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    Minnesota hands out awards, Thorn named MOW

    MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota wrestling program held its annual banquet over the weekend with over 200 guests of the program on hand to honor the 2010-11 squad as well as individual honorees, who were presented with their awards at the event.

    Minnesota's Mike Thorn celebrates after beating Iowa's Montell Marion in the 2011 Big Ten semifinals at 141 pounds (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)
    Two-time All-American Mike Thorn earned this year's Most Outstanding Wrestler Award after compiling a 39-5 mark that ranks 11th on Minnesota's single season wins list. The redshirt senior closed out his career this season with a third-place finish at the NCAA finish, ending his college career with 111 wins -- the 24th most in Minnesota history. Thorn also earned the 2011 Most Falls Award after tallying 14 falls over the 2010-11 season, bringing the 141-pounder's career pin total to 37 -- the eighth most pins in Gopher wrestling history.

    Three-time All-American Zach Sanders took home the honor of Minnesota's Most Valuable Wrestler after placing fifth at the NCAA tournament and posting a 34-6 record in 2010-11. The redshirt junior already sits 35th on Minnesota's career wins list with 102.

    Redshirt Freshmen Kevin Steinhaus and Tony Nelson shared this year's Most Outstanding Freshman Award after both earned their first All-America accolades in 2011. Steinhaus also earned the team's Most Exciting Wrestler Award with a 34-12 record -- tied for the second most wins on the team with Sanders behind only Thorn.

    Additionally, two-time All-American Sonny Yohn earned the Fraser Dean Most Courageous Wrestler Award, David Thorn earned the team's Most Dedicated Wrestler Award and Danny Zilverberg took home the Chris Berglin Most Improved Wrestler Award. Scott Glasser, Ben Berhow and Brent Eidenschink all split the Minnesota Integrity Award in 2011 -- the first year the award was handed out. Eidenschink also earned the Upperclassmen Academic Award while Randy Hanson was honored with the Freshman Academic Award.

    2010-11 Minnesota Wrestling Accomplishments

  • Minnesota was one of four programs at the 2011 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships to boast a tournament-high five All-Americans.
  • Redshirt senior Mike Thorn (141) paced the Gophers with a third-place finish at the NCAA championships. The St. Michael, Minn. native earned his second All-America honor after finishing seventh in 2010.
  • Zach Sanders (125) finished fifth at the national tournament, earning the redshirt junior his third All-America honor. Redshirt junior Sonny Yohn (197) finished seventh for the second All-America accolade of his career.
  • Kevin Steinhaus (184, 8th) and Tony Nelson (HWT, 7th) both earned their first All-America honors as redshirt freshmen.
  • Head Coach J Robinson celebrated his 25th year at Minnesota in 2010-11. In the Robinson era, Minnesota has captured three NCAA team titles, 12 individual national titles, 102 total All-America honors, six conference championships and 42 individual Big Ten titles. Robinson enters the 2011-12 season with a 374-127-4 (.745) career record.
  • Five Gophers topped the 30-win mark in 2010-11. Mike Thorn's 39-5 mark paced Minnesota and tied the redshirt senior for 11th on Minnesota's single season wins list. Joining Thorn above the 30-win platueau were Sanders (34), Steinhaus (34), Nelson (33), and Scott Glasser (31).
  • Mike Thorn leaves Minnesota as one of best finishers in school history. His 37 career pins are the eighth most in program history while his 111 career wins (111-44 overall record), tie him for 24th all-time at Minnesota with Brett Colombini.
  • Scott Glasser (174) and Ben Berhow (HWT) also ended their college careers as two of the top 50 wrestlers in Gophers history. Glasser's 100 career wins tie for 36th on Minnesota's all-time list with Matt Nagel while Berhow's 78 wins rank 47th along with Brandon Paulson and Brad Gibson.
  • The Gophers ended the dual meet season 15-4-1 overall and 6-1-1 in the Big Ten. Minnesota was ranked No. 5 in the final NWCA/USA Today Division I Coaches Poll.
  • Minnesota went 7-4-1 against nationally ranked teams in 2010-11. All four losses came against teams ranked fourth or higher.
  • The Gophers tied for second with Penn State in the 2010-11 Big Ten Dual Season standings with a 6-1-1 record. Meanwhile, Minnesota finished third at the Big Ten Championships with 109.5 points behind Penn State (139.0) and Iowa (138.0).
  • The Gophers led the conference with all 10 wrestlers earning seeds in the Big Ten championship. Mike Thorn, Kevin Steinhaus and Tony Nelson all paced Minnesota with runner-up finishes at the conference championships while Zach Sanders finished third and Cody Yohn (165) finished fourth. Both Scott Glasser and Sonny Yohn finished fifth in their weight brackets while Danny Zilverberg (149) finished sixth and David Thorn (133) finished seventh in their first appearance at the Big Ten Championships. Matt Mincey (157) rounded out the Gophers contingency at the conference championships.
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