Gophers Dominate Bison Open

(  Fargo - Gophersports.com )   Gopher Wrestling started its 2014-15 campaign by claiming

seven titles at the Bison Open in Fargo, N.D. on Saturday. At least one Gopher competed in the title match at all 10 weight classes.

Four Gophers successfully defended titles from last year: Chris Dardanes (who won at 141 last year but took the 133 crown this year), Nick Dardanes (who won at 149 last year but captured the 141 title this year), Dylan Ness at 157 and Logan Storley at 174.

In two cases, those title defenses stretched beyond last year. Storley's title at 174 was his third-straight at the Bison Open. For Nick Dardanes, the 141 championship caps a four-year run as a champion at the Bison Open (141 champ in `11 and '12, 149 in '13 and 141 again this year).

At 125, 149 and 165, the final match pitted Gopher against Gopher. In the 125 final,Sam Brancale defeated Skyler Petry 4-1. At 149, Jake Short defeated Seth Lange, 7-3, while Nick Wanzek defeated Brandon Kingsley, 4-3, at 165. With their victories, Brancale and Short improved upon second-place finishes at last year's Bison Open, while Wanzek outperformed his third-place finish last year.

A more detailed listing of the results from this year's Bison Open is included below.

 This was the 44th annual Bison Open, which is hosted by North Dakota State and regularly features teams from throughout Minnesota and the Dakotas.

Next up for the Gophers are a pair of duals on the road next Saturday (Nov. 15). The first will be at the Air Force Academy at 11:00 a.m. CT. The second will be at Wyoming at 6:30 p.m. CT. Be sure to follow Gopher Wrestling on Facebook and Twitter and regularly check back here at GopherSports.com to keep up with the latest news around the program.

125 Final Results

1st Place - Sam Brancale (Minnesota)
2nd Place - Skyler Petry (Minnesota)
3rd Place - Ethan Lizak (Minnesota)

4th Place - Jordan Kingsley (Minnesota)
5th Place - Isaac Andrade (South Dakota State)
6th Place - Jordan Bremer (Minnesota)

Brancale won by decision over Petry. (Dec 4-1)

133 Final Results

1st Place - Chris Dardanes (Minnesota)
2nd Place - Brance Simms (South Dakota State)
3rd Place - Justin Scherkenbach (North Dakota State)
4th Place - Ben Gillette (South Dakota State)
5th Place - Ben Morgan (Minnesota)
6th Place - Blake Bosch (MSU-Moorhead)

C. Dardanes won by major decision over Simms. (Maj 15-5)

141 Final Results

1st Place - Nick Dardanes (Minnesota)
2nd Place - Mitchell Bengston (North Dakota State)
3rd Place - Tommy Thorn (Minnesota)
4th Place - Conrad Rangell (Minnesota)
5th Place - Lucas Zilverberg (South Dakota State)
6th Place - Jacoby Bergeron (Concordia-Moorhead)

N. Dardanes won by decision over Bengston. (Dec 8-4)

149 Final Results

1st Place - Jake Short (Minnesota)
2nd Place - Seth Lange (Minnesota)
3rd Place - Colin Holler (South Dakota State)
4th Place - Clayton Ream (North Dakota State)
5th Place - Joe Umlauf (North Dakota State)
6th Place - Chase Austvold (Concordia-Moorhead)

Short won by decision over Lange. (Dec 7-3)

157 Final Results

1st Place - Dylan Ness (Minnesota)
2nd Place - Cody Pack (South Dakota State)
3rd Place - Zane Zeman (Minnesota)
4th Place - Jack Bass (Minnesota)
5th Place - Dylan Urbach (Minnesota)
6th Place - Ben Cousins (Concordia-Moorhead)

Ness won by decision over Pack. (Dec 6-3)

165 Final Results

1st Place - Nick Wanzek (Minnesota)
2nd Place - Brandon Kingsley (Minnesota)
3rd Place - Darius Wright (Minnesota)
4th Place - Pat Smith (Minnesota)
5th Place - Matthew Gray (North Dakota State)
6th Place - Anthony Caputo (North Dakota State)

Wanzek won by decision over B. Kingsley. (Dec 4-3)

174 Final Results

1st Place - Logan Storley (Minnesota)
2nd Place - Ben Schwery (South Dakota State)
3rd Place - David Kocer (South Dakota State)
4th Place - Michael Joseph (MSU-Moorhead)
5th Place - John Nething Ii (South Dakota State)
6th Place - Kade Johnson (North Dakota State)

Storley won by fall over Schwery. (Fall 3:24)

184 Final Results

1st Place - Hayden Zillmer (North Dakota State)
2nd Place - Brett Pfarr (Minnesota)
3rd Place - Brandon Larson (Concordia-Moorhead)
4th Place - Will Balow (Minnesota)
5th Place - Brady Ayers (South Dakota State)
6th Place - Trey Habel (South Dakota State)

Zillmer won in sudden victory - 1 over Pfarr. (SV-1 6-4)

197 Final Results

1st Place - Nathan Rotert (South Dakota State)
2nd Place - Scott Schiller (Minnesota)
3rd Place - Thomas Petersen (North Dakota State)
4th Place - John Devito (Univ. of Mary)
5th Place - Nate Rose (Minnesota)
6th Place - Delson Saintal (Concordia-Moorhead)

Rotert won by injury default over Schiller. (Inj. 2:26)

Heavyweight Final Results

1st Place - J.J. Everard (South Dakota State)
2nd Place - Michael Kroells (Minnesota)
3rd Place - Justice Davis (Concordia-Moorhead)
4th Place - Mitchell Eull (Minot State)
5th Place - Nader Abdullatif (MSU-Moorhead)
6th Place - Alex Macki (South Dakota State)

Everard won by decision over Kroells. (Dec 6-5)