With his team trailing by a 15-11 score with three matches remaining, Bierschenk pinned Penn State's J.R. Brown in the 197-pound match to give Minnesota a 17-15 lead that it would not relinquish. The pin was Bierschenk's third of the season and improved his record in Big Ten duals to 2-0. Leading by an 8-3 score midway through the third period, Bierschenk turned what would have been a decision win – which would have cut the Gophers' deficit in the dual to 15-14 – into a pin with less than one minute remaining in the match to earn six team points for a 17-15 lead in the dual.
After a frustrating loss in his last match to Michigan State's Anthony Jones, Safratowich bounced back with a resounding 23-8 win by technical fall win in 6:33 over Shane Everett at 157 pounds. The 18th-ranked Safratowich now needs just three more victories to become the 35th wrestler in school history to amass 100 career wins.
Joe Grygelko earned the first dual meet win of his career when he bested Penn State's Colby Pisani in the 149-pound bout. A pair of takedowns in the opening period and an escape in the second helped the redshirt freshman vault to a 5-2 lead. After Pisani's escape in the final stanza cut the deficit to 5-3, Grygelko secured the win with a late takedown. Riding time helped the Greenfield, Minn. native to the final 8-3 margin.
Sophomore heavyweight Ben Berhow improved his season record to 18-6 with a 5-3 decision win over Stephan Tighe in the ninth match of the evening to spot Minnesota a 20-15 advantage. The win by Berhow proved valuable when PSU's No. 17 Brad Pataky gained a 14-7 major decision win over the Gophers' Zach Sanders in the final bout to close the final score to 20-19.
Mike Thorn's 12-5 decision victory at 141 pounds over Frank Molinaro tied the dual meet score at three points per side. The win by the eighth-ranked Thorn came after the Gophers' No. 5 Jayson Ness suffered a 4-3 defeat at the hands of the Nittany Lions' 11th-ranked Jake Strayer in the opening bout of the meet at 133 pounds.
The Gophers continue their first full weekend of Big Ten dual action on Sunday when they meet No. 5 Ohio State in Columbus. The dual between the Gophers and Buckeyes is scheduled for a 10:00 a.m. start and can be viewed live in the Gold Zone at gophersports.com.
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