The last time Waconia's Max McEnelly and Stillwater's Ryder Rogotzke wrestled each other was two years ago for the 195-pound championship at the Class 3A state meet.
On Friday in Columbus, Ohio, the pair wrestled to decide the outcome of a Big Ten dual between the Gophers and Ohio State. McEnelly's 15-5 major decision at 184 pounds lifted the No. 7 Gophers to a 20-17 victory over the No. 4 Buckeyes.
It was the fifth consecutive dual victory for the Gophers (9-1, 5-1 Big Ten). The loss was just the second of the season for the Buckeyes (12-2, 4-2).
In 2023, McEnelly defeated Rogotzke 3-2 to win his fourth state title. That bout was at 195 pounds after Rogotzke moved up from 182 during the season to challenge McEnelly.
McEnelly, now ranked No. 4 at 184 pounds, improved to 16-0 this season. Rogotzke, who started the season at 197 pounds, fell to 5-5.
The Gophers grabbed a 7-0 lead with a decision by Isaiah Salazer at 197 and a major decision by heavyweight Gable Steveson.
The 13-4 victory for Steveson, an Olympic gold medalist ranked No. 1 at heavyweight, was his 61st in a row — the third-longest run in program history behind Dustin Schlatter's 65 and Cole Konrad's 76. Both of those streaks took place from 2005-07.
This season, Steveson is 9-0 with six technical falls and two pins. He is 94-2 in his Gophers career, including 57-0 overall in dual meets and 42-0 in the Big Ten.
The Buckeyes won the next four matches to open a 14-7 lead.
Tommy Askey, ranked No. 8 at 157, got the Gophers within 14-11 with a 11-2 major decision victory over Brandon Cannon. Andrew Sparks, ranked No. 11 at 165, followed with an 18-1 technical fall victory to put the Gophers ahead 16-14. It was the ninth tech fall for Sparks (18-4) this season.
The Buckeyes regained the lead 17-16 when Carson Kharchla, ranked No. 5 at 174, earned a 7-1 decision over Clayton Whiting.
The Gophers will wrestle Purdue at Maturi Pavilion on Sunday.
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