The Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestling program got off to a solid opening day at the 2012 NCAA Wrestling Championships in St. Louis on Thursday. The Gophers are in second place, behind the Penn St. Nittany Lions, but had a solid showing in the first two sessions of the national tournament.
The Gophers sent nine wrestlers to the national tournament and, after two rounds, eight of them remain. Zach Sanders, Chris Dardanes, Nick Dardanes, Dylan Ness, Logan Storley, Kevin Steinhaus, Sonny Yohn and and Tony Nelson all were able to pick up victories in their first two matches.
Steinhaus, the Gophers' entry in the 184-pound division, probably had the most exciting match of Day 1. We'll let Minnesota's press release explain the events that went down in his second round match:
Once again Steinhaus put Minnesota fans on the edge of their seat. The Penncok, Minn., native scored a last second takedown against Virginia's Jon Fausey. Just like in the Big Ten Championship, Steinhaus blocked a shot from his opponent and turned it into his own takedown, bringing the Scottrade Center fans to their feet. Steinhaus will square off with Cornell's Steve Bosak in the quarterfinals. Bosak beat Steinhaus by an 8-2 decision earlier in the season.
Cody Yohn, in the 165 pound bracket, is the lone wrestler out of the championship rounds as he lost a 2-1 decision in his first match and then in overtime in the consolation bracket.
For more on the Minnesota Golden Gophers, check out The Daily Gopher.