
Carson Brolsma dec Phyllip DeLoach (Missouri), 4-2
Semis: No. 9 Joey Lavallee (Missouri) dec
Carson Brolsma, 6-4
Cons Semis: Paden Moore (Northern Iowa) dec
Carson Brolsma, 5-4
5th Place:
Carson Brolsma tech fall Colten Carlson (South Dakota State), 16-1
165
Larry Early III (3-1, 6th Place)
Champ Rnd 1:
Larry Early III maj dec Lucas Schmit (Purdue), 16-2
Champ Rnd 2:
Larry Early III fall (6:29) Devin Fitzpatrick (St. Cloud State)
Quarters:
Larry Early III dec Logan Ryan (Iowa), 3-1
Semis: No. 3 Daniel Lewis (Missouri) maj dec
Larry Early III, 12-0
Cons Semis:
Kaleb Young (Iowa) med. for.
Larry Early III
5th Place: Gabe Fogarty (St. Cloud State) med. for.
Larry Early III
174
Brandon Krone (4-1, 3rd Place)
Champ Rnd 1: Bye
Champ Rnd 2:
Brandon Krone dec Canten Marriott (Missouri), 9-2
Quarters:
Brandon Krone tech fall Tanner Schaefer (St. Cloud State), 17-0
Semis: No. 9 Zac Brunson (Illinois) maj dec
Brandon Krone, 8-0
Cons Semis:
Brandon Krone maj dec Clayton Jennissen (St. Cloud State), 9-0
3rd Place:
Brandon Krone dec Canten Marriott (Missouri), 2-0
Colin Carr (1-2)
Champ Rnd 1: Bye
Champ Rnd 2:
Colin Carr maj dec Santonio Cathery (Wisconsin), 13-2
Quarters: No. 9 Zac Brunson (Illinois) fall (3:32)
Colin Carr
Round of 12: Canten Marriott (Missouri) maj dec
Colin Carr, 13-5
Tijani Karaborni (0-2)
Champ Rnd 1: Bye
Champ Rnd 2: Tanner Schaefer (St. Cloud State) dec
Tijani Karaborni, 8-6
Cons Rnd 2: Bye
Cons Rnd 3: Canten Marriott (Missouri) maj dec
Tijani Karaborni, 10-1
184
Chris Pfarr (3-2, 4th Place)
Champ Rnd 1:
Chris Pfarr maj dec Cory Flaata (St. Cloud State), 9-1
Quarters:
Chris Pfarr fall (4:01) Chase Shedenhelm (Northern Iowa)
Semis: No. 12 Drew Foster (Northern Iowa) dec
Chris Pfarr, 4-2
Cons Semis:
Chris Pfarr dec (SV-2) Brady Ayers (South Dakota State), 4-2
3rd Place: Jacob Holschlag (Northern Iowa) dec
Chris Pfarr, 6-4
Darius Wright (3-3, 6th Place)
Champ Rnd 1: Bradley Banks dec
Darius Wright, 3-2
Cons Rnd 1:
Darius Wright fall (2:19) Justin Guilliams (Northern Iowa)
Round of 12:
Darius Wright tech fall Chase Shedenhelm (Northern Iowa), 16-1
Cons Round of 4:
Darius Wright dec
Dylan Anderson, 9-4
Cons Semis: Jacob Holschlag (Northern Iowa) fall (4:05)
Darius Wright
5th Place: Brady Ayers (South Dakota State) dec
Darius Wright, 5-3
Dylan Anderson (2-2)
Champ Rnd 1:
Dylan Anderson tech fall Cade Brownlee (Iowa), 18-3
Quarters: No. 12 Drew Foster (Northern Iowa) dec
Dylan Anderson, 7-5
Round of 12:
Dylan Anderson maj dec Jayden Bears (Missouri), 17-4
Cons Round of 4:
Darius Wright dec
Dylan Anderson, 9-4
Faris Karaborni (0-2)
Champ Rnd 1: Brady Ayers (South Dakota State) maj dec
Faris Karaborni, 15-5
Quarters: Jayden Bears (Missouri) maj dec
Faris Karaborni, 12-4
285
Rylee Streifel (3-1, 2nd Place)
Champ Rnd 1: Bye
Champ Rnd 2:
Rylee Streifel dec Christian Rebottaro (Michigan State), 9-2
Quarters:
Rylee Streifel dec Jacob Aven (Purdue), 5-2
Semis: Rylee Streifel dec (TB-2) Carter Isley (Northern Iowa), 4-3
Finals: No. 6 Brooks Black (Illinois) dec
Rylee Streifel, 6-1