Last year's transfer from UNI Michael Blockhus sat down for an interview last week. It took Blockhus a little while after he started at MN to get used to being up a weight to 149#s, but once he did he really finished the year very strong!!!
Redshirt Junior Blockhus is a diligent D1 wrestler and a hard worker, and I'm expecting bigger and bigger successes from him in his next three years at MN!!
Here's the interview with MB from Gophersports.com:
Brad Rempel
Gophersports.com
Wrestling
7/9/2021
Just six months ago, Michael Blockhus was the new man on campus after transferring from Northern Iowa. Now, he calls Minnesota home and his decision to make the move to the University of Minnesota the best decision he's ever made.
Coming off a 9-8 record last season, which included two ranked wins and a fourth-place performance at the Big Ten Tournament, Blockhus is looking to use a busy off-season to build on last season and help push Minnesota to the top of the college ranks.
GS: Based on what we've seen from your social media, it looks like you've had a pretty busy off-season. Just talk about what you've been doing to stay busy since last season ended.
Blockhus: Yeah, we've been doing some training cycles in the summertime. Just hitting it hard for 3-4 weeks at a time, getting our lifting in, staying in pretty good shape. I've also been doing some MMA training, because that's something that I look forward to doing after college. Pretty much just trying to compete and stay busy as much as I can.
GS: Another thing that you've been doing a lot this off-season is doing camps. Have you always enjoyed doing that and giving back to the wrestling community like you have been?
Blockhus: Yeah, I like spreading my knowledge to the younger generation, and you learn a lot in these camps yourself, too. Obviously, you're there to help these kids, but they always teach you something along the way as well, which is nice. I've been all over the country this summer, I went to Colorado, Montana, did a couple practices in the Minnesota-Iowa area and they've all been good. I enjoy going out there and meeting people, and letting them know that even if you're a good wrestler, you need to keep your head down and be a good person too.
GS: Last season was obviously your first season in Minnesota and in the Big Ten, so from your perspective, just assess how you thought your season went last season.
Blockhus: It wasn't too bad, I'd say I had a good season overall. It was my first year up a weight class, so it took a while to get used to but then by the end of the year I was able to get rolling. I came up a little short at nationals this year, but that's just how it goes sometimes. I'm looking forward to our team next year. Everybody is coming back, and I've gained a bit of muscle mass and filled into the weight a little bit more. I'm feeling good and I'm ready to roll come November.
GS: It really seemed like you were getting into your groove late last season. You had a good win against Northwestern and a really good B1G tournament. Do you agree that that was around the time you were really putting matches together, and how can you build on that going into next season?
Blockhus: Yeah, I think the coaching staff at Minnesota has mastered when they want their guys to peak during the season. Obviously, we want to go out and wrestle hard all year, but they really have a plan for us to peak at the right time, and I think I was doing that. I thought it was set in stone that I was at my best going into the national tournament, but some things go your way, some things don't, and I just had to shake it off and go onto the next thing.
GS: Obviously, the folkstyle season ended in March, but that doesn't mean you have been off the mat. You've been wrestling with Gopher Wrestling Club, and recently you had a good 7th place performance at U23s, putting together a string of matches on the backside. Here in Minnesota, we have a lot of guys who wrestle for the RTC in the off-season, so talk about your experience with Gopher WC and how you think your experience with the club is going to benefit your wrestling moving forward?
Blockhus: Wrestling with GWC, I'm wrestling high-level guys every day which has been awesome. I get to wrestle guys like Mitchell McKee and Brayton Lee. We have World Team members and an Olympian on the club, and we're all pushing each other and pushing past our limits. I've also gotten to see how these club guys live. They live the right way, and do the right things, and that's what it takes to be at the top. I think Gopher Wrestling Club is just getting started and I've been excited to be a part of it.
GS: Now looking forward to next season, is there one thing in particular that you are working on and that you want to improve on as we go into next season?
Blockhus: Yeah, I've gotten a lot better even since the national tournament. I'm really starting to get a feel for the Minnesota style of wrestling, as well as implementing my own wrestling to it, and it's all coming together really. I've been working a lot on top-bottom wrestling, because you obviously need to turn guys to score points. Just a few things here and there, but I'm looking forward to having the chance to put everything together and becoming a better wrestler.
GS: One of the strong points of the lineup next season is that all of the core middleweights are going to be back with yourself, Brayton Lee, and Andrew Sparks. Obviously a very talented core there, do you roll around with those guys in the room very often and does that ever run through your mind that you three have the ability to influence dual meets.
Blockhus: Definitely, we sort of call ourselves the Death Row, because when we come up in the duals, we're looking to win every single one of those matches. We're pushing each other every day in the room, and you kind of grow a relationship with the guys around your weight class. So, you're out there wrestling with them when they are on the mat, and it means a little more because you want them to win just as bad as you want to win yourself, so it's cool to have those relationships with those guys.
GS: We've heard about it from other guys on the team as well, but it's evident that there is a family-like atmosphere in place with this program? Has that been a primary focus for the team or did that type of atmosphere just naturally grow throughout the program?
Blockhus: I think over the years, this team has become more selfless leaders and going out there to compete for more than yourself, but for your teammates, your coaches, your family, the fans, and anybody that is willing to support you. It's not necessarily about putting all the weight onto yourself, but knowing that you're doing it for them. We're not selfish in the fact that we don't want to win duals for ourselves, we want to win because it's exciting for everybody, our whole support system and our Minnesota community. Our ultimate goal is that we want to be at the top of the country, and being selfless leaders is what it's going to take.
GS: All things are looking like we're going to be back to a full season this upcoming season, with full crowds again at Maturi Pavilion again. Is that something you're looking forward to?
Blockhus: Of course, I've never wrestled in front of a packed Minnesota crowd, so I'm looking forward to that for sure. I'm excited to entertain the fans and put on a show for them. We're building an exciting team within the Minnesota program, and we want to entertain. We have one of the biggest leaders as far as excitement in college wrestling of course in our heavyweight Gable Steveson, and we feed off his confidence level during the dual meets, so we're excited to put on a show for the fans and get those loud crowds and that high-level atmosphere back in Minnesota.
GS: Finally, you've said before that coming to Minnesota is the best decision you've ever made. Just talk about what makes Minnesota so special to you and what you are looking forward to most about continuing the rest of your career in the Maroon & Gold?
Blockhus: I think we have it all here in Minnesota. We have the family atmosphere, the resources, coaches, teammates, everything. It all just comes together here in Minnesota, where as you go to some other programs, maybe they don't quite have that tight community. These guys all want to be at the top, striving to be World or Olympic champs and so those are the guys I want to be around.
Redshirt Junior Blockhus is a diligent D1 wrestler and a hard worker, and I'm expecting bigger and bigger successes from him in his next three years at MN!!
Here's the interview with MB from Gophersports.com:
Summer Sit-Down w/ Michael Blockhus
With a season in the Maroon & Gold under his belt, Blockhus is looking to help push Minnesota to the top of the college ranks
Brad Rempel
Gophersports.com
Wrestling
7/9/2021
Just six months ago, Michael Blockhus was the new man on campus after transferring from Northern Iowa. Now, he calls Minnesota home and his decision to make the move to the University of Minnesota the best decision he's ever made.
Coming off a 9-8 record last season, which included two ranked wins and a fourth-place performance at the Big Ten Tournament, Blockhus is looking to use a busy off-season to build on last season and help push Minnesota to the top of the college ranks.
GS: Based on what we've seen from your social media, it looks like you've had a pretty busy off-season. Just talk about what you've been doing to stay busy since last season ended.
Blockhus: Yeah, we've been doing some training cycles in the summertime. Just hitting it hard for 3-4 weeks at a time, getting our lifting in, staying in pretty good shape. I've also been doing some MMA training, because that's something that I look forward to doing after college. Pretty much just trying to compete and stay busy as much as I can.
GS: Another thing that you've been doing a lot this off-season is doing camps. Have you always enjoyed doing that and giving back to the wrestling community like you have been?
Blockhus: Yeah, I like spreading my knowledge to the younger generation, and you learn a lot in these camps yourself, too. Obviously, you're there to help these kids, but they always teach you something along the way as well, which is nice. I've been all over the country this summer, I went to Colorado, Montana, did a couple practices in the Minnesota-Iowa area and they've all been good. I enjoy going out there and meeting people, and letting them know that even if you're a good wrestler, you need to keep your head down and be a good person too.
GS: Last season was obviously your first season in Minnesota and in the Big Ten, so from your perspective, just assess how you thought your season went last season.
Blockhus: It wasn't too bad, I'd say I had a good season overall. It was my first year up a weight class, so it took a while to get used to but then by the end of the year I was able to get rolling. I came up a little short at nationals this year, but that's just how it goes sometimes. I'm looking forward to our team next year. Everybody is coming back, and I've gained a bit of muscle mass and filled into the weight a little bit more. I'm feeling good and I'm ready to roll come November.
GS: It really seemed like you were getting into your groove late last season. You had a good win against Northwestern and a really good B1G tournament. Do you agree that that was around the time you were really putting matches together, and how can you build on that going into next season?
Blockhus: Yeah, I think the coaching staff at Minnesota has mastered when they want their guys to peak during the season. Obviously, we want to go out and wrestle hard all year, but they really have a plan for us to peak at the right time, and I think I was doing that. I thought it was set in stone that I was at my best going into the national tournament, but some things go your way, some things don't, and I just had to shake it off and go onto the next thing.
GS: Obviously, the folkstyle season ended in March, but that doesn't mean you have been off the mat. You've been wrestling with Gopher Wrestling Club, and recently you had a good 7th place performance at U23s, putting together a string of matches on the backside. Here in Minnesota, we have a lot of guys who wrestle for the RTC in the off-season, so talk about your experience with Gopher WC and how you think your experience with the club is going to benefit your wrestling moving forward?
Blockhus: Wrestling with GWC, I'm wrestling high-level guys every day which has been awesome. I get to wrestle guys like Mitchell McKee and Brayton Lee. We have World Team members and an Olympian on the club, and we're all pushing each other and pushing past our limits. I've also gotten to see how these club guys live. They live the right way, and do the right things, and that's what it takes to be at the top. I think Gopher Wrestling Club is just getting started and I've been excited to be a part of it.
GS: Now looking forward to next season, is there one thing in particular that you are working on and that you want to improve on as we go into next season?
Blockhus: Yeah, I've gotten a lot better even since the national tournament. I'm really starting to get a feel for the Minnesota style of wrestling, as well as implementing my own wrestling to it, and it's all coming together really. I've been working a lot on top-bottom wrestling, because you obviously need to turn guys to score points. Just a few things here and there, but I'm looking forward to having the chance to put everything together and becoming a better wrestler.
GS: One of the strong points of the lineup next season is that all of the core middleweights are going to be back with yourself, Brayton Lee, and Andrew Sparks. Obviously a very talented core there, do you roll around with those guys in the room very often and does that ever run through your mind that you three have the ability to influence dual meets.
Blockhus: Definitely, we sort of call ourselves the Death Row, because when we come up in the duals, we're looking to win every single one of those matches. We're pushing each other every day in the room, and you kind of grow a relationship with the guys around your weight class. So, you're out there wrestling with them when they are on the mat, and it means a little more because you want them to win just as bad as you want to win yourself, so it's cool to have those relationships with those guys.
GS: We've heard about it from other guys on the team as well, but it's evident that there is a family-like atmosphere in place with this program? Has that been a primary focus for the team or did that type of atmosphere just naturally grow throughout the program?
Blockhus: I think over the years, this team has become more selfless leaders and going out there to compete for more than yourself, but for your teammates, your coaches, your family, the fans, and anybody that is willing to support you. It's not necessarily about putting all the weight onto yourself, but knowing that you're doing it for them. We're not selfish in the fact that we don't want to win duals for ourselves, we want to win because it's exciting for everybody, our whole support system and our Minnesota community. Our ultimate goal is that we want to be at the top of the country, and being selfless leaders is what it's going to take.
GS: All things are looking like we're going to be back to a full season this upcoming season, with full crowds again at Maturi Pavilion again. Is that something you're looking forward to?
Blockhus: Of course, I've never wrestled in front of a packed Minnesota crowd, so I'm looking forward to that for sure. I'm excited to entertain the fans and put on a show for them. We're building an exciting team within the Minnesota program, and we want to entertain. We have one of the biggest leaders as far as excitement in college wrestling of course in our heavyweight Gable Steveson, and we feed off his confidence level during the dual meets, so we're excited to put on a show for the fans and get those loud crowds and that high-level atmosphere back in Minnesota.
GS: Finally, you've said before that coming to Minnesota is the best decision you've ever made. Just talk about what makes Minnesota so special to you and what you are looking forward to most about continuing the rest of your career in the Maroon & Gold?
Blockhus: I think we have it all here in Minnesota. We have the family atmosphere, the resources, coaches, teammates, everything. It all just comes together here in Minnesota, where as you go to some other programs, maybe they don't quite have that tight community. These guys all want to be at the top, striving to be World or Olympic champs and so those are the guys I want to be around.
