Gophers redshirt freshman Aaron Nagao and redshirt senior Michael Blockhus — both sixth seeds — won semifinal matches at their weights on Saturday in the Big Ten championships in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Gophers wrestlers Aaron Nagao and Michael Blockhus advance to finals in Big Ten tournament
Nagao will compete for the title at 133 pounds, Blockhus at 149 on Sunday. They were both sixth seeds who will meet top seeds in the finals.
March 5, 2023 at 7:03AM
Nagao beat second seed Jesse Mendez of Ohio State 6-4 in overtime on an ankle takedown. Blockhus defeated seventh seed Graham Rooks of Indiana 6-2.
Both will face top seeds in Sunday's finals. Nagao will meet Roman Bravo-Young of Penn State. Blockhus will go against Sammy Sasso of Ohio State.
Three other Minnesota wrestlers lost in the semifinals: Patrick McKee on a technical fall at 125 pounds, Bailee O'Reilly 8-2 at 174 and Isaiah Salazar 3-2 at 184.
The Gophers were in fifth place with 73 points after two sessions, trailing Penn State (120), Iowa (105.5), Nebraska (98.5) and Ohio State (77).
Minnesota wrestlers went 8-2 in the first round, 5-3 in the quarterfinals and 2-3 in the semifinals.
Seven Gophers are still alive in the wrestlebacks, including the three who lost in the semifinals.
Jake Bergeland at 141 pounds and Michial Foy at 197 will compete in seventh-place matches Sunday, while Andrew Sparks at 165 and Garrett Joles at heavyweight are still alive in the ninth-place brackets.
The only Gopher out is Brayton Lee went 0-2 at 157 after suffering an apparent injury in his opening bout and injury defaulted out of the tournament.
U track & field opens strong
Devin Augustine and Michael Buchanan of the Gophers men's track and field team each won two events and set one program record in the Longhorn Invitational in Austin, Texas, the team's first outdoor competition this season.
Augustine won the 200-meter run (20.60 seconds, school record) and the 100 (10.26, second-best in program history). Buchanan took first in the 110 hurdles (13.84, broke mark set in 1997) and the long jump (24 feet, 11 ¼ inches, fifth-best).
Jak Urlacher won the pole vault (18-½ inch, fifth best). The sophomore from Grand Forks, N.D., had a previous best of 16-6¾. Kostas Zaltos won the hammer throw (234-2).
U gymnasts perfect twice
Senior Halle Remlinger and junior Mya Hooten had back-to-back 10s on floor exercise to lead the Gophers gymnastics team to a 197.625 to 196.825 victory over Boise State at Maturi Pavilion on Senior Night before an announced 4,157.
Minnesota's team score of 49.700 in the event was the third highest in program history.
"There were a lot of emotions tonight," Remlinger said. "I'm just so grateful to have been here the last four years and so thankful that I made the right choice, and grateful for this program."
"I got really emotional after Halle, with it being senior night and her being so close so many times," Gophers coach Jenny Hansen said. "It was an amazing routine. I know I was teary-eyed, and I saw the rest of our staff well up with tears as well. Just so proud of her.
"And for Mya to follow it up and use that energy to her advantage and deliver, just as she always does. It was pretty phenomenal."
In her final routine at the Pav, Remlinger achieved perfection for the first time in her career. Immediately after Remlinger's routine, Hooten took to the floor and stunned the crowd with another perfect 10. It was the second time in program history that the Gophers have earned two perfect 10s on the same night.
Senior Maddie Quarles of the Gophers (8-6-1) won in vault (9.950), and junior Gianna Gerdes and Hooten were part of a three-way tie for first in bars (9.900).
Gerdes was the only competitor in all-around (39.500) and her score tied a career high.
"I'm honestly still in shock, but it was just the cherry on top," Remlinger said. "For it to be the last time in the Pav and get a 10, I wouldn't have wanted it any other way."
U softball splits
The Gophers softball team lost 3-0 to No. 15 LSU and then beat host Cal State Fullerton 7-4 in 11 innings on the second day of the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif.
Sydney Berzon pitched a three-hitter for the Tigers (18-1), struck out eight and walked one.
Jacie Hambrick took the loss. She allowed all three runs, one earned, and seven hits in six innings. She struck out four, walked two.
Addison Leschber had two hits for Minnesota, including a double.
Kayla Chavez hit a three-run homer for the Gophers (10-7) in the final inning of the second game. She also had a two-run single in the sixth.
Whitecaps keep reeling
The Minnesota Whitecaps lost their sixth game in a row, falling 5-1 to the host Boston Pride in the Premier Hockey Federation. Five different players scored for the Pride (18-3-1), including former Whitecap Allie Thunstrom.
Jonna Albers scored for the Whitecaps (10-10-2) on a power play with just over three minutes left. She became the third PHF player with 100 career points with that tally. Sidney Morin had the key assist.
Jenna Brenneman had 32 saves and Chantal Burke 14 for the Whitecaps, Corinne Schroeder 33 for Boston.
Etc.
• No. 4 Mississippi, the defending NCAA baseball champion, edged the Gophers 9-7 on the second day of the Cambria College Classic at U.S. Bank Stadium to improve to 9-2. Jake Perry had a double, homer and three RBI for the Gophers (0-10) and Weber Neels hit a two-run homer as a pinch-hitter in the ninth.
• Kaiser Neverman of the Gophers broke his own school record by four-tenths of a second in winning the 200-yard butterfly (1 minute, 42.56 seconds) in the home Last Chance meet.
Maybe this is too optimistic based on one victory over a bad team, but Michael Rand is putting the Vikings up to No. 2 in his NFC North power rankings while the Packers were last. Star Tribune columnist La Velle E. Neal III has a much different order of teams.
