The Gophers wrestling team will take a winning streak into the Big Ten Championships after it defeated Northwestern 29-10 on Sunday at Maturi Pavilion.
The Gophers, 7-2 and ranked 12th in the nation, won their fifth dual in a row, taking eight of 10 matches from the No. 11 Wildcats. Sophomore Patrick McKee, ranked 11th, upset No. 4 Michael DeAugustino at 125 pounds with a 9-6 decision, and heavyweight Gable Steveson completed his third undefeated regular season, defeating Jack Heyob 16-1 on a technical fall.
Steveson led 8-0 after the first period with a takedown and six near-fall points en route to his 26th consecutive victory. He is 9-0 this season and 59-2 in his career, including 48-0 in the regular season.
Northwestern began the dual with a major decision by top-ranked Ryan Deakin over No. 6 Brayton Lee at 157 pounds, but the Gophers won the next six matches. Among those was true freshman Andrew Sparks improving to 8-1 with a 14-11 decision against David Ferrante at 165 pounds and true freshman Isaiah Salazar getting his first career pin, against Jack Jessen at 184 pounds.
Other Gophers winners were Jake Allar at 174, Garrett Joles at 197, Marcos Polanco at 141 and Michael Blockhus at 149.
The conference wrestling championships are scheduled for March 6-7 aT PENN sTATE.
