Behind the two national titles, Minnesota passed Oklahoma to finish in second place with 84 points. Oklahoma State claimed its fourth straight NCAA Championship with a final total of 122.5 points. The Sooners finished in third with 80.5, followed by Iowa with 70 and Cornell with 62.0.
Nearly a year to the day when Mocco defeated Konrad in overtime for the 2005 NCAA title, Konrad turned the tables. Tied at one in the second tiebreaker, Konrad rode Mocco the entire 30-second period. Konrad started down in the next tiebreaker and earned the escape to take a 3-2 lead. With time winding down and Mocco needing a takedown, Konrad put the match away for good on a takedown with 10 seconds to go. His 5-2 win was his fourth straight victory over Mocco this season. Mocco defeated Konrad three times last year.
Konrad capped off the best season in school history as he finished 41-0 on the year. He joins Marty Morgan (39-0, 1991) and Tim Hartung (39-0, 1999) as the only Golden Gophers to finish a season unbeaten. A three-time All-American, Konrad moved into 11th place all-time with a 120-13 career record. He is on pace to challenge the school record for wins, currently held by Ed Giese (1983-86) with 159. Konrad also joins Brock Lesnar, Verne Gagne and Leonard Levy as Minnesota heavyweight national champions.
Schlatter finished the best freshman season in school history with his second win of the year over Eustice. Schlatter took the lead for good halfway through the first period on his takedown near the edge of the mat. Following a scoreless second period, Schlatter increased the lead to 3-0 with an escape to start the third. He held off Eustice in the final two minutes and was awarded a bonus point for his 1:15 advantage in riding time.
"He (Eustice) is a banger," Schlatter said. "I was just trying to get a takedown early, ride him hard and keep my head straight. In the back of my mind I had the goal of being a national champion. I don't know how many people would've been believed me if I told them. I definitely thought I could do it."
Schlatter finished with a final record of 42-1, the fourth-highest win total in school history. He finished the year on a 30-match winning streak, the seventh-longest in school history. Schlatter joins Konrad as the ninth and 10th Golden Gophers to win a Big Ten Championship and NCAA Championship in the same season.
Konrad and Schlatter became just the second duo in school history to win national titles in the same season. They join Luke Becker and Jared Lawrence who accomplished the feat in 2002. Minnesota has now won a total of 18 individual titles, including eight in the last nine years.
At 184 pounds, Kish and Webster traded escapes in the second and third periods. Nearly midway through the final period, Kish got in a leg, but Webster countered and scored the takedown to take a 3-1 lead. Kish escaped to make it 3-2, but was unable to generate any offense against Webster. He finished national runner-up following the 3-2 decision.
The Golden Gophers finished off one of their best seasons in school history. Minnesota recorded its 29th top-10 finish at the NCAA Championships, including its 10th straight under head coach J Robinson. The Golden Gophers finished in the top three at nationals for the eighth time in the last 10 years.
"We're disappointed in our finish because we came here to win a national championship," head coach J Robinson. "If you look at it from where we were last year, if I told our fans we would have two national champions, three finalists, a 20-1 record and two wins over Oklahoma State, I'm sure they would take it. From where we started at the beginning of the year, it's a pretty amazing story."
Minnesota will lose just one senior in the offseason. Senior All-American Matt Nagel closed out his career with a 100-60 record and three trips to the NCAA Tournament. Minnesota will return four All-Americans and nine starters from a team that finished 20-1 during the dual meet season and won the Big Ten Championship.
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