Senior heavyweight Cole Konrad capped off the dual with a 5-1 victory over No. 11 Aaron Anspach. With the win, Konrad now holds the record for the longest winning streak in school history at 59 matches, surpassing Tim Hartung, who set the previous record in 1999.
With the win, the Gophers improved to 12-1 on the season overall, while the Nittany Lions have dropped their first two conference dual meets and sit at 9-4 overall on the year.
Ness was forced to come from behind a couple of times against McKnight but took control of the match with a takedown 30 seconds into the second period. Ness rode McKnight the rest of the way before rolling him to his back to earn the dramatic pin with just five seconds remaining in the period and put the Gophers up 6-0. With the win, Ness improved to 25-3 on the season.
The Nittany Lions got three points back with fourth-ranked Jake Strayer's 14-7 decision over Mike Thorn, but the middle of Minnesota's lineup followed with a typically dominating performance, earning bonus points in each of the next three matches.
Manuel Rivera, who moved up to No. 2 in the rankings this week, started the rally with a 16-1 tech fall over unranked Bryan Heller. Rivera held a 4-1 lead after the first period before piling it on in the second, scoring an escape, a takedown and a pair of three-point near falls to extend his lead to 13-1. After starting down in the third, Rivera got the escape midway through the period and scored the decisive takedown with 27 seconds remaining. With the win, Rivera remained unbeaten on the season at 27-0.
Top-ranked Dustin Schlatter also kept his unblemished record intact with a 15-4 major decision over Dan Vallimont. Schlatter went to work right away in the first period, scoring a takedown just over a minute into the match. A pair of near falls gave him a 7-1 lead after one. Vallimont went on the defensive in the second period, allowing just one takedown, but Schlatter added to his lead in the third with a pair of takedowns and got the bonus point for riding time.
C.P. Schlatter, who re-entered the rankings at No. 3 this week after an impressive performance in his return last weekend at the National Duals, put the Gophers ahead 19-3 with a 14-4 major decision over Bubba Jenkins at 157. Leading just 5-3 entering the third period, Schlatter used a pair of takedowns and a two-point near fall in the third to earn the bonus points.
Jeremy Larson extended Minnesota's lead to 22-3 with a 9-5 victory over Penn State's Dave Rella at 165. Larson trailed 2-1 after the opening period but took the lead in the second with a pair of takedowns, the last one coming as the horn sounded. Rella made things interesting with a takedown 23 seconds into the third, but Larson got the escape and held on for the victory to even his dual meet record at 6-6 this season.
In a match-up between two ranked wrestlers at 174, Penn State's No. 7 James Yonushonis narrowly defeated No. 12 Gabriel Dretsch, 3-2. The match went scoreless in the first period and was tied 2-2 after the second, but after starting down in the third, Yonushonis scored the decisive point with an escape 27 seconds into the period.
Second-ranked Roger Kish put the match away for the Gophers with a pin of Philip Bomberger at 184 pounds. Kish started down in the second period and quickly scored a reversal to put Bomberger on his back, earning the fall in 3:20. With the win, Kish improved to 21-1 on the season.
True freshman Brent Eidenschink faced a tough test in third-ranked Phil Davis at 197 pounds, and the PSU wrestler put his talent and experience on display with a pin in 1:36. Davis scored a takedown 50 seconds into the match and worked Eidenchink to his back to earn the fall.
In the final match of the day, No. 11 Aaron Anspach gave Konrad a fight, but nothing was going to prevent the senior from Freedom, Wis., from leaving his mark in the record books. The bout was scoreless after the first period, but Konrad took a 3-0 lead with an escape and takedown in the second. Anspach nearly took Konrad down in the third, but the big man countered to prevent any damage and added a takedown with under 30 seconds remaining to clinch the win. With the win, Konrad took sole possession of the longest winning streak in school history and has now won 88 of his last 89 matches.
The Golden Gophers return to action next weekend by hosting a pair of dual meets at the Sports Pavilion, first with No. 15 Michigan on Friday night at 7 p.m. Purdue comes to town to face Minnesota on Sunday at 2 p.m. CSTV will air Friday night's match against the Wolverines on tape delay on Monday, Jan. 29 at 9 p.m. Sunday's match against the Boilermakers will be available live in the Gold Zone.
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