Capturing individual titles for the Gophers were Manuel Rivera (141), Dustin Schlatter (149), Roger Kish (184) and Cole Konrad (Hwt). Konrad won his fourth consecutive title at the Southern Scuffle in the heavyweight division. Top-ranked nationally in his weight class, Konrad cruised through the tournament, grabbing three straight pins and a major decision. He then went on to claim the 6-2 victory over North Carolina's Spencer Nadolsky to become the first wrestler in tournament history to win four titles.
As the championship round unfolded, it looked as though the senior from Freedom, Wis., may get a chance to be the hero as he has been so many times in his career with a victory in the final match of the night. However, he never got that chance, as a pin by Missouri's Max Askren in the 197-pound final sealed the title for the Tigers, putting them ahead by 7.5 points. The maximum points Konrad could have gotten with a pin in the final was six points.
Kish's title at 184 pounds gave the Gophers reason to hope. Kish claimed his second consecutive Southern Scuffle title with a win by way of medical forfeit over No. 6 Raymond Jordan of Missouri. The victory brought Minnesota within 1.5 points of the lead before Askren's pin in the 197-pound final. Kish finished the tournament with a 5-0 record, including two pins and a tech fall.
Rivera claimed the 141-pound title with a 6-0 record. He collected bonus points in each of his first five matches, including two pins and three major decisions. Rivera defeated Alex Krom of Maryland, 7-6, in the championship match.
Top-ranked Dustin Schlatter extended his winning streak to 47 consecutive matches as he also defended his Southern Scuffle title from a year ago. He defeated No. 6 Jordan Leen of Cornell, 7-1, in the finals.
Also placing for Minnesota were Jayon Ness (125), Gabriel Dretsch (174), Jeremy Larson (165) and Tyler Safratowich (157). Ness took home third place with a 6-1 record, posting three pins and a tech fall in the tournament. His only loss came to No. 2 Troy Nickerson of Cornell in the semifinals. Dretsch won his first four matches of the tournament and ended up placing fourth with a 5-2 record. After a third round loss to No. 13 Keegan Mueller on Friday, Larson fought his way through wrestle-backs and defeated No. 17 Jason Kiessling of Maryland, 5-2, in the seventh-place match. Safratowich pinned three opponents on his way to eighth place in the tournament.
The Gophers will return home to host Arizona State on Tuesday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m., in a dual meet at the Sports Pavilion. It will be their final tune-up before the National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa on Jan. 13-14.
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