University of Minnesota Athletics
2023-24 Wrestling Roster
Blockhus, Michael
Michael Blockhus
- Class:
- Sixth Year
- Hometown:
- Cresco, Iowa
- High School:
- New Hampton HS
- Position:
- 157 lbs.
Bio
*Granted extra season of eligibility due to the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic*
CAREER HONORS AND AWARDS
Italics - Redshirt Season (not counted in career totals)
^ - stats recorded while at Northern Iowa
CAREER HONORS AND AWARDS
- 2023 All-American after coming in 8th at 149 pounds
- 3x Academic All-Big Ten honoree
- Winner of Verne Gagne Leadership Award at 2024 team banquet
- Named Most Improved and winner of Upperclassmen Academic Award at 2023 team banquet
- Went 2-2 at the NCAA Championships as the No. 13 seed at 157 pounds
- Did not place at Big Ten Championships; went 0-2 including an injury default
- Posted an 11-2 major decision over Luke Mechler of Wisconsin (2/16)
- Knocked off No. 20 Joey Blaze of Purdue, 6-3 (2/11)
- Pinned Illinois' Joe Roberts at the 2:27 mark (2/9)
- Earned an 8-5 decision over No. 18 Trevor Chumbley of Northwestern (2/4)
- Defeated No. 33 Michael North, 5-1, in Maryland dual (2/2)
- Posted an 18-3 tech fall over Rutgers' Al DeSantis in a dual (1/27)
- Named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week on Jan. 23 after wins over the No. 2 (Jared Franek) and No. 3 (Peyton Robb) wrestlers.
- Took down No. 3 Peyton Robb of Nebraska in a 12-6 decision (1/19)
- Upset No. 2 Jared Franek of Iowa in a 5-4 decision, handing Franek his first loss of the season (1/15)
- Recorded a 17-2 tech fall over NDSU's Landen Johnson (12/10)
- Defeated No. 11 Cael Swensen of South Dakota State in sudden victory overtime, 7-4 (11/26)
- Scored a pair of wins against Bucknell and Morgan State on East Coast road trip, including a pin against MSU
- Went 3-0 to win Bison Open at 157 pounds, scoring two wins via major decision and one by tech fall (11/11)
- Led the Gophers in dual wins (12), Big Ten wins (8), dual team points scored (47) and Big Ten dual team points scored (30)
- Tied for the team lead in Big Ten win percentage (1.000, 8-0)
- Also ranked tied for second on the team in wins over ranked opponents (8), fourth in overall win percentage (.773, 17-5) and win percentage vs. ranked opponents (.667, 8-4) and was fifth in dual winning percentage (.923, 12-1)
- Academic All-Big Ten honoree
- Winner of Verne Gagne Leadership Award at annual team banquet
- Went 21-8 during his senior season as the Gophers' starting 149-pounder
- Placed 8th at the NCAA Championships to earn first career All-America honors
- Big Ten finalist at 149 pounds, ultimately falling to Ohio State's Sammy Sasso in overtime to round out 3-1 weekend
- Earned eight victories over ranked opponents on the season.
- Went 10-4 in dual competition on the year with a 5-3 record over Big Ten opponents.
- Pinned Wisconsin's Aidan Medora to push Gophers to Border Battle win. (2/11)
- Beat Illinois' Jake Harrier by 14-4 major decision for second-straight bonus point victory. (1/28)
- Swept a B1G weekend, with wins over #31 Graham Rooks (Indiana) and Jaden Reynolds (Purdue)
- Defeated Michigan State's Peyton Omania by 8-2 decision for first B1G win of the year (1/15)
- Started the season 9-0 for best start of his career, with his first loss coming against #11 Dom Demas (Cal Poly) on Dec. 11
- Defeated #18 Victor Voinovich, 3-1, to seal upset road win over #5 Oklahoma State
- Helped clinch a comeback victory over South Dakota State with 4-1 decision over Alek Martin (11/28)
- Opened dual season with a decision win over Binghamton's Michael Zarif (11/20)
- Won the Bison Open with a 4-0 record on the weekend, including two technical falls and two pins.
- Opened the season as #17 at 149 pounds in the InterMat preseason polls
- Academic All-B1G Selection
- Named Most Improved and winner of Upperclassmen Academic Award at annual team banquet
- Went 17-15 on the season in his second season in the Gopher lineup
- NCAA qualifier at 149 pounds, going 1-2 at NCAA Championships
- Defeated 15-seed Legend Lamer by 5-1 decision in the NCAA consolations
- Placed 5th at 2022 Big Ten Championships with a 3-2 record
- Earned three victories over ranked opponents on the season
- Went 3-7 in dual competition, with a 2-6 Big Ten record
- Placed 8th at Cliff Keen Invitational with a 3-3 record on the weekend
- Went 3-1 at the UNI Open to place second
- Defeated No. 29 Zach Price by 13-7 decision for first dual meet win of the year
- Won the Bison Open with two technical falls and one pin
- Ranked 28th at 149 pounds in preseason InterMat rankings
- Academic All-Big Ten selection
- Went 9-8 in his first season in the Maroon & Gold
- NCAA qualifier at 149 pounds, finishing with a 1-2 record
- Began NCAA tournament with a 10-0 major decision over Casey Cobb (Navy)
- Fourth-place finisher at Big Ten Championships with 3-2 record
- Reached Big Ten semifinals after upsetting third-seed Griffin Parriott (Purdue)
- Earned three ranked wins of the season
- Went 5-4 in dual competition, all against Big Ten opponents
- Closed dual season with a 3-2 upset win over #12 Yahya Thomas of Northwestern
- Earned first two victories in a Gopher singlet over Michael North (Maryland) and Peyton Omania (Michigan State)
- Spent two seasons at Northern Iowa competing at 141 pounds
- Compiled a 22-10 record as a redshirt freshman for UNI
- Earned NWCA honorable mention All-America honors at 141 pounds in 2020
- Qualified for 2020 NCAA Championships, earning the 13-seed before the tournament was canceled
- Placed 5th at the Big 12 Championships
- Had a 9-3 dual meet record in 2020, with a 7-2 conference record
- Went 18-4 during his redshirt season in 2019
- Placed 4th at 2019 Midlands Championships at 141 pounds
- Won the UNI Open, Grand View Open, and Jim Koch Open as a redshirt
- 3x IHSAA State Champion
- Four-time Iowa state placewinner (1st, 2nd, 1st, 1st)
- Finished high school career with a 166-8 career record
- Won both the Greco and freestyle divisions of the 2017 Iowa/USA Junior State Championships at 138 pounds.
- Attended Crestwood and New Hampton high schools
- Was the No. 44 overall recruit in the Class of 2018
- Son of Travis and Melissa Blockhus
- Majoring in Human Resource Development B.S.
| YEAR | OVERALL W-L | DUAL W-L | BIG TEN W-L | PINS | TFs | MDs | B1G FINISH | NCAA FINISH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19^ | 18-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | --- | --- |
| 2019-20*^ | 22-10 | 9-3 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | --- | NWCA HM |
| 2020-21 | 9-8 | 5-4 | 5-4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4th | DNP |
| 2021-22 | 17-15 | 3-7 | 2-6 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 5th | DNP |
| 2022-23 | 21-8 | 10-4 | 5-3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2nd | 8th |
| 2023-24 | 17-5 | 12-1 | 7-0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | DNP | DNP |
| At Minn. | 64-36 | 30-16 | 20-13 | 7 | 10 | 9 | --- | 1x NCAA AA |
| CAREER | 86-46 | 39-19 | 20-13 | 7 | 11 | 13 | --- | 1x NCAA AA |
^ - stats recorded while at Northern Iowa
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
