University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, March 8
Evanston, IL
10:00 AM
University of Minnesota
vs
Big Ten Championships - Session I
Players Mentioned
157 lbs.
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157 lbs.
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125 lbs.
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184 lbs.
/ Wrestling
125 lbs.
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149 lbs.
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184 lbs.
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174 lbs.
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285 lbs.
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141 lbs.
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133 lbs.
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174 lbs.
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Photo by: Bjorn Franke
Postseason Kicks Off with Big Ten Championships
3/7/2025 9:55:00 AM | Wrestling
MINNEAPOLIS - No. 6 Minnesota starts its postseason journey this weekend at the 2025 Big Ten Championships in Evanston, Ill. The two-day, four-session event will take place at Welsh-Ryan Arena starting Saturday, March 8. Linear and streaming coverage will be provided by Big Ten Network and B1G+, respectively, while live results will be available on TrackWrestling.com.
The Maroon & Gold are coming off an impressive 10-2 regular season with the only losses coming to Iowa and Nebraska, who are ranked second and fifth, respectively, in the latest InterMat Dual Poll.
The Golden Gophers are seeking the program's 13th Big Ten title, which would match Indiana for third-most in conference history. Iowa has won 37 championships, followed by Illinois with 17. Minnesota ranks third with 97 individual titles, behind Iowa (210) and Michigan (128). The Golden Gophers broke a 40-year title drought with its 1999 championship, and they added titles in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, and 2007.
Minnesota is making its ninth appearance at the Big Ten Championships under head coach Brandon Eggum. In the team's previous eight trips, they've finished eighth or better each year, including a fourth-place finish in 2019. Under Eggum, the Gophers have won four individual Big Ten titles, three at heavyweight by Gable Steveson from 2020-22 and one at 184 pounds last year by Isaiah Salazar.
The Gophers have two wrestlers with a combined four Big Ten titles on the roster with Gable Steveson and Isaiah Salazar. Steveson won heavyweight crowns from 2020-22, while Salazar won the 184-pound crown last year. Steveson is looking to become the first Big Ten heavyweight to win four titles. He would be the 19th four-time B1G champion overall and the second Gopher to do so along with Verne Gagne (1944, '47-49). Salazar is looking to join Eggum as the only Gophers with multiple titles at 184.
Led by Steveson, the top seed at heavyweight, Minnesota heads into the championships with nine wrestlers seeded within the conference allocations determined by the NCAA last week, including seven Gophers who slot in within the top five in their weight class. More pre-seed nuggets can be found on Page 3 of the notes.
Ten Gopher wrestlers are ranked in at least three of the major polls with eight appearing in all five: Intermat, Win Magazine, FloWrestling, OpenMat and the Coaches Poll. Steveson (285) is ranked No. 1 in all five polls, while Max McEnelly (184) is top-four in each. Vance VomBaur (141), Tommy Askey (157) and Salazar (197) are all in the top-9 in each ranking.
Within the InterMat rankings, Minnesota is one of eight programs in the nation to have wrestlers ranked at all 10 weights, along with Nebraska, Northern Iowa, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Rutgers and Virginia Tech. In addition, the Gophers are joined by Penn State (10), Nebraska (7), Oklahoma State (7) and Iowa (6) as the only schools to have at least five wrestlers ranked in the top eight.
Steveson has been nothing but dominant this season. He's 11-0 with eight wins by tech fall, two by pin and one by major decision. His Match Power rating of 5.091 team points per match ranks second in the Big Ten and third in the country, according to WrestleStat.com. More on Steveson can be found on Page 3 of the notes.
Minnesota Championship Roster (Intermat ranking)
125: No. 9 seed Cooper Flynn (No. 16)
133: No. 10 seed Tyler Wells (No. 18)
141: No. 4 seed Vance VomBaur (No. 8)
149: No. 10 seed Drew Roberts (No. 30)
157: No. 5 seed Tommy Askey (No. 8)
165: No. 5 seed Andrew Sparks (No. 11)
174: No. 5 seed Clayton Whiting (No. 23)
184: No. 2 seed Max McEnelly (No. 4)
197: No. 4 seed Isaiah Salazar (No. 8)
285: No. 1 seed Gable Steveson (No. 1)
Competition Schedule
Saturday, March 8
10:00 a.m. CT - Session I (First Round/Quarterfinals/Wrestlebacks) – BTN
5:00 p.m. CT - Session II (Consolation Matches/Wrestlebacks) – B1G+
7:00 p.m. CT - Session II (Semifinals) - BTN
Sunday, March 9
12:00 p.m. CT - Session III (Consolation Semifinals/7th Place Matches) – B1G+
4:30 p.m. CT - Session IV (1st/3rd/5th Place Matches) - BTN
PRE-SEED NUGGETS
GOPHERS VS. THE FIELD
CONFERENCE ALLOCATIONS
This season, the NCAA has awarded the Big Ten conference with 87 automatic qualifier spots across 10 weight classes for the NCAA Championships, which is the most of any conference in Division-I wrestling. Once the conference tournament has concluded and all qualifying bids have been assigned, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will consider all non-qualified competitors for the remaining 43 at-large bids.Â
Weight-by-weight allocations for the Big Ten for this weekend's conference tournament are as follows:
125 - 9
133 - 10
141 - 7
149 - 8
157 - 8
165 - 9
174 - 8
184 - 8
197 - 10
HWT - 10
LAST GOPHER BIG CHAMPION/FINALIST BY WEIGHT
125: Jayson Ness (2007) / Patrick McKee (2024)
133: Chris Dardanes (2015) / Aaron Nagao (2023)
141: Mike Thorn (2010) / Mike Thorn (2011)
149: Dylan Ness (2013) / Michael Blockhus (2023)
157: C.P. Schlatter (2007) / Dylan Ness (2015)
165: Jacob Volkmann (2004) / Matt Nagel (2006)
174: N/A / Logan Storley (2012)
184: Isaiah Salazar (2024) / Isaiah Salazar (2024)
197: Damion Hahn (2004) / Brett Pfarr (2017)
HWT: Gable Steveson (2022) / Gable Steveson (2022)
The Maroon & Gold are coming off an impressive 10-2 regular season with the only losses coming to Iowa and Nebraska, who are ranked second and fifth, respectively, in the latest InterMat Dual Poll.
The Golden Gophers are seeking the program's 13th Big Ten title, which would match Indiana for third-most in conference history. Iowa has won 37 championships, followed by Illinois with 17. Minnesota ranks third with 97 individual titles, behind Iowa (210) and Michigan (128). The Golden Gophers broke a 40-year title drought with its 1999 championship, and they added titles in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, and 2007.
Minnesota is making its ninth appearance at the Big Ten Championships under head coach Brandon Eggum. In the team's previous eight trips, they've finished eighth or better each year, including a fourth-place finish in 2019. Under Eggum, the Gophers have won four individual Big Ten titles, three at heavyweight by Gable Steveson from 2020-22 and one at 184 pounds last year by Isaiah Salazar.
The Gophers have two wrestlers with a combined four Big Ten titles on the roster with Gable Steveson and Isaiah Salazar. Steveson won heavyweight crowns from 2020-22, while Salazar won the 184-pound crown last year. Steveson is looking to become the first Big Ten heavyweight to win four titles. He would be the 19th four-time B1G champion overall and the second Gopher to do so along with Verne Gagne (1944, '47-49). Salazar is looking to join Eggum as the only Gophers with multiple titles at 184.
Led by Steveson, the top seed at heavyweight, Minnesota heads into the championships with nine wrestlers seeded within the conference allocations determined by the NCAA last week, including seven Gophers who slot in within the top five in their weight class. More pre-seed nuggets can be found on Page 3 of the notes.
Ten Gopher wrestlers are ranked in at least three of the major polls with eight appearing in all five: Intermat, Win Magazine, FloWrestling, OpenMat and the Coaches Poll. Steveson (285) is ranked No. 1 in all five polls, while Max McEnelly (184) is top-four in each. Vance VomBaur (141), Tommy Askey (157) and Salazar (197) are all in the top-9 in each ranking.
Within the InterMat rankings, Minnesota is one of eight programs in the nation to have wrestlers ranked at all 10 weights, along with Nebraska, Northern Iowa, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Rutgers and Virginia Tech. In addition, the Gophers are joined by Penn State (10), Nebraska (7), Oklahoma State (7) and Iowa (6) as the only schools to have at least five wrestlers ranked in the top eight.
Steveson has been nothing but dominant this season. He's 11-0 with eight wins by tech fall, two by pin and one by major decision. His Match Power rating of 5.091 team points per match ranks second in the Big Ten and third in the country, according to WrestleStat.com. More on Steveson can be found on Page 3 of the notes.
Minnesota Championship Roster (Intermat ranking)
125: No. 9 seed Cooper Flynn (No. 16)
133: No. 10 seed Tyler Wells (No. 18)
141: No. 4 seed Vance VomBaur (No. 8)
149: No. 10 seed Drew Roberts (No. 30)
157: No. 5 seed Tommy Askey (No. 8)
165: No. 5 seed Andrew Sparks (No. 11)
174: No. 5 seed Clayton Whiting (No. 23)
184: No. 2 seed Max McEnelly (No. 4)
197: No. 4 seed Isaiah Salazar (No. 8)
285: No. 1 seed Gable Steveson (No. 1)
Competition Schedule
Saturday, March 8
10:00 a.m. CT - Session I (First Round/Quarterfinals/Wrestlebacks) – BTN
5:00 p.m. CT - Session II (Consolation Matches/Wrestlebacks) – B1G+
7:00 p.m. CT - Session II (Semifinals) - BTN
Sunday, March 9
12:00 p.m. CT - Session III (Consolation Semifinals/7th Place Matches) – B1G+
4:30 p.m. CT - Session IV (1st/3rd/5th Place Matches) - BTN
PRE-SEED NUGGETS
At 125 pounds, Cooper Flynn is one of three Gophers making their Big Tens Championships debut after transferring in to Minnesota. Flynn, who spent the last three seasons at Virginia Tech and was a finalist last year at the ACC Championships as the No. 2 seed, is the No. 9 seed this go-around.
Tyler Wells, the No. 10 seed at 133 pounds, is making his second trip to Big Tens. He did not place last year after being seeded eighth.
Coming off an All-American campaign in 2024, Vance VomBaur is also competing at Big Tens for the second time in his career, this time as the No. 4 seed. He made his debut last year, finishing seventh as the No. 10 seed. VomBaur is the highest seeded Gopher at the weight since Tommy Thorn was No. 3 in 2017.
Like Wells, 149-pounder Drew Roberts is also seeded 10th as he makes his second appearance at the Big Ten Championships. Roberts placed ninth in 2024 after earning a No. 9 seed.
A two-time SoCon Champion while at Appalachian State, Tommy Askey will take part in his first Big Ten Championships as the No. 5 seed at 157 pounds. Askey is 6-0 lifetime in conference championships.
After spending the 2024 campaign at 174 pounds, Andrew Sparks returns to 165 pounds as he competes at Big Tens for the fourth time in his career. His No. 5 seed this year matches his personal best, also earning that seed as a freshman in 2021. Sparks' top-five seeds are the best for a Gopher at 165 pounds since Cody Yohn was also No. 5 in 2013. The No. 9 seed in both 2023 and 2024, Sparks placed sixth last year at 174 and ninth in 2023 at 165. He did not place in 2021.
Like Flynn and Askey, Clayton Whiting is also making his first appearance at Big Tens after transferring into Minnesota this year. Whiting, who will be making his conference tournament debut, was tabbed as the No. 5 seed at 174 pounds after spending the last two seasons at Missouri.
Set to compete at the Big Ten Championships for the first time in his career, Max McEnelly earned the No. 2 seed at 184 pounds. Since the current weight classes were established in 1999, McEnelly becomes the seventh Gopher freshman to earn a seed of second or better.
The reigning Big Ten champion at 184 pounds, Isaiah Salazar is the No. 4 seed at 197 pounds. The No. 4 seed is the highest for a Gopher at the weight since Brett Pfarr was the top seed in 2017. In addition to his championship last year, Salazar also placed fourth at 184 pounds in 2023 and eighth in 2022.
Gable Steveson is the No. 1 seed at heavyweight for the fourth time in his career, the first Gopher to earn that distinction. In fact, Cole Konrad (2005-07 at heavyweight) and Jayson Ness (2007-08, '10 at 133) are the only other Gophers to be a three-time No. 1 seed since 1999.
Tyler Wells, the No. 10 seed at 133 pounds, is making his second trip to Big Tens. He did not place last year after being seeded eighth.
Coming off an All-American campaign in 2024, Vance VomBaur is also competing at Big Tens for the second time in his career, this time as the No. 4 seed. He made his debut last year, finishing seventh as the No. 10 seed. VomBaur is the highest seeded Gopher at the weight since Tommy Thorn was No. 3 in 2017.
Like Wells, 149-pounder Drew Roberts is also seeded 10th as he makes his second appearance at the Big Ten Championships. Roberts placed ninth in 2024 after earning a No. 9 seed.
A two-time SoCon Champion while at Appalachian State, Tommy Askey will take part in his first Big Ten Championships as the No. 5 seed at 157 pounds. Askey is 6-0 lifetime in conference championships.
After spending the 2024 campaign at 174 pounds, Andrew Sparks returns to 165 pounds as he competes at Big Tens for the fourth time in his career. His No. 5 seed this year matches his personal best, also earning that seed as a freshman in 2021. Sparks' top-five seeds are the best for a Gopher at 165 pounds since Cody Yohn was also No. 5 in 2013. The No. 9 seed in both 2023 and 2024, Sparks placed sixth last year at 174 and ninth in 2023 at 165. He did not place in 2021.
Like Flynn and Askey, Clayton Whiting is also making his first appearance at Big Tens after transferring into Minnesota this year. Whiting, who will be making his conference tournament debut, was tabbed as the No. 5 seed at 174 pounds after spending the last two seasons at Missouri.
Set to compete at the Big Ten Championships for the first time in his career, Max McEnelly earned the No. 2 seed at 184 pounds. Since the current weight classes were established in 1999, McEnelly becomes the seventh Gopher freshman to earn a seed of second or better.
The reigning Big Ten champion at 184 pounds, Isaiah Salazar is the No. 4 seed at 197 pounds. The No. 4 seed is the highest for a Gopher at the weight since Brett Pfarr was the top seed in 2017. In addition to his championship last year, Salazar also placed fourth at 184 pounds in 2023 and eighth in 2022.
Gable Steveson is the No. 1 seed at heavyweight for the fourth time in his career, the first Gopher to earn that distinction. In fact, Cole Konrad (2005-07 at heavyweight) and Jayson Ness (2007-08, '10 at 133) are the only other Gophers to be a three-time No. 1 seed since 1999.
GOPHERS VS. THE FIELD
At 125 pounds, Cooper Flynn has gone 1-3 against the field this year. His win total and win percentage both rank seventh among the field. His three losses came to those ranked seventh or higher, while his win was over No. 8 Nicolar Rivera of Wisconsin.
Tyler Wells is also 1-3 this season against his respective field at 133 pounds. His losses came to those ranked sixth or higher, and his win was over No. 14 Nolan Wertanen of Michigan.
Vance VomBaur is 5-2 versus the 141-pound class. At the weight, his win total is third and his win percentage is fourth. His losses came to Jesse Mendez of Ohio State and Nebraska's Brock Hardy, ranked second and third, respectively. Among VomBaur's five wins include victories over No. 5 Sergio Lemley of Michigan and No. 6 Joey Olivieri of Rutgers.
At 149 pounds, Drew Roberts has gone 2-6 against the field this year.
Tommy Askey went 4-2 against those at 157 pounds. His win total is tied for third at the weight and his win percentage is fifth. His two losses are to Nebraska's Antrell Taylor and Iowa's Jacori Teemer, ranked third and fourth, respectively.
Andrew Sparks is 3-4 versus the 165-pound field with all four losses coming to those ranked between second and fourth, including a pair of losses to Michael Caliendo of Iowa.
At 174 pounds, Clayton Whiting went 5-3 during the regular season against the field. His win total and win percentage both rank fourth at the weight class. All three losses have come to those ranked second, third and fourth. His best win against the field was over No. 6 Jackson Turley of Rutgers.
Max McEnelly is one of two undefeated wrestlers against the field at 184 pounds along with Penn State's Carter Starocci. McEnelly was 8-0 against his competition, including a major decision win over No. 3 Silas Allred of Nebraska and overtime decision over No. 4 Gabe Arnold of Iowa.Â
Only two others at 197 pounds had more wins against the field this year than Isaiah Salazar's five. Salazar, who was 5-2, has a win over No. 6 seed Camden McDanel of Nebraska and 7 seed Evan Bates of Northwestern while both losses were to those currently seeded first and third.
With a 7-0 record against the field at heavyweight, Gable Steveson is one of two undefeated at the weight with Penn State's Greg Kerkvliet (6-0). Steveson pinned No. 3, Joshua Heindselman of Michigan and No. 5 Yaraslau Slavikouski of Rutgers, while scoring a major against No. 4 Nick Feldman of Ohio State and a tech fall over No. 7 Ben Kueter of Iowa.
A full history of Minnesota's wrestlers against their respective fields can be found on the final two pages of the notes.
Tyler Wells is also 1-3 this season against his respective field at 133 pounds. His losses came to those ranked sixth or higher, and his win was over No. 14 Nolan Wertanen of Michigan.
Vance VomBaur is 5-2 versus the 141-pound class. At the weight, his win total is third and his win percentage is fourth. His losses came to Jesse Mendez of Ohio State and Nebraska's Brock Hardy, ranked second and third, respectively. Among VomBaur's five wins include victories over No. 5 Sergio Lemley of Michigan and No. 6 Joey Olivieri of Rutgers.
At 149 pounds, Drew Roberts has gone 2-6 against the field this year.
Tommy Askey went 4-2 against those at 157 pounds. His win total is tied for third at the weight and his win percentage is fifth. His two losses are to Nebraska's Antrell Taylor and Iowa's Jacori Teemer, ranked third and fourth, respectively.
Andrew Sparks is 3-4 versus the 165-pound field with all four losses coming to those ranked between second and fourth, including a pair of losses to Michael Caliendo of Iowa.
At 174 pounds, Clayton Whiting went 5-3 during the regular season against the field. His win total and win percentage both rank fourth at the weight class. All three losses have come to those ranked second, third and fourth. His best win against the field was over No. 6 Jackson Turley of Rutgers.
Max McEnelly is one of two undefeated wrestlers against the field at 184 pounds along with Penn State's Carter Starocci. McEnelly was 8-0 against his competition, including a major decision win over No. 3 Silas Allred of Nebraska and overtime decision over No. 4 Gabe Arnold of Iowa.Â
Only two others at 197 pounds had more wins against the field this year than Isaiah Salazar's five. Salazar, who was 5-2, has a win over No. 6 seed Camden McDanel of Nebraska and 7 seed Evan Bates of Northwestern while both losses were to those currently seeded first and third.
With a 7-0 record against the field at heavyweight, Gable Steveson is one of two undefeated at the weight with Penn State's Greg Kerkvliet (6-0). Steveson pinned No. 3, Joshua Heindselman of Michigan and No. 5 Yaraslau Slavikouski of Rutgers, while scoring a major against No. 4 Nick Feldman of Ohio State and a tech fall over No. 7 Ben Kueter of Iowa.
A full history of Minnesota's wrestlers against their respective fields can be found on the final two pages of the notes.
CONFERENCE ALLOCATIONS
This season, the NCAA has awarded the Big Ten conference with 87 automatic qualifier spots across 10 weight classes for the NCAA Championships, which is the most of any conference in Division-I wrestling. Once the conference tournament has concluded and all qualifying bids have been assigned, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will consider all non-qualified competitors for the remaining 43 at-large bids.Â
Weight-by-weight allocations for the Big Ten for this weekend's conference tournament are as follows:
125 - 9
133 - 10
141 - 7
149 - 8
157 - 8
165 - 9
174 - 8
184 - 8
197 - 10
HWT - 10
LAST GOPHER BIG CHAMPION/FINALIST BY WEIGHT
125: Jayson Ness (2007) / Patrick McKee (2024)
133: Chris Dardanes (2015) / Aaron Nagao (2023)
141: Mike Thorn (2010) / Mike Thorn (2011)
149: Dylan Ness (2013) / Michael Blockhus (2023)
157: C.P. Schlatter (2007) / Dylan Ness (2015)
165: Jacob Volkmann (2004) / Matt Nagel (2006)
174: N/A / Logan Storley (2012)
184: Isaiah Salazar (2024) / Isaiah Salazar (2024)
197: Damion Hahn (2004) / Brett Pfarr (2017)
HWT: Gable Steveson (2022) / Gable Steveson (2022)
Gopher Wrestling Tries Gymnastics
Thursday, May 29
Steveson Advances to NCAA Title Match
Friday, March 21
Gable Steveson: NCAA Quarterfinals
Friday, March 21
Gable Steveson: NCAA Pin
Thursday, March 20