2021 NCAA Championships | March 18-20 | Enterprise Center | St. Louis, Mo. Season Career B1G Championship Roster Class Record Pins Record Pins Finish Previous NCAA Appearances (Place) 125 No. 15 Patrick McKee Sophomore 8-5 3 25-14 8 8th First appearance / 2020 qualifier 133 No. 23 Boo Dryden Senior 7-7 1 12-12 3 8th First appearance 141 No. 28 Marcos Polanco R-Freshman 6-7 0 6-7 0 DNP First appearance 149 No. 14 Michael Blockhus Sophomore 8-6 0 30-16 0 4th First appearance / 2020 qualifier 157 No. 6 Brayton Lee Sophomore 10-3 1 35-9 2 3rd First appearance / 2020 qualifier 165 No. 24 Andrew Sparks Freshman 9-3 0 9-3 0 DNP First appearance 174 No. 24 Jake Allar Junior 7-6 2 27-13 13 7th First appearance 184 No. 17 Owen Webster Grad. Student 7-5 0 45-28 6 8th First appearance / 2020 qualifier HWT No. 1 Gable Steveson Junior 12-0 3 62-2 11 1st 2019 (3rd) / 2020 qualifier 2020-21 SCHEDULE/RESULTS FOR STARTERS Date Opponent Time/Results This Weekend Jan. 8 at #5 Nebraska *^ L, 14-22 Jan. 16 vs. Maryland * (at MSU) W, 48-0 The Golden Gophers travel to St. Louis, Mo., for the 2021 NCAA Champion- Jan. 16 at #17 Michigan State * W, 28-6 ships. Competition begins on Thursday at 10 a.m. and continues through the Jan. 22 #1 IOWA *^ L, 4-35 title matches on Saturday night at 6 p.m. The ESPN family of networks and Jan. 31 vs. #18 Purdue * (at Rutgers) W, 32-4 Jan. 31 at #17 Rutgers * W, 21-18 ESPN3 will provide coverage of all seven sessions. Feb. 5 #13 ILLINOIS * W, 25-13 Feb. 12 at #20 Wisconsin * W, 27-7 First Things First Feb. 19 NORTHWESTERN * W, 29-10 >> Nine Gophers have qualified for the 2021 NCAA Championships, the most Mar. 6 B1G Championships ^ All Day Mar. 7 B1G Championships ^ 5th Place since 2017 Mar. 18 NCAA Championships All Day >> Eight of Minnesota's nine wrestlers are participating in their first national Mar. 19 NCAA Championships All Day tournament Mar. 20 NCAA Championships All Day >> Gable Steveson is the two-time Big Ten Champion and seeded first at * Big Ten Conference dual heavyweight. He has won not lost since the 2019 semifinals (29 wins in a row) Home Duals in BOLD >> Steveson, Michael Blockhus, Brayton Lee, Patrick McKee and Owen ^ Broadcast on Big Ten Network B1G Championships (Penn State) Webster were 2020 NCAA qualifiers NCAA Championships (St. Louis, Mo.) FOLLOW THE #GOPHERS MEDIA INFORMATION /gopherwrestling Wrestling Contact John Romo Email [email protected] @gopherwrestling Cell 612-875-0076 @gopherwrestling Wrestling Contact Logan Sass Email [email protected] gophersports.com Cell 507-226-2852 MINNESOTA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE Thursday, March 18 QUICK HITTERS 10 a.m. Session I ESPNU 5 p.m. Session II ESPN2 125: Patrick McKee (Sophomore) St. Michael, Minn. > Finished eighth at Big Ten Championships Friday, March 19 > 8 of 9 regular season matches against ranked 10 a.m. Session III ESPNU opponents (5-3) 2 p.m. Session IV ESPNU > Defeated three top-six ranked wrestlers 7 p.m. Session V ESPN > 2020 NCAA qualifier > Brother, Mitch, was two-time All-American Saturday, March 20 with Gophers 10 a.m. Session VI ESPN2 > Three-time Minnesota state champion 6 p.m. Session VII ESPN 133: Boo Dryden (Senior) TEAM NOTES Haysville, Kan. Nine Qualify for NCAAs > Placed eighth at Big Ten Championships The Gophers will send nine wrestlers to the 2021 NCAA Champion- > Transferred from NE Oklahoma A&M midway ships, its highest total since 2017. Junior Gable Steveson is the lone through 2019-20 season Gopher with national tournament experience after his third-place > Finished 5-4 at 133 pounds in regular season performance in 2019. Patrick McKee, Michael Blockhus, Brayton Lee > Upset No. 15 Alex Thomsen, 9-2, of Nebraska and Owen Webster were 2020 qualifiers before the championships in season opener > 2019 NJCAA National Champion were canceled. 141: Marcos Polanco (RS Freshman) Qualifiers by School West Covina, Calif. 1. Iowa, Lehigh, Missouri 10 > At-Large selection for NCAA Championships 4. Minnesota, Navy, NC State 9 > Finished 5-4 in regular season as first-time Nebraska, Penn State starter > All 4 losses to top 13 ranked wrestlers Steveson Wins Title; Gophers Place Fifth > Wrestled just six times during redshirt season Gable Steveson's 12-4 major decision against No. 2 seed Mason in 2019-20 (2-4) Parris of Michigan sealed his second straight Big Ten heavyweight > Three-time California state qualifier title. Steveson was the first Gopher since Mack Reiter in 2005 to be named Outstanding Wrestler of the Championships. The Gophers 149: Michael Blockhus (Sophomore) finished fifth as a team. Sophomore Brayton Lee improved on his Cresco, Iowa fourth-place showing last year with a third-place finish at 157. > Seeded sixth and finished fourth at Big Tens Michael Blockhus and Jake Allar improved on their seeds with > Upset No. 12 Yahya Thomas, 3-2, of North- fourth- and seventh-place finishes, respectively. western in regular season finale > Transfer from Northern Iowa NCAA Title History > Honorable mention All-American last season Minnesota ranks sixth in NCAA history with three national at UNI titles. 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of the Gophers' first NCAA > Finished fifth at 141 pounds at the 2020 Big 12 Championships Championship team, which was the first and only program with > Three-time Iowa state champion 10 All-Americans. Minnesota added a second title in 2002 led by individual champions Jared Lawrence and Luke Becker. The Gophers 157: Brayton Lee (Sophomore) earned a third crown in 2007 led by heavyweight champion Cole Brownsburg, Ind. Konrad. > Placed third at Big Ten Championships > Two-time NCAA qualifier NCAA Titles since 2001 > Made jump from 149 to 157 this season 1. Penn State 8 > 35-9 in his Gopher career (.795) 2. Oklahoma State 4 > 2020 NWCA All-American 3t. Minnesota 3 > Finished fourth at 2020 B1G 3t. Iowa 3 Championships 5. Ohio State 1 > Three-time Indiana state champion MINNESOTA WRESTLING QUICK HITTERS Heavyweight U Gable Steveson is hoping to join the ranks of Gopher national champion 165: Andrew Sparks (Freshman) heavyweights. Leonard Levy and Verne Gagne won titles in 1941 and 1949, Costa Mesa, Calif. respectively. Since 2000, Minnesota has a nation-best three heavyweight > 9-3 at 165 pounds in first season champions in Brock Lesnar, Cole Konrad and Tony Nelson. > Suffered injury in third match of Big Ten Championships NCAA Heavyweight Champions since 2000 > At-Large NCAA qualifier Minnesota (5): Brock Lesnar, Cole Konrad (2), Tony Nelson (2) > Signed with Gophers in April without seeing campus Ohio State (5): Tommy Rowlands (2), Kyle Snyder (3) > Began wrestling five years ago NC State (2): Nick Gwiazdowski (2) > 2020 California state champion after Iowa (1): Steve Mocco upsetting Cael Valencia Iowa State (1): David Zabriskie Illinois (1): John Lockhart 174: Jake Allar (Junior) Lehigh (1): Zachery Rey Medina, Minn. Oklahoma State (1): Steve Mocco > Seeded ninth and placed seventh at Big Penn State (1): Anthony Cassar Ten Championships Missouri (1): Mark Ellis > Qualified for first NCAA Championship Northwestern (1): Dustin Fox > Pinned Dominic Solis of Maryland in 1:28 for first career dual win Big Ten Championship Heavyweight Titles since 1999 > Wrestled just three times during 2019- Minnesota 11 20 season Ohio State 5 > Two-time Minnesota state champion Iowa 4 Northwestern 2 184: Owen Webster (Grad Student) Penn State 1 Shakopee, Minn. > Finished eighth at Big Ten Champion- ships Meet Me In St. Louis > Finished year with four straight wins, This is ninth time that St. Louis has hosted the NCAA Championships since including upsets of No. 10, 15 and 7 2000. The Gophers have finished in the top 10 in seven of the eight previous ranked foes tournaments. Minnesota finished in third place behind Iowa and Iowa State in > Placed 11th at 2020 B1G Championships 2000 and runner-up behind Penn State in 2012. Brock Lesnar (2000), Damion > 2020 NCAA Qualifier Hahn (2004) and Tony Nelson (2012) have won national titles in St. Louis. > 2017 Division III All-American at Augsburg History Revisited The 2020-21 season marks the 20th anniversary of Minnesota's first NCAA HWT: Gable Steveson (Junior) Championship team. The 2001 Golden Gophers were the first and only team Apple Valley, Minn. to win a national title with 10 All-Americans. Head assistant coach Luke > Won second straight Big Ten title over Becker was a junior on the team and placed fourth at 157 pounds. He'd win a No. 2 Mason Parris of Michigan national title a year later. Head coach Brandon Eggum served as strength > 2021 Most Outstanding Wrestler of the coordinator and has been on the staff ever since. Visit GopherSports. B1G Championships com/2001 to view BTN's feature on the team. > Has won 29 matches in a row after 12-0 regular season > Had bonus points in all 12 matches Regular Season Rewind > Had second fastest pin in school history With a mix of veterans and newcomers, the Gopher wrestling team capped with 13-second fall against Maryland a successful regular season with five straight wins and 7-2 record. It was the > Added 34-second pin against No. 6 Luke team’s school record 15th straight season with a winning dual record. Gable Luffman of Illinois Steveson led the Gophers with a perfect 9-0 record, while true freshman > Two-time All-American Andrew Sparks finished with an 8-1 mark. Minnesota and Ohio State were the > 2020 Hodge Trophy finalist only league schools to compete in all nine matches.