Two-time All-American Mack Reiter made his first start of the year after suffering a knee injury prior to the start of the season, and Tyler Safratowich and Jeremy Larson moved up a weight class to make their first starts at 165 and 174 pounds, respectively. Yura Malamura also made his first start since the quarterfinals of the National Duals.
Minnesota split the first four matches with the Hoosiers, with Indiana taking a 7-6 lead in the dual after a major decision at 197 pounds. It was the last victory the Hoosiers would get, however, as the Gophers proceeded to win the final six bouts of the night to run away with the dual meet victory.
The dual started at 165 pounds, where Safratowich upset 16th-ranked Max Dean. Safratowich, who knocked off then-No. 2 Brian Stith of Arizona State in his last appearance on Jan. 2, provided similar results in this one with a 10-4 decision over Dean. Safratowich handled Dean throughout, scoring five takedowns in the match while preventing the IU wrestler from generating any offense.
The Hoosiers won two of the next three bouts to take a 7-6 lead, with Trevor Perry winning a 12-7 decision over Jeremy Larson and Nathan Everhart shutting out Yura Malamura, 8-0. Sandwiched in between was Roger Kish's 23rd victory of the season, an 11-4 decision over No. 11 Marc Bennett. Kish took Bennett down and put him directly on his back late in the first period but time expired to prevent him from getting the fall. Kish expanded his lead from there, but Bennett avoided the major decision.
Two matches later, senior heavyweight Cole Konrad put Minnesota ahead for good by making quick work of Maurice Gunn. Konrad took Gunn down just five seconds into the match and then went to work to earn his quickest fall of the season in 1:12. With the win, Konrad moved within six pins of the school record for his career and extended his school-record winning streak to 62 consecutive matches.
The top of Minnesota's lineup followed with five straight wins to seal the victory for the Gophers. Fourth-ranked Jayson Ness won his sixth straight match over a ranked opponent with a 3-1 decision over No. 9 Angel Escobedo. A takedown with just under a minute remaining was all Ness would need to win his 11th straight match overall.
In his first start of the season, Reiter faced a tough test from Indiana's Andrae Hernandez but battled his way to a 4-1 victory. After two scoreless periods, Reiter got an escape and a takedown in the third to secure the victory.
Second-ranked Manuel Rivera followed with a dominating 25-10 victory over Scott Kelly at 141 pounds. Leading 9-2 after two periods, Rivera went looking for bonus points in the third. Clearly the superior wrestler, Rivera had his way with Kelly in the final stanza, scoring a total of eight takedowns in the period. His 25 points scored tied a career-high for a single match as he remained unbeaten at 30-0 on the season.
The Schlatter brothers finished the night off with a pair of decisions at 149 and 157. Top-ranked Dustin Schlatter extended his winning streak to 55 consecutive matches with a 6-2 decision over No. 18 Matt Coughlin, and C.P. posted an identical score in his win over No. 7 Brandon Becker.
The Gophers will now travel to Champaign, Ill., to face Illinois on Sunday at 1 p.m. The dual against the Illini could have major Big Ten regular season title implications, as both teams enter the meet undefeated in the conference.
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