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Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestling

Wrestling team of the University of Minnesota


Wrestling team of the University of Minnesota

FieldValue
nameMinnesota Golden Gophers
wrestling
logoMinnesota Golden Gophers logo.svg
logo_size200
universityUniversity of Minnesota
conferenceBig Ten Conference
conference_shortBig Ten
cityMinneapolis
stateabbMN
stateMinnesota
coachBrandon Eggum
tenure9th
arenaMaturi Pavilion
capacity5,700
nicknameGophers
total_team_national_championships3
ncaa_individual_national_championships2001, 2002, 2007
ncaa_individual_champions24 (by 18 athletes)
all_americans195 (by 100 athletes)
conference_championships94 (by 61 athletes)
conference_tournament_championships1910, 1912, 1913, 1941, 1957, 1959, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007

wrestling

The Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestling program is an intercollegiate varsity sport at the University of Minnesota. They are a member of the Big Ten Conference and NCAA. Wrestling began at Minnesota in 1910, but the first formal dual meet was not until 1921 when coach Frank Gilman led the team to a victory over Wisconsin. The Gophers have won the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships team title three times, in 2001, 2002, and 2007.

J Robinson served as head coach for the team for thirty years, leading the Golden Gophers to three national championships during his tenure, until he was fired in 2016 over his handling of a prescription drug scandal involving his wrestlers. Following Robinson's departure, three-time Golden Gopher wrestling All-American Brandon Eggum was named as head coach.

Home meets

Home meets are held in the 5,700-seat Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis. When large crowds are expected, meets are held in Williams Arena, capacity 14,321. This often happens for matches against archrivals Iowa and Oklahoma State. Several home matches each year are televised by the Big Ten Network. The school has also used Target Center in downtown Minneapolis for some matches.

Team championships

  • NCAA Division I: 2001, 2002, 2007
  • Big Ten Conference: 1910, 1912, 1913, 1941, 1957, 1959, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007

The 2001 team has two unique distinctions: All ten wrestlers in each weight class earned All-American (top eight) status and the school won the national team championship despite not having a single finalist.

NCAA individual champions

The Gophers have had eighteen NCAA individual champions. Six of those were two-time champions.

  • John Whitaker: 1937
  • Dale Hanson: 1939 (Most Valuable Wrestler)
  • Leonard Levy: 1941
  • Verne Gagne: 1948, 1949
  • Dick Mueller: 1953
  • Evan Johnson: 1976
  • Pat Neu: 1977
  • Marty Morgan: 1991
  • Tim Hartung: 1998, 1999
  • Brock Lesnar: 2000
  • Luke Becker: 2002
  • Jared Lawrence: 2002
  • Damion Hahn: 2003, 2004
  • Dustin Schlatter: 2006
  • Cole Konrad: 2006, 2007
  • Jayson Ness: 2010
  • Tony Nelson: 2012, 2013
  • Gable Steveson: 2021, 2022

Dan Hodge Trophy

Main article: Dan Hodge Trophy

  • 2010 – Jayson Ness
  • 2021 – Gable Steveson
  • 2022 – Gable Steveson

Olympians

Minnesota Golden Gophersborder=0color=white}}"Minnesota wrestlers in the OlympicsMinnesota Golden Gophersborder=0}}"YearMinnesota Golden Gophersborder=0}}"NameMinnesota Golden Gophersborder=0}}"CountryMinnesota Golden Gophersborder=0}}"StyleMinnesota Golden Gophersborder=0}}"Weight ClassMinnesota Golden Gophersborder=0}}"Place
1948 LondonVerne GagneUSAFreestyle87 kgALT
1956 MelbourneAlan RiceUSAGreco-Roman62 kgDNP
1976 MontrealGary AlexanderUSAGreco-Roman62 kgDNP
1976 MontrealJames "Evan" JohnsonUSAGreco-Roman90 kg7th
1976 MontrealDan ChandlerUSAGreco-Roman82 kgDNP
1980 MoscowDan ChandlerUSAGreco-Roman82 kgBoycott
1984 Los AngelesDan ChandlerUSAGreco-Roman82 kgDNP
1984 Los AngelesJim MartinezUSAGreco-Roman68 kgBronze
1988 SeoulEvan BernsteinISRGreco-Roman90 kgDNP
1996 AtlantaBrandon PaulsonUSAGreco-Roman52 kgSilver
1996 AtlantaGordy MorganUSAGreco-Roman74 kg9th
1996 AtlantaDavid ZunigaUSAGreco-Roman62 kg10th
2000 SydneyGarrett LowneyUSAGreco-Roman97 kgBronze
2004 AthensGarrett LowneyUSAGreco-Roman96 kg19th
2008 BeijingJake DeitchlerUSAGreco-Roman66 kg12th
2020 TokyoGable StevensonUSAFreestyle125 kgGold

Notable Minnesota wrestlers

Main article: Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestlers

  • Gary Alexander – Olympian in Greco-Roman wrestling at 1976 Summer Olympics
  • Evan Bernstein – Olympian in Greco-Roman wrestling at 1988 Summer Olympics
  • Dan Chandler – Olympian in Greco-Roman wrestling at 1976, 1980, and 1984 Summer Olympics
  • Jake Deitchler – Olympian in Greco-Roman wrestling at 2008 Summer Olympics
  • Verne Gagne – two-time NCAA Champion and Olympic freestyle wrestling alternate at 1948 Summer Olympics
  • James "Evan" Johnson – Olympian in Greco-Roman wrestling at 1976 Summer Olympics, NCAA Champion and two-time finalist
  • Cole Konrad – MMA fighter, first Bellator Heavyweight World Champion, two-time NCAA Champion and three-time finalist
  • Nik Lentz – UFC fighter
  • Brock Lesnar – UFC Heavyweight Champion, professional wrestler, NCAA Champion and two-time finalist
  • Leonard Levy – NFL player, professional wrestler, NCAA Champion
  • Garrett Lowney – Olympic bronze medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling at 2000 Summer Olympics
  • James Martinez – Olympic bronze medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling at 1984 Summer Olympics, NCAA All-American
  • Gordy Morgan – Olympian in Greco-Roman wrestling at 1996 Summer Olympics, NCAA All-American
  • Marty Morgan – NCAA Champion and three-time All-American at Minnesota
  • Brandon Paulson – Olympic silver medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling at 1996 Summer Olympics, NCAA All-American
  • Alan Rice – Olympian in Greco-Roman wrestling at 1956 Summer Olympics
  • Dustin Schlatter – NCAA Champion and three-time All-American
  • Gable Steveson – Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling at 2020 Summer Olympics, professional wrestler, NFL player, two-time NCAA Champion and three-time All-American, two-time Hodge Trophy winner
  • Jacob Volkmann – UFC fighter, three-time NCAA All-American
  • David Zuniga – Olympian in Greco-Roman wrestling at 1996 Summer Olympics

References

References

  1. (September 8, 2016). "J Robinson fired by University of Minnesota after 30 years as wrestling coach". Star Tribune.
  2. "Brandon Eggum". University of Minnesota.
  3. (March 26, 2010). "Jayson Ness Wins Hodge Trophy". University of Minnesota Athletics.
  4. (March 26, 2010). "Jayson Ness Wins Hodge Trophy". TheGuillotine.com.
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