The Minnesota wrestling program is set to travel down to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for the third straight year as they once again take part in the South Beach Duals.

Over the course of two days, December 29 and 30, the Gophers will battle Duke, Cornell, Old Dominion, and Lehigh. The action kicks off on the 29th at 10 am CT between the Gophers and Lehigh before continuing that afternoon against Old Dominion. The event closes out on the penultimate day of the year at 12 pm against Duke before closing out at 2 pm against the Cornell Red.

The event will be streamed on TrackWrestling.com with all action taking place at the Fort Lauderdale Convention Center.

Former Gophers 149/157-pound starter Steve Bleise is now the volunteer assistant coach on the ODU staff. Former Gophers 149/157-pound starter Steve Bleise is now the volunteer assistant coach on the ODU staff. Bleise racked up 41 victories in his two seasons as a Maroon and Gold starter.

Gophers Probable Starters:
 125: No.19 Pat McKee (10-4) OR Jake Gliva (5-4)
133: Brent Jones (6-7)
141: No.2 Mitch McKee (16-1) OR Ben Brancale (7-4)
149: No.5 Brayton Lee (13-1)
157: Carson Brolsma (8-6) OR Ryan Thomas (4-1)
165: Bailee O’Reilly (12-5)
174: No.7 Devin Skatzka (17-3)
184: No.18 Owen Webster (12-4) OR Caden Steffen (10-4)
197: Garrett Joles (7-6)
HWT: No.2 Gable Steveson (1-0) OR Chase O’Connor (2-3)

Fans can watch the South Beach Duals live on TrackWrestling.com.

Gopher’s South Beach Duals Schedule
Dec. 29 at 10 CT: Lehigh
Dec. 29 at 12 CT: Old Dominion
Dec. 30 at 12 CT: Duke
Dec. 30 at 2 CT: Cornell

Midlands Men
 The Gophers will also have a handful of competitors in Chicago at the 57th annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championship.

Among those competing include Jakob Bergeland, Baylor Fernandes, Kasper McIntosh, Jake Allar, Hunter Ritter, and Dylan Anderson. The group will be joined by Gophers assistant coach Trevor Brandvold.

Ranked Streak
 With five ranked victories so far on the season, 149-pound Brayton Lee is tied for the team lead with four ranked victories. Even more impressive is the fact that Lee has defeated four consecutive ranked opponents dating back to the quarterfinal round of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 6 when he defeated then-No.8 Brock Zacherl of Clarion.

Consistent At the Top of the Lineup
 Through four duals this season the Gophers have employed the same eight wrestlers in the lowest eight weight classes in every competition.

The only weights the Gophers have cycled through student-athletes are at 197-pounds and heavyweight where Minnesota has started three different athletes at each weight.

Next Up
 Once the Gophers usher in the New Year the team will kick off conference competition on January 10 when they welcome the Wisconsin Badgers to Maturi Pavilion.

Action continues with a road trip to face Michigan State and Michigan the following weekend before returning home for the Ohio State Buckeyes on January 26.

Golden Gopher Wrestling Tickets

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