Jake Deitchler would have been a big plus for the Gophers wrestling program. He would have created a lot of interest in the media, brought out more fans and helped the team be stronger.

The Gophers usually red-shirt first-year wrestlers, but how do you tell an Olympian to red-shirt? I think he would have been in the line-up his first year.

But in the end, from what those closest to him are saying, Jake wanted more than an NCAA title.

This is a kid who dreams of being a champion in the World Games and the Olympics. N0t just once, but time and time again. He wants to be the best there is in his sport.

(more…)

The Gophers wrestling team had its annual awards banquet on Sunday. The team, the unanimous No. 1 pick at the start of the season, had a disappointing season. Beset with injuries, the Gophers finished 14-7 in dual meets, second in the Big Ten meet to Iowa, and 10tn in the NCAA meet, their lowest finish since 1996.
Jayson Ness, the sophomore from Bloomnigton Kennedy, was named the MVP. Not much of a surprise because he had 20 pins and finished second in the NCAA meet at 125 pounds. Here is a list of the award winners, provided by the U of M Athletic Communications:

2007-08 Minnesota Gopher Wrestling Team Awards
Most Outstanding Freshman: Ben Berhow

Most Dedicated: Justin Bronson

Chris Berglin Most Improved:  Gabe Dretsch

Most Exciting Wrestler: Manuel Rivera

Fraser Dean Most Courageous:  Roger Kish

Verne Gagne Leadership Award:  Mack Reiter and C.P. Schlatter

Most Falls: Jayson Ness

Most Valuable Wrestler:  Jayson Ness

All-American Awards:  Jayson Ness (125 2nd Place); Mack Reiter (133 5th Place); Manuel Rivera (141 7th Place); Dustin Schlatter (149 7th Place)

Wrestling has all kinds of ratings. One of them ranks teams in championship-style tournaments. Like the Big Ten tournament this weekend inside Williams Arena.

InterMat’s tournament strength rankings have the U fifth. W.I.N. Magazine’s tournament power index ranks the Gophers second.

The defending national champions are the two-time Big Ten champions. And this time they get to wrestle at home. This is the first time the conference tournament has been here since 1997.

The tournament used to be an Iowa funfest. The Hawkeyes won 25 titles in a row until the Gophers won the 1999 conference title in  Ann Arbor, Mich. From that year on, Minnesota has won six conference titles and finished second the other three years.

The Gophers have a Big Ten-best 29 individual champions since 1997.

Three U wrestlers are defending champions” Jayson Ness at 125 pounds and the Schlatter brothers, Dustin at 149 and C.P. at 157.

Ness is 33-0, 8-0 in conference matches. He has 18 pins, two shy of the school record set by current assistant coach Marty Morgan in 1989-90. Ness is 15-1 with five pins in college against the field in this conference meet.

Ness has won 34 matches in a row, counting a victory in his last match last season. His streak is the seventh longest by a Gopher and the second longest currently in the nation. He is one of only five undefeated NCAA Division I wrestlers this season.

This has been a rough season for the Gophers in wrestling and the seeds for the Big Ten meet on Saturday and Sunday at Williams Arena reflect that.

Jayson Ness (left) is the only Gopher who is a top seed. He is a no-brainer. The sophomore from Bloomington Kennedy is a defending champion, is 33-0 and has 18 pins. He had the most pins in the nation of any wrestler most of the season and probably still does.

But the most experienced team in the conference, the two-time defending Big Ten champions, the defending national champion and the unanimous preseason No. 1 have nobody else seeded higher than third.

Here is a look at the seeding at every weight:

125 pounds: Ness. … Iowa’s Charlie Falck, who wrestled at Apple Valley, is seeded second.

133: James Kennedy (25-4) of Illinois is the top seed. … Senior Mack Reiter of the U is seeded fifth out of eight wrestlers seeded at every weight.

141: Kellen Russell (26-5) of Michigan is the top seed. … Gophers senior Manuel Rivera is seeded sixth.

149: Brent Metcalf (30-1) of Iowa is the top seed, Joshua Churella of Michigan is seeded second, and Dustin Schlatter of the Gophers third. … Metcalf is 30-1 for the Hawkeyes, the Big Ten regular-season champions and the No. 1-rated team nationally. … Schlatter is the defending conference champion.

157: Michael Poeta (26-2) of Illinois is the top seed. … C.P. Schlatter, Dustin’s brother, is seeded fourth and is the defending conference champion.

165: Mark Perry (18-2) of Iowa is the top seed. … Tyler Safratowich of the Gophers is seeded third. … Perry is the defending champion and rated No. 1 in the nation at his weight.

174: Steve Luke (27-3) of Michigan is the top seed. … Gabe Drestch of the Gophers is the third seed.

184: Mike Pucillo (25-1) of Ohio State is the top seed. … Senior Roger Kish of the Gophers is seeded fourth.

197: Mike Tamillow (27-2) of Northwestern is the top seed. … Justin Bronson of the Gophers is seeded sixth. … Tamillow is a defending conference champion. 

Hwt: J.D. Bergman (27-1) of Ohio State is the top seed. …. Ben Berhow of the Gophers is seeded eighth.

The seeds were based on a vote of the conference’s head coaches. Four teams had two No. 1 seeds: Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Ohio State. The Buckeyes finished second in the conference behind Iowa.

Last year the Gophers had four individual champions — three are back, heavyweight Cole Konrad graduated — and ran away with the Big Ten title with 156 points. Wisconsin was second with 100.5, third was Iowa with 91, closely followed by Penn State (90.5) and Indiana (85).

How many Gophers will win Big Ten titles this year? And who will it be? Matching last year’s total of four could be difficult.

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Will Dustin Schlatter (right) wrestle against Iowa?

The Gophers, rated No. 4 in the latest national wrestling polls, face two of the three teams above them this weekend. They meet No. 1 Iowa at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the friendly confines of Williams Arena and then wrestle at No. 3 Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla., on Sunday.

Here are Friday’s probable matchups with comments:

125 pounds

Sophomore Jayson Ness, Gophers, 25-0, 17 pins (most in Division I), rated No. 1 vs. junior Charlie Falck, Iowa, 24-1, rated No. 3. Falck wrestled for Class 3A power Apple Valley in high school. … Ness is 3-0 vs. Falck in college.

133

Senior Mack Reiter, Gophers, 16-2, rated No. 5, vs. sophomore Joe Slaton, Iowa, 23-2, rated No. 3.

141

Senior Manny Rivera, Gophers, 25-2, rated No. 3,vs. sophomore Dan LeClere, Iowa, 19-6, rated No. 9

149

Junior Dustin Schlatter, Gophers, 13-1 and rated No. 2 or unrated Luke Mellmer (8-14) vs. sophomore Brent Metcalf, Iowa, 23-1 and rated No. 1

157

Senior C.P. Schlatter, Gophers, 21-2 and rated No. 7 vs. sophomore Ryan Morningstar, Iowa, 17-6, rated No. 15

165

Junior Tyler Safratowich, Gophers, 19-7 and unrated, vs. redshirt freshman Aaron Janssen, 6-4 and unrated

174

Senior Gabe Dretsch, Gophers, 21-7 and rated No. 11, vs. sophomore Jay Borschel, Iowa,22-4 and rated No. 2

184

Senior Roger Kish, Gophers, 8-3 and rated No. 5, vs. sophomore Phil Keddy, Iowa, 19-6 and rated No. 8

197

Senior Justin Bronson, Gophers, 14-12 and unrated, or sophomore Chris McPhail, 3-2 and unrated, vs. sophomore Chad Beatty, 7-7 and unrated

Hwt.

Redshirt freshman Ben Berhow, Gophers, 12-10 and unrated, or junior Yura Malamura, 10-8 and unrated, vs. senior Matt Fields, Iowa, 20-5 and rated No. 5

The Gophers expect to win this match. Looking strictly at the USA Today/InterMat/NWCA national ratings, the Gophers are favored in four matches, Iowa in four. And, at two other weights, neither has a wrestler rated in the top 20.

So this could be a pretty even match. How healthy Kish and, if he wrestles, Dustin Schlatter are could also be a big factor.What do more enlightened wrestling minds than mine think?

Sophomore Jayson Ness is rated No. 1 at 125 pounds in the USA Today/InterMat.NWCA Division I coaches’ poll after going 4-0 last weekend in the National Duals.

His biggest win was 6-4 over previously top-ranked Paul Donahue of Nebraska on Sunday. Ness is now 23-0 with 16 pins after getting one more at the National Duals.

The 16 pins are the most any Division I wrestler has this season and justfour shy of tying theschool record. Ness had been ranked third going into the National Duals. He finished fifth in the NCAA meet a year ago, but has never been rated No. 1 in his career before.

The Gophers also moved up in the team ranking from sixth to fifth after taking fourth place.

The Gophers (8-3) wrestle South Dakota State (0-3) at 2 p.m. this coming Sunday at the Sports Pavilion. Then they will have two away Big Ten meets at Michigan State on Jan. 25 and Michigan on Jan. 26 before wrestling No. 1 Iowa on Feb. 1 at Williams Arena. The Hawkeyes won the National Duals.

Ness is on quite a pace in pins, but the competition gets tougher most of the rest of the season. How many pins do you think Ness will finish the season with?

OTHERS IN RANKINGS

Senior Mack Reiter also won four matches at the National Duals and has moved up from No. 5 to No. 2 at 133 pounds.

Dustin Schlatter is No. 1 at 149.

Manuel Rivera is No. 4 at 141.

Roger Kish is No. 5 at 184.

C.P. Schlatter is No. 7 at 157.

Gabe Dretsch is No. 11 at 174.

The Gophers were the consensus No. 1 pick inall thenational preseason team ratings, but have slipped since then.

But Minnesota has the chance to reassert itself this weekend. The Gophers are in the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals on Saturday and Sunday, trying to win the tournament for the third year in a row.

In the field are 11 of the nation’s top 12 teams. Only No. 3 Oklahoma State is missing.

The Gophers are seeded fifth, behind four teams ahead of them in the national rankings.

Undefeated and No. 1-rated Penn State is the top seed. The Gophers meet West Virginia at 9 a.m. Saturday in the first round. And, if they win, could face fourth seed Central Michigan in the quarterfinals at 1 p.m. Saturday and Penn State in the semifinals at 11 a.m. Sunday.

Jayson Ness, a 125-pound sophomore for the Gophers, takes a streak of six pins in a row into the tournament. The team record is eight by Tim Hartung set in 1997.

The Gophers beat then No. 1 Oklahoma State 21-14 in the finals of this meet in 2006 and last last year upset then-No. 1 Missouri 20-14.

Minnesota has won the National Duals five times in recent years; the earlier titles came in 1998, 2001 and 2002.

The five top seeds are Penn State, Iowa, Iowa State, Central Michigan and Minnesota. Do you think the Gophers can threepeat? If not, who will win this meet to claim the No. 1 spot?

Gophers coach J Robinson talked to his wrestlers Sunday after they lost for the first time since the 2006-07 opener.

“He said keep working harder and make surethat wework on stuff we need to work on,” said Jayson Ness, the Gophers’ 125-pound sophomore.

“We lost to Hofstra last year but bounced back and had a great year,” Ness said. “I think it is going to be the same thing this year.We never want to lose, we never want to give our opponents anything. But it happened and we have to put it behind us and keep working.”

Last season the Gophers lost to Hofstra in their season opener, then reeled off 20 consecutive dual meet victories and won the NCAA title.

Is a bit strange to lose when the other team only has six takedowns? “It is,” Nesssaid. “They always talk about how they are aggressive and they attack all the time. And you saw tonight, they really did not do much.It’s frustrating for us. We have to go out there and try to open them up.

“It will take more work on our part to get in better shape to go out there and make guys open up. We have to force them to do what we want to do.”

Iowa State heavyweight Dave Zabriskie was asked after the Cyclones’ 18-13 victory over the Gophers if he wanted the match to come down to the last match, his.

“I don’t mind it,” he said. “Every guy on the team is prepared to be in that same exact spot. If it comes down to them, they are going to giveeverything they have for every second of the match.”

Zabriskie said he had no idea the Gophers planned to celebrate their NCAA Division I championship during a pregame ceremony in which they unfured a banner.

He said it brought back painful memories for a brief period– “I thought I was over that but.”

Iowa State finished second behind the Gophers. Minnesota had 98 points, the Cyclones 88.5.

COACH’S BROTHER HELPS

Sophomore Cyler Sanderson, whose brother Cael is the second-year head coach at Iowa State, got a big 3-2 win at 157 pounds over C.P. Schlatter.

“I knew I was going to win with just an escape, I knew I had to get a takedown,” Cyler said, “so that was the goal. Wish I would have taken more shots in the match, wish I would have gone a little bit more. But it worked out all right.”

Cyler wore a white mask to protect his nose, which was broken several weeks ago in a match. This was his first match wearing it.

“I was a little nervous going into the match with wearing the mask because this is really the first time I have had to wear it,” Cyler said. “But I felt great. It didn’t really effect me. He didn’t really pull on it too much or anything. So kind of grateful to him for being a good sport.

“[My nose] is still pretty sore and stuff.”

Cyler called Sunday’s result a big win. “It feels great to come in here and beat Minnesota,” he said. “But we are looking for the national championship and that is what we are training for. We just have to focus on getting better and better.”

The Gophers’ pregame celebration of the NCAA title did not bother Cyler. “They deserve it,” he said. “They won the national championship last year. Hopefully, we will win the national championship this year.”

So what tips did Cael, 28, give his younger brother before his match? “He just saidgo out there and wrestle,” Cyler said. “You can’t worry too much about the team. Just worry about doing your best and wrestle hard. So that’s what I tried to do.

“I was happy to win and I knew we still had to win some more tough matches. Any points help.”

CAEL STILL DRAWS THE MASSES

After the Gophers lost, the wrestlers dutifully went to long tables in one corridor of Williams Arena and signed autographs for the 4,000-plus fans.

Back in the main area, another person also had a lot line of fans wanting to autography or a picture of him with their kids. And Iowa State coach Cael Sanderson obliged.

Sanderson, 28, is not too far removed from his legendary career. He was 159-0 in college at Iowa State, won four NCAA titles, and a gold medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics. He looks like he could still be dangerous on the mat.

And he seems to have a good perspective on wrestling as a coach.

“No matter where we are ranked” in the next poll, Sanderson said, “it really does not mean anything. We need to continue to make progress. Win or lose, we are going back to the drawing board on Monday and go to work and try to get better.

“It’s good for the program. The kids did a great job. They wrestled well.”

Iowa State won despite only having six takedowns in the match.

“That’s not the way we like to win obvously,” Cael said. “They are real strong defensively. Our young guys, we got to keep working in those areas. Plus finding a way to win is what’s important and they did that.”

Cael said getting the most out of each of his wrestlers wasimportant.”[The Gophers] are so good in so many ways,” he said. “Even minimizing some of the points they scored was big.

“If you would have asked them before [the match], they would have expected to get a few bonus points. And we obviously thought we were going to get a few bonus points in some of the matches.”

But except for Jayson Ness’ four-point major decision at 125 pounds for the Gophers, the other nine decisions were all three points. Minnesota came close to a major in two matches; Dustin Sclatter won by seven points at 149 and Gabe Dretsch by seven at 174. An eight-point margin at least is needed for a major and one bonus point.

Cael said his heavyweight, Dave Zabriskie, did a great job. “For it to come down to, the pressure, whatever, he does a great job with everything,” Cael said. “He is real — he showed a lot of poise and he has a big heart.”

Cael said he was not bothered by the Gophers unfurling their championship banner before the match. Were his wrestlers? “I hope not,” he said. “Ifit did, their minds are in the wrong place. Minnesota won the title. And congratulations. It’s pretty awesome.”

Cael Sanderson. Mention his name and everybody involved with wrestling knows his name.

He is the second-year Iowa State coach and his Cyclones wrestle the Gophers at 2 p.m. Sunday Williams Arena. Fortunately for the U, Sanderson, 28,is not still wrestling.

He won thegold medal at 185 poundsfor the U.S. in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Before that he won four NCAA individual titles, three at 184, the fourth at 197,at Iowa State.His career record was 159-0. Four times he was named the top wrestler of the NCAA meet, three times he won the Dan Hodge award, given to the nation’s best college wrestler.

He can coach a little, too. His Cyclones were NCAA runners-up to the Gophers his first year. They won the Big 12 title, the school’s first conference championship since 1987.

And he calls sports reporters back.Sohe is OKwith me.

“It’s a big match we are looking forward to,” Sanderson said of Sunday’s dual with the Gophers. “It’s an opportunity to see them and it will show our strengths and weaknesses.

“Most of the weights will be pretty competitive. Their obviously are some key matches.”

Which ones? Sanderson skipped that question.

“This potentially is the last time we will face them — except for the national duals — until the national championships. So itis an important match for my team.”

What about the No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup between Jake Varner and Roger Kish? “Varner is a guy who works hard every day trying to get better,” Sanderson said. “Kish is a great athlete. They are a great matchup. Varner is a lot stronger and has better technique than a year ago.”

Sanderson also is excited the dual meet is on the Big Ten Network. “It’s a great dual meet,” he said. “It will be hard for anyone who starts watching the meet toturn it off. It’s great for wrestling.”

There seems to be a lot of mutual respect between the twostrong programs. Iowa State assistant Tim Hartung wrestled at Minnesota. And Sanderson said he trained a little bit at theuniversity with J Robinson.

“[Robinson] was always good to me,”Sanderson said. “I like their coaching staff. They’ve put themselves” at the top.

A spot Sanderson and his Cycloneswant. ISU had the nation’s top recruiting class in 2005 and those wrestlers, after red-shirting their first year,are now sophomoresand six or seven could wrestle against the U.

What do you think of Sanderson? Is he the greatest college wrestler ever?