Minnesota had two unranked wrestlers pick up victories against ranked opponents, but the upsets weren’t enough for the team to earn a dual victory in Stillwater, Okla., on Sunday. No. 23 Minnesota lost to No. 3 Oklahoma State 20-17.
“I think we made some progress,” head coach J Robinson said. “I think we wrestled pretty [well]. We got a chance to wrestle against one of the top-five teams in the country.
Every match we had you saw some progress. That’s the thing I’m most concerned with right now.”
No. 9 Tommy Thorn of Minnesota wrestled No. 1 Dean Heil of Oklahoma State in the third match at 141 pounds. Heil earned the decision over Thorn 7-3 to give Oklahoma State a 6-4 lead.
Redshirt sophomore Jake Short wrestled in his first match for the Gophers on Sunday after an injury. Short went up against No. 8 Anthony Collica at 149 pounds. The first period was a stalemate at 0-0. The match was tied going into the third period. Collica was injured in the third, and Short recorded his second escape to take the match 2-1.
Short’s victory put Minnesota ahead 7-6.
“I wish I could’ve beat him worse, but that’s how wrestling goes sometimes,” Short said. “Keep going from what we did and move forward.”
Redshirt junior Brandon Kingsley wrestled No. 14 Chance Marstellar at 157 pounds. The match was tied after two periods, and Kingsley scored the only point to earn a 3-2 victory over Marstellar. Minnesota increased its lead to 10-6 after the match.
“My strategy was to keep going forward, keep pushing the pace and keep him tired,” Kingsley said. “It seemed to work pretty well.”
Redshirt freshman Brandon Krone made his debut for the Gophers after replacing redshirt freshman Dylan Urbach in the starting position at 165. Krone wrestled No. 1 Alex Dieringer and lasted two periods before conceding on a technical fall. The fall put Minnesota behind 12-10.
No. 9 Michael Kroells heavyweight wrestled against Austin Schafer in the final match of the dual, needing a technical fall to tie it.
Kroells won 7-3, but his victory wasn’t enough to beat Oklahoma State. Minnesota moves to 4-4 with the loss in the dual.
“We were more focused, and guys wrestled harder this week,” Robinson said. “We’re not where we want to be, but I think that’s a positive.”
