Thorn earns Big Ten Wrestler of the Week honors

Sophomore Mike Thorn has burst out of the gates in 2008 for the University of Minnesota wrestling team.
Individual titles in the 141-pound bracket at the Bison Open and last weekend’s Kaufman-Brand Open have Thorn off to a 9-0 start; for his performance in Omaha, he was honored Tuesday as the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week.
Thorn redshirted during the 2007-2008 season but has asserted his dominance at 141 so far this year. His championship at the Kaufman-Brand came via a 5-3 decision over Tennessee-Chattanooga’s fourth-ranked Cody Cleveland.
Thorn is not the only Gophers wrestler with a perfect record, however. Two-time All-American Jayson Ness stands at 6-0 and is ranked second in the country at 133 in the most recent USA Today/Intermat/NWCA poll. The junior’s record excludes a 7-5 exhibition lost to Illinois’ Jimmy Kennedy NWCA All-Star Classic, which took place Monday night in Columbus, Ohio.
Thorn, Ness and the Gophers return to action this Saturday in Rochester at the Northern Quad. They will dual Northern Colorado, North Dakota State and Portland State throughout the day. The meet is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.