Courtesy of Minnesota Athletics
MINNEAPOLIS – Winning three of the final four matches gave No. 7 Minnesota (9-1, 5-1 B1G) a 20-17, comeback victory at No. 4 Ohio State (12-2, 4-2) Friday night in front of a sellout crowd at the Covelli Center.
Each team won five individual matches, but the difference was the Golden Gophers winning by bonus points in four of their five victories, while the Buckeyes registered just two such wins. It was Minnesota's first top-five triumph since winning at then-No. 5 Oklahoma State in December of 2022.
Trailing 14-7 through six matches, the Gophers started their comeback at 157 pounds behind a major decision from No. 8 Tommy Askey. Facing Brandon Cannon, takedowns in each of the first two periods gave Askey a 6-2 lead, while a third takedown with less than 40 seconds to go sealed the win in an 11-2 victory. It was Askey's team-leading 19th win on the season, his fifth in a row and his fifth by major decision this year.
Minnesota pulled ahead at 16-14 thanks to the lone tech fall of the night, an 18-1 (6:35) domination by No. 11 Andrew Sparks at 165 pounds. Taking on Brock Herman, Sparks led 3-0 after one period before blowing it open in the second. A quick escape from Sparks was followed by a takedown and four nearfall points, establishing an 11-0. Sparks finished him off in the third for his ninth tech fall of the year, one off the team lead, improving to 18-4 on the year.
Ohio State regained the lead at 17-16 after 174 pounds as fifth-ranked Carson Kharchla scored a 7-1 decision over No. 22 Clayton Whiting. That set the stage for the final match of the night at 184 pounds.
A pair of high school rivals squared off to decide the winner as No. 4 Max McEnelly took on No. 19 Ryder Rogotzke. During the 2023 high school season, Rogotzke, then at Stillwater High School, moved up in weight from 182 pounds to 195 in order to face McEnelly, then a senior at Waconia High School. McEnelly, who had already won the in-season matchup between the two, prevailed in the state championship match over Rogotzke, 3-2, thanks to a takedown with 20 seconds to go.
Friday night would not have the dramatics of that state title match as McEnelly proved to be the superior wrestler once again in a dominant 15-5 major decision. McEnelly posted two takedowns in the first period to put the match away early. Up 9-4 through two periods, McEnelly got a final takedown in the closing seconds for his fourth major of the year and team-leading 14th-bonus point win. He's 16-0 on the season and 31-0 in his career.
The dual kicked off at 197 pounds as No. 9 Isaiah Salazar met No. 18 Seth Shumate. Both registered escapes in regulation, sending the match to overtime. In the extra session, Salazar turned a front headlock into a single-leg attack and scored the winning takedown with just two seconds remaining to prevail, 4-1. He is now 15-3 on the year with four straight wins and four wins overall in five matches against ranked opponents.
Minnesota made it two straight wins as No. 1 Gable Steveson won a top-10 matchup at heavyweight against No. 9 Nick Feldman. Steveson picked up his 61st straight win, four back of second place in Gopher history, and kept his bonus rate at 100 percent with a 13-4 major decision. Steveson scored a pair of first-period takedowns to take control early and pushed the lead to 9-3 after two to win comfortably. He improves to 9-0 this season, including four wins over top-10 opponents.
The Golden Gophers led 7-0, but Ohio State came back to win the next four matches, though two went to overtime.
After a 9-0 major decision for No. 18 Brendan McCrone over ninth-ranked Cooper Flynn 125 pounds, No. 18 Tyler Wells fell to Ben Davino at 133 in overtime. Like the match at 197, escapes in regulation saw the match go to overtime. After a scoreless two minutes, Davino escaped after six seconds, while Wells was unable to get a takedown after choosing neutral in a 3-1 Davino victory.
A second top-10 matchup came at 141 pounds with No. 8 Vance VomBaur facing top-ranked and undefeated Jesse Mendez. VomBaur was the aggressor early and registered the opening takedown. Tied 4-4 after the opening period, both recorded escapes, sending a second straight match to overtime. Like at 133, it was scoreless after sudden victory, and Mendez's escape was the difference in a 6-5 decision. VomBaur became just the third wrestler in 22 matches this year to score more than four points against Mendez, and it was Mendez's closest victory in his current 32-match win streak.
The Buckeyes made it four in a row and pushed the lead to 14-7 at 149 pounds with No. 8 Dylan D'Emilio majoring No. 29 Drew Roberts, 11-3.
Minnesota is back in action Sunday as it hosts No. 28 Purdue at noon on B1G+.
Match Results
#7 Minnesota 20, #4 Ohio State 17
Feb. 7, 2025 | Columbus, Ohio | Covelli Center | Attendance: 4,626
197 #9 Isaiah Salazar dec. #18 Seth Shumate (OSU), 4-1 SV1 | MINN 3, OSU 0
285 #1 Gable Steveson MD #9 Nick Feldman (OSU), 13-4 | MINN 7, OSU 0
125 #18 Brendan McCrone (OSU) MD #9 Cooper Flynn, 9-0 | MINN 7, OSU 4
133 Ben Davino (OSU) dec. #18 Tyler Wells, 3-1 TB2 | MINN 7, OSU 7
141 #1 Jesse Mendez (OSU) dec. #8 Vance VomBaur, 6-5 TB2 | MINN 7, OSU 10
149 #8 Dylan D'Emilio (OSU) MD #29 Drew Roberts, 11-3 | MINN 7, OSU 14
157 #8 Tommy Askey MD Brandon Cannon (OSU), 11-2 | MINN 11, OSU 14
165 #11 Andrew Sparks TF Brock Herman (OSU), 18-1 (6:35) | MINN 16, OSU 14
174 #5 Carson Kharchla (OSU) dec. #22 Clayton Whiting, 7-1 | MINN 16, OSU 17
184 #4 Max McEnelly MD #19 Ryder Rogotzke (OSU), 15-5 | MINN 20, OSU 17
MINNEAPOLIS – Winning three of the final four matches gave No. 7 Minnesota (9-1, 5-1 B1G) a 20-17, comeback victory at No. 4 Ohio State (12-2, 4-2) Friday night in front of a sellout crowd at the Covelli Center.
Each team won five individual matches, but the difference was the Golden Gophers winning by bonus points in four of their five victories, while the Buckeyes registered just two such wins. It was Minnesota's first top-five triumph since winning at then-No. 5 Oklahoma State in December of 2022.
Trailing 14-7 through six matches, the Gophers started their comeback at 157 pounds behind a major decision from No. 8 Tommy Askey. Facing Brandon Cannon, takedowns in each of the first two periods gave Askey a 6-2 lead, while a third takedown with less than 40 seconds to go sealed the win in an 11-2 victory. It was Askey's team-leading 19th win on the season, his fifth in a row and his fifth by major decision this year.
Minnesota pulled ahead at 16-14 thanks to the lone tech fall of the night, an 18-1 (6:35) domination by No. 11 Andrew Sparks at 165 pounds. Taking on Brock Herman, Sparks led 3-0 after one period before blowing it open in the second. A quick escape from Sparks was followed by a takedown and four nearfall points, establishing an 11-0. Sparks finished him off in the third for his ninth tech fall of the year, one off the team lead, improving to 18-4 on the year.
Ohio State regained the lead at 17-16 after 174 pounds as fifth-ranked Carson Kharchla scored a 7-1 decision over No. 22 Clayton Whiting. That set the stage for the final match of the night at 184 pounds.
A pair of high school rivals squared off to decide the winner as No. 4 Max McEnelly took on No. 19 Ryder Rogotzke. During the 2023 high school season, Rogotzke, then at Stillwater High School, moved up in weight from 182 pounds to 195 in order to face McEnelly, then a senior at Waconia High School. McEnelly, who had already won the in-season matchup between the two, prevailed in the state championship match over Rogotzke, 3-2, thanks to a takedown with 20 seconds to go.
Friday night would not have the dramatics of that state title match as McEnelly proved to be the superior wrestler once again in a dominant 15-5 major decision. McEnelly posted two takedowns in the first period to put the match away early. Up 9-4 through two periods, McEnelly got a final takedown in the closing seconds for his fourth major of the year and team-leading 14th-bonus point win. He's 16-0 on the season and 31-0 in his career.
The dual kicked off at 197 pounds as No. 9 Isaiah Salazar met No. 18 Seth Shumate. Both registered escapes in regulation, sending the match to overtime. In the extra session, Salazar turned a front headlock into a single-leg attack and scored the winning takedown with just two seconds remaining to prevail, 4-1. He is now 15-3 on the year with four straight wins and four wins overall in five matches against ranked opponents.
Minnesota made it two straight wins as No. 1 Gable Steveson won a top-10 matchup at heavyweight against No. 9 Nick Feldman. Steveson picked up his 61st straight win, four back of second place in Gopher history, and kept his bonus rate at 100 percent with a 13-4 major decision. Steveson scored a pair of first-period takedowns to take control early and pushed the lead to 9-3 after two to win comfortably. He improves to 9-0 this season, including four wins over top-10 opponents.
The Golden Gophers led 7-0, but Ohio State came back to win the next four matches, though two went to overtime.
After a 9-0 major decision for No. 18 Brendan McCrone over ninth-ranked Cooper Flynn 125 pounds, No. 18 Tyler Wells fell to Ben Davino at 133 in overtime. Like the match at 197, escapes in regulation saw the match go to overtime. After a scoreless two minutes, Davino escaped after six seconds, while Wells was unable to get a takedown after choosing neutral in a 3-1 Davino victory.
A second top-10 matchup came at 141 pounds with No. 8 Vance VomBaur facing top-ranked and undefeated Jesse Mendez. VomBaur was the aggressor early and registered the opening takedown. Tied 4-4 after the opening period, both recorded escapes, sending a second straight match to overtime. Like at 133, it was scoreless after sudden victory, and Mendez's escape was the difference in a 6-5 decision. VomBaur became just the third wrestler in 22 matches this year to score more than four points against Mendez, and it was Mendez's closest victory in his current 32-match win streak.
The Buckeyes made it four in a row and pushed the lead to 14-7 at 149 pounds with No. 8 Dylan D'Emilio majoring No. 29 Drew Roberts, 11-3.
Minnesota is back in action Sunday as it hosts No. 28 Purdue at noon on B1G+.
Match Results
#7 Minnesota 20, #4 Ohio State 17
Feb. 7, 2025 | Columbus, Ohio | Covelli Center | Attendance: 4,626
197 #9 Isaiah Salazar dec. #18 Seth Shumate (OSU), 4-1 SV1 | MINN 3, OSU 0
285 #1 Gable Steveson MD #9 Nick Feldman (OSU), 13-4 | MINN 7, OSU 0
125 #18 Brendan McCrone (OSU) MD #9 Cooper Flynn, 9-0 | MINN 7, OSU 4
133 Ben Davino (OSU) dec. #18 Tyler Wells, 3-1 TB2 | MINN 7, OSU 7
141 #1 Jesse Mendez (OSU) dec. #8 Vance VomBaur, 6-5 TB2 | MINN 7, OSU 10
149 #8 Dylan D'Emilio (OSU) MD #29 Drew Roberts, 11-3 | MINN 7, OSU 14
157 #8 Tommy Askey MD Brandon Cannon (OSU), 11-2 | MINN 11, OSU 14
165 #11 Andrew Sparks TF Brock Herman (OSU), 18-1 (6:35) | MINN 16, OSU 14
174 #5 Carson Kharchla (OSU) dec. #22 Clayton Whiting, 7-1 | MINN 16, OSU 17
184 #4 Max McEnelly MD #19 Ryder Rogotzke (OSU), 15-5 | MINN 20, OSU 17
