COLUMBUS, OHIO – Three Gophers wrestlers advanced to championship matches and Minnesota is third in the team race following Saturday's two sessions of the Big Ten championships.
Top-seeded 133-pounder Chris Dardanes, second-seeded 157-pounder Dylan Ness and fourth-seeded 184-pounder Brett Pfarr will wrestle for individual championships Sunday.
Three other Gophers — Nick Dardanes at 141, Logan Storley at 174 and Scott Schiller at 197 — lost their semifinal matches but still could finish as high as third. In addition, heavyweight Michael Kroells is alive in the consolation semifinals, while 125-pounder Ethan Lizak will wrestle for seventh.
Ohio State edged ahead of top-ranked Iowa to take the team lead. The Buckeyes have 102.5 points, and the Hawkeyes are second at 101. Each has four finalists. The Gophers are in third at 86.5.
Chris Dardanes earned his spot in the final with a 6-2 overtime victory over Iowa's Cody Clark. Dardanes (22-0) will face Wisconsin's Ryan Taylor in the final.
Nick Dardanes fell 5-1 to Iowa's Josh Dziewa in the semifinals, but Ness responded with a 6-5 victory over Nebraska's James Green on a takedown with 15 seconds left. Ness will face Illinois' unbeaten Isaiah Martinez in the final.
Storley lost a tight, 2-1 decision to Nebraska's Robert Kokesh in the semifinals, with Kokesh advancing on a third-period escape and riding time.
Pfarr beat Penn State's Matt McCutcheon 4-2 and will meet Michigan's Domenic Abounader for the title.
Schiller fell 5-4 to Penn State's Morgan McIntosh, who won on a late escape.
Staff, News Services