Minnesota won the team title in Las Vegas (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)LAS VEGAS -- Winning big happens all the time in Las Vegas and for No. 1 Minnesota, a successful weekend meant not only winning the team title against a field that included 11 ranked teams, but also claiming a pair of individual titles. In the team race, the Gophers outpaced the field of 39 programs with 146 points, 26 more than second-place Ohio State and 36 more than third-place Virginia Tech. Individually, No. 2 Chris Dardanes (133) and No. 1 Dylan Ness (157) each delivered a championship performance. For both Dardanes and Ness, 5-0 weekends kept their records unblemished this season.
Eight Gophers advanced through the first day of competition at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and seven of those wrestlers placed in the top five at their weight class. In addition to those who earned individual titles, No. 1 Scott Schiller (197) finished second, No. 4 Nick Dardanes (141) claimed third, No.1 Logan Storley (174) and Michael Kroells (285) placed fourth and No. 15 Brett Pfarr (184) took fifth.
In placing as they did, the Gophers had two more top-five finishes than any other team in the field. Across the entirety of the roster, Minnesota grapplers posted a 40-14 record during the past two days, including 13 victories against ranked opponents.
This was the Gophers first team championship in their last three trips to the Cliff Keen Invitational, having most recently finished third in 2008. Minnesota last won the event in 2002 during the program's second consecutive National Championship campaign.
The Gophers will now have almost two weeks off. Minnesota returns to action against Big Ten foe Northwestern at the Sports Pavilion on Thursday, December 18 at 7 p.m. CT. That match will be televised on the Big Ten Network and will also be available online via the BTN2Go app. As always, fans can stay updated on the action by following Gopher Wrestling on Twitter as well.
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