Penn State junior Greg Kerkvliet, a four-time Minnesota high school state champion at Simley, took second at heavyweight in the NCAA wrestling championships in Tulsa, Okla.
Ex-Simley star Greg Kerkvliet of Penn State finishes second at heavyweight at NCAA meet
Two Gophers finished in the top eight. Aaron Nagao was fifth at 133 pounds and Michael Blockhus eighth at 149.
March 19, 2023 at 5:14AM
Kerkvliet (19-3) lost 5-1 to Michigan's Mason Parris, the top seed and now 33-0, in the finals. But the Nittany Lions won the team title for the 10th time in 12 years.
Penn State finished with 137.5 points, followed by Iowa 82.5, Cornell 76.5, Ohio State 70.5 and Missouri 64.5. Minnesota was 15th as a team with 30.5 points.
Two Gophers placed in the top eight, giving them All-America status.
Freshman Aaron Nagao finished in fifth place at 133 pounds. The redshirt freshman from La Habra, Calif., beat Ohio State's Jesse Mendez 4-0 in his last match. Michael Blockhus took eighth at 149 after the redshirt senior from Cresco, Iowa, lost to Missouri's Brock Mauller 6-2.
Nagao and Blockhus were both Big Ten tournament runners-up at their weights
Gusties in D-III title game
The Gustavus women's hockey team defeated Plattsburgh State 3-2 in double overtime on Friday on Lily Mortenson's goal at 6 minutes, 41 seconds in the NCAA Division III national semifinals in Amherst, Mass.
The Gusties (26-3-0) will face host Amherst College (26-3-0) at 2 p.m. Sunday in the championship game.
Tina Press and Hailey Holland had the other goals for Gustavus. Katie McCoy made 35 saves for the win, giving her team a spot in the title game for the second year in a row. Gustavus lost 3-2 in overtime to Middlebury a year ago.
U softball win streak ends at eight
The Gophers softball team hit three homers in beating No. 22 Arizona State 4-3 in the Oklahoma State Mizuno Classic in Stillwater, Okla., for its eight victory in a row. But Minnesota then lost 6-0 to the host Cowgirls, ranked No. 2.
In the first game, Sydney Strelow's homer in the seventh inning broke a 3-all tie. Natalie DenHartog hit a two-run homer and Taylor Krapf a solo shot in the fourth inning after the Sun Devils (16-8) took a 3-0 lead.
Minnesota (19-10) trailed only 1-0 against Oklahoma State until the Cowgirls scored five runs in the fifth inning.
U baseball loses in 10th
Houston hit three consecutive doubles to take the lead in the top of the 10th inning and edge the Gophers baseball team 4-2 at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The Cougars (7-11) spoiled an outstanding outing by Gophers starter George Klassen. He gave up only one hit in a career-high 7 ⅔ innings. He struck out seven, walked two. Weber Neels hit two homers for Minnesota (3-17).
U track shines
Michael Buchanan of the Gophers won the 110-meter hurdles in 13.84 seconds in the South Florida Bulls Invitational in Tampa, Fla. His time would have been a school record except it was wind-aided.
Minnesota athletes also won several other events. Jake Kubiatowicz took first in the discus (185 feet, 2 inches) — 10th best in program history. And the 4x100 relay won in 40.06 seconds — sixth best on the school all-time list.
On the women's side, Nyalaam Jok won the high jump (5-10 ¾).
U gymnasts third in Big Ten meet
The Gophers gymnastics team finished third behind Michigan (198.000) and Michigan State (197.550) with a score of 197.250 in the Big Ten championships in Coralville, Iowa. Junior Mya Hooten of the Gophers tied for first (9.950) on floor exercise and vault (9.925)
Etc.
- Vivi Del Angel of the Gophers qualified for the championships finals in platform diving at the NCAA swimming and diving meet in Knoxville, Tenn. The freshman from Veracruz, Mexico, was in third place with a score of 317.50 points in the preliminaries.
- Kyle Kaemingk of Northwestern (St. Paul) was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches' All-District 9 first team. The senior averaged a league-high 21.6 points per game in conference play.
Two offensive linemen from Lakeville, Bryce Benhart and Riley Mahlman, are standouts for Big Ten rivals of Minnesota.
