Top-ranked heavyweight Cole Konrad and No. 4 Jayson Ness both picked up pins to lead the Gophers to victory. With his win, Konrad extended his winning streak to 66 consecutive matches and moved within four of the school record for pins in a career. Ness earned bonus points for the 10th time during his current 14-match winning streak.
Roger Kish improved to 28-1 on the season by scoring a career-high 24 points to earn a tech fall at 184 pounds, and second-ranked Manuel Rivera remained unbeaten at 34-0 with a come-from-behind victory at 141.
In the marquee match of the night at 157 pounds, sixth-ranked C.P. Schlatter fell to No. 5 Craig Henning after three controversial stall warning penalties in the third period.
The dual meet started at 174 pounds, where No. 14 Gabriel Dretsch defeated Matt Maciag, 4-1. Dretsch scored a takedown midway through the first period, which was all he would need to get the decision. Dretsch got a quick escape after starting down in the second and rode Maciag out in the third to get the bonus point for riding time.
Kish followed with a dominating performance over Justin Peterson at 184, earning a four-point tech fall with a 24-9 victory. Kish went after Peterson from the opening whistle, scoring five takedowns in the first period to build a 10-4 lead. Much of the same followed, as Kish continually took Peterson down and allowed him to escape as he went after bonus points. With the bonus point for riding time, Kish earned the tech fall with the 15-point advantage, but he did not get the back points necessary to put five team points on the board for the Gophers.
Wisconsin cut Minnesota's lead to 7-3 with a decision at 197, as No. 13 Dallas Herbst defeated Yura Malamura, 9-2. Malamura wrestled a tough match, but Herbst was able to take him down to his back as the first period came to a close to take a 4-0 lead. Leading 4-1 entering the third, Herbst went in search of bonus points in the final stanza, but Malamura was able to hold him off to keep the damage to a minimum.
Back-to-back pins by Konrad and Ness gave the Gophers a commanding 19-3 lead. In his match against Wisconsin redshirt freshman Jordan Hein, Konrad nearly got the pin early in the first period when he rolled Hein over with a high arm bar, but the Badger wrestler was able to scramble out of it. It only delayed the inevitable, however, as Konrad later used the same move to put Hein on his back and get the fall at 1:41.
Following intermission, Ness scored an early takedown just 10 seconds into his match against Drew Hammen and rode him the remainder of the period. After starting down in the second, Ness got a quick reversal and then used his signature high half series to roll Hammen to his back and get the pin at 3:47.
No. 9 Mack Reiter put Minnesota up 22-3 with a convincing 9-3 decision over No. 14 Zach Tannelli at 133. Reiter avoided danger in the first period when Tannelli attempted a quick shot after a restart and countered by scoring the first takedown of the match moments later. Reiter built his lead with three back points in the second period and a takedown midway through the third, adding the bonus point for riding time.
At 141, Rivera faced a 3-0 deficit early in the second period against No. 15 Kyle Ruschell but cut the deficit to 3-2 before the start of the third. From there, Rivera wore Ruschell down and scored three takedowns in an entertaining final period to earn the 8-6 decision.
Minnesota forfeited at 149 pounds, setting up the most anticipated match-up of the night between Schlatter and Henning. The outcome was taken out of the wrestlers hands, however, as Schlatter was called for three controversial stall warnings in the final period. Facing a 1-0 deficit heading into the third, Henning was awarded a point after Schlatter's second stall warning of the match early in the period. Schlatter responded to tie the score at two apiece with a takedown with a minute remaining but was called for stalling two more times after dropping to Henning's ankle on two proceeding restarts, giving Henning the 5-3 decision.
In the final match of the night, Tyler Safratowich remained unbeaten in Big Ten dual meets with his fifth straight win since earning the starting spot at 165. Saftratowich countered a shot by Wisconsin's Jake Donar to get a takedown and three-point near fall near the end of the first period to take a 5-0 lead, which proved to be the difference in his 6-3 decision, which made the final score in the dual 28-12.
Minnesota will look to wrap up Head Coach J Robinson's fifth 20-win season and his fourth unbeaten Big Ten dual meet record when they travel to Iowa City on Sunday to face the 10th-ranked Hawkeyes at 6 p.m. Live results will be available on Gophersports.com via Hawkeyesports.com.
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