March 16, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; Dylan Ness of the Minnesota Golden Gophers celebrates after defeating Jamal Parks of the Oklahoma State Cowboys (not pictured) during the wrestling division I championship at the Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Gophers wrestling collected a bevy of awards at the 2013 Big Ten wrestling championships on Sunday.
Tony Nelson captured heavyweight champion for the Gophers, the second of his career. Nelson topped Northwestern’s Mike McMullan in the final round by the score of 4-1.
Nelson, a redshirt junior from Cambridge, Minn., helped the Gophers claim back-to-back 2nd-place finishes in the Big Ten tournament. Penn State reigned at the top spot for the second straight year.
Redshirt sophomore Dylan Ness captured his first championship at 149lbs by pinning Nebraska’s Jake Sueflohn at the 3:27 mark.
The Gophers could have grabbed four individual titles, but Scott Schiller and Kevin Steinhaus each finished as runner-ups, both losing to wrestlers from Big Ten champion Penn State.
Coach J Robinson was named Co-Coach of the Year along with Penn State coach Cael Sanderson.
Robinson, finishing his 27th year with Minnesota, has won or shared Coach of the Year eight times – more than any other coach in conference history.
Nelson, the reigning NCAA heavyweight champion, will look to protect his crown at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa for the NCAA championships the weekend of March 21.