Gophers Drop 24-13 Decision to Third-Ranked Illinois
The third-ranked University of Illinois wrestling team used seven individual wins on Sunday to hand the ninth-ranked Golden Gopher wrestling team a 24-13 loss at the Sports Pavilion in front of 1,726 fans. Minnesota dropped to 9-9 overall and 3-5 in the Big Ten Conference, while Illinois improved to 16-1-1 and 7-0-1.
The Gophers trailed in the match 15-3 before heavyweight Cole Konrad earned a 13-2 major decision over Mike Behnke of Illinois to close the gap to 15-7. Konrad scored first in the match with a takedown one minute into the first period. Konrad also scored on takedown in the second period before scoring three takedowns in the final period, in addition to, holding more than a three-minute riding time advantage. The win improved Konrad’s record to 33-2 this season and marked his 21st consecutive victory. Konrad last lost on Dec. 7 to Cain Velasquez of Arizona State.
Illinois scored its sixth win of the meet in the 125-pound match when second-ranked Kyle Ott earned a 10-6 win over seventh-ranked Bobbe Lowe of Minnesota. The win increased Illinois’ lead to 18-7 heading into the final two matches.
Gopher freshman Mack Reiter gave Minnesota a chance for victory when he pinned Illinois’ second-ranked Mark Jayne at the 2:49 mark of the first period. Jayne’s overall record this season dropped to 25-2, with his only two losses coming against Reiter. Reiter defeated Jayne 7-4 on Jan. 22 at the National Duals. For Reiter, the pin was his 13th of the season, moving him into a second-place tie on the Gopher freshman single-season pins list with Chad Erikson (1998-99). The win also ended a two-match losing streak for Reiter after winning his previous 12 matches. The six team points closed Illinois’ lead to 18-13 heading into the final match at 141 pounds.
The 141-pound match pitted Gopher Tommy Owen against Cassio Pero of Illinois. Trailing 4-1 entering the third period, Owen almost provided a Minnesota win when he was able to put Pero on his back for a brief moment. However, Pero was able to reverse Owen, resulting in a pin at 5:29 and giving Illinois the 24-13 team victory.
Sunday’s meet started with the 149-pound match, featuring Gopher sophomore Danny Williams facing 13th-ranked Anton Dietzen of Illinois. Dietzen used a pair of takedowns in the first and second periods to win the match 5″“1 to give Illinois a 3-0 lead.
In the 157-pound match, third-ranked Alex Tirapelle of Illinois built a 5-1 advantage over Gopher C.P. Schlatter at the mid-point of the second period before winning the match by an 8-3 margin. The match marked the fourth time in the past six matches Schlatter has wrestled a ranked opponent.
The 165-pound match marked the first of four matches with ranked opponents facing each other when 10th-ranked Matt Nagel of Minnesota faced 14th-ranked Donny Reynolds of Illinois. Nagel held a 1-0 advantage after the second period before falling behind 2-1 when Reynolds scored a two-point reversal with 51 seconds remaining in the third period. Nagel responded with a two-point reversal 13 seconds later to take a 3-2 lead before adding three near-fall points with one second remaining in the match. Nagel improved to 23-12 on the year while recording his fifth victory in his last six matches. The win was also the first victory for Nagel over a ranked opponent since defeating Nate Yetzer of Edinboro on Dec. 29. Yetzer was ranked sixth at the time of the match.
Gopher freshman Gabriel Dretsch faced third-ranked Pete Friedl of Illinois in the 174- pound match. Trailing 4-3 in the third period, Dretsch just missed a two-point takedown for the lead with 20 seconds remaining that resulted in Friedl recording the final two points of the match with a takedown at the 12-second mark for a 6-3 victory.
The 184-pound match pitted sixth-ranked Roger Kish of Minnesota against fourth-ranked Brian Glynn of Illinois, with Glynn earning a 5-3 overtime victory. Glynn scored the first points of the match with a two-point takedown 1:30 into the first period. Trailing 3-0 in the second period, Kish scored his first points of the match with a takedown at the 40- second mark. Kish finished the period by not allowing Glynn to escape, while Kish began the third period in the down position. Kish immediately tied the match at 3-3 with a one- point escape three seconds into the final period. Neither wrestler was able to scored in the final 1:57, sending the match to sudden-victory overtime. Glynn recorded a takedown with 36 seconds remaining in the overtime to earn the 5-3 victory.
Illinois earned its fifth win of the meet in the 197-pound class when eighth-ranked Tyrone Byrd scored an 8-3 win over Gopher freshman Matt Koz. Byrd scored the first points of the match with a takedown at the one-minute mark of the first period and added another takedown in the second period. Koz closed the margin to 5-3 with an escape to start the third period, but Byrd scored another takedown at the 1:28 mark of the period to increase his lead to 7-3. Byrd’s final point came from having more than one minute of riding time.
The Gophers return to the mat on March 5-6 when the team travels to Iowa City, Iowa, for the Big Ten Championships.
#3 ILLINOIS 24 (16-1-1, 7-0-1), #9 MINNESOTA 13 (9-9, 3-5 Big Ten)
(Meet started at 149 pounds)
Individual Results
149 “#13 Anton Dietzen (ILL) dec. Danny Williams (MN), 5-1
157 “#3 Alex Tirapelle (ILL) dec. C.P. Schlatter (MN), 8-3
165 “#10 Matt Nagel (MN) dec. #14 Donny Reynolds (ILL), 6-2
174 – #3 Pete Friedl (ILL) dec. Gabriel Dretsch (MN), 6-3
184 – #4 Brian Glynn (ILL) dec. #6 Roger Kish (MN), 5-3 SV
197 – #8 Tyrone Byrd (ILL) dec. Matt Koz (MN), 8-3
HWT – #2 Cole Konrad (MN) maj. dec. Mike Behnke (ILL), 13-2
125 – #2 Kyle Ott (IL) dec. #7 Bobbe Lowe (MN), 10-6
133 – #4 Mack Reiter (MN) pinned #3 Mark Jayne (IL), 2:49
141 “Cassio Pero (ILL) pinned #20 Tommy Owen (MN), 5:29
Wrestling Gear
