News - Page 2 of 3

Sanders makes strides as a coach while still pursuing his own dreams

Zach Sanders, a four-time NCAA all American for the Gophers, and former graduate assistant, stepped into a new role last fall when he became volunteer assistant coach for the Gopher wrestling program. This season the Gophers surpassed a lot of expectations, qualifying nine for the NCAAs and advancing two athletes to the finals. In addition to coaching for the Gophers, Sanders is training full-time as a member of the Minnesota Storm. He plans to compete next in the U.S. Open National Championships in Las Vegas, NV, April 27-29. We caught up with Sanders to ask how it’s been for him to pursue his own goals on the mat while coaching for the Gophers. We also asked him about Ethan Lizak, […]

Zillmer ranked in the world for second straight month

Minneapolis, MN — United World Wrestling, the international governing body for Olympic wrestling, recognized Minnesota Storm 98 kg Greco athlete, Hayden Zillmer for the second month in a row in their latest world rankings. Since joining the Storm full-time this fall – after finishing an impressive NCAA career at North Dakota State University – Zillmer has already produced an impressive international resume. Zillmer started the season with a silver medal finish at the New York AC Bill Farrell International in November. He followed that performance with runner-up finishes both at the Herman Kare International in Finland and the Dave Schultz Memorial International in Colorado Springs. Most recently, he competed in the Grand Prix Zagreb Open in Croatia where he finished […]

Pat Smith discusses studying abroad and training in Sweden for three months on the Guillotine Grapevine Podcast

Minnesota Storm Greco-Roman athlete Pat Smith is back in the U.S. after three months studying abroad in Sweden. The U.S. Open champion is gearing up for the U.S. World Team Trials and looking to make his first World Team. But since winning the U.S. Open back in December, Smith decided to study in Sweden while working on his Master’s degree at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. On Episode 27, Smith opens up his doors to talk about the trip to Sweden, the prep for Vegas, the pain of 2016 and of course, the monumental trip to Uzbekistan for the 2014 World Championships. He’ll also break out the relationship between him and two-time World medalist Andy Bisek.

Tony Nelson included in UWW's latest world rankings

Minneapolis, MN — United World Wrestling, the international governing body for Olympic wrestling, recognized Minnesota Storm heavyweight, Tony Nelson this week in their latest world rankings. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who have followed Tony’s career to see his name included among the world’s best freestyle wrestlers. As a Gopher, he compiled one of the best careers in school history. Now, the two-time NCAA National Champion, three-time finalist, and four-time NCAA all-American is making waves on the world stage. Tony captured his second gold medal of the season competing in Ukraine last month. He also came away with a gold medal in the Bill Farrell International earlier in the year. In light of Tony’s goals for this […]

Storm athletes set to compete in the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix

Szombathely, Hungary – Three members of the Minnesota Storm will compete this week in the prestigious Hungarian Grand Prix in Szombathely, Hungary. The United States Greco team has been in Tata, Hungary for the past several days, training with a number of European national teams. This trip has earned a regular place in the U.S. Greco Roman calendar. The quality of the training camp that precedes the competition adds a lot of value to the tour for our US athletes. Rau (@Raustler84) tweeted a picture of the Storm teammates overlooking the city of Budapest earlier this week. (L-R, Stanghill, Allen, and Rau.) Joe Rau leads the way for the Storm heading into the competition this weekend. The 2016 U.S. Olympic […]

Malcolm Allen wins the 2017 Dave Schultz Memorial International

Colorado Springs, CO – Malcolm Allen won three matches on Thursday at the Dave Schultz Memorial tournament to win his first international competition on the senior level. It was a big win for Allen, who has shown tremendous improvement since joining the Minnesota Storm late last year. Allen defeated Luciano De Rio of Argentina 9-2 in first match of the day. In the semifinals, he downed another international opponent in Japan’s Arata Sonoda. In the finals, Allen defeated veteran U.S. Greco Roman wrestler, Pete Gounaridis, 4-1 to win the Dave Schultz Memorial. In an interview after the event, Allen explained that upon completing his collegiate career at Minnesota State in Mankato, he decided he wanted to keep wrestling. He joined […]

Storm blows into Vegas and returns home with another Greco-Roman championship

Las Vegas, Nevada – When it comes to Greco-Roman wrestling and the Minnesota Storm, it’s not always strength in numbers. One of the nation’s premier international clubs, the Storm relies on its quality to bring home hardware and at the U.S. Open Championships on December 17-18 at the Westgate Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Storm did just that. Pat Smith claimed his first U.S. Open championship after finishing second on four different occasions, while Hayden Zillmer finished with a silver medal. Jayson Ness, Barrett Stanghill and Malcolm Allen finished with bronze medals to lead the Storm to the Division II national team championship. Smith’s championship came at 71kg where he defeated Anthonie Linares of the New York […]

Minnesota Freestylers Going after Greco National Titles

Something often said, especially amongst wrestlers in the Minnesota wrestling community. Growing up in Minnesota, it is common for the top middle school and high school wrestlers to wrestle all styles. The success of the Minnesota Storm senior level program is an extension of the opportunities that exist for youth wrestlers to compete in freestyle and Greco Roman wrestling throughout the state. Years of instruction have led to a tradition of excellence in international competition for Minnesota’s best wrestlers. Many of whom continue to give back to the younger generations, providing them with high-level instruction and training. The “Minnesota gut” has become synonymous with the Minnesota Storm. It has become a trademark of Minnesota, being implemented not only as a […]

Nelson leads the way at the Bill Farrell International

New York City, New York With the 2016 Rio Olympic Games a few months in the past, athletes for the Minnesota Storm have begun to take aim at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020. At the beginning of this new quadrennial, the objective of winning in Tokyo may seem like a distant goal. There will be a lot of tournaments over the next four years that will draw much of their focus and attention. For many of the athletes on the roster, this won’t be their first quadrennial of international competition. They understand the short-term and long-term objectives that lie ahead and they have perspective enough to appreciate that Tokyo isn’t so far down the road. The Bill Farrell […]

Minnesota Storm advance four to the finals of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials

Iowa City, IA — The Minnesota Storm advanced four athletes to the finals of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials this weekend in Iowa City, Iowa. Both Andy Bisek (above) and Joe Rau were victorious in the finals, effectively extending the Minnesota Training Center’s record streak of representing the United States in every Olympics since 1968. Jake Clark (85 kg/187 lbs) and Pat Smith (66 kg/145 lbs) also advanced to the finals at their respective weights. Bisek (75 kg/165 lbs) was the only Greco Roman athlete to enter the Olympic Team Trials with a bye to the finals. It was an advantage that he had earned by finishing with medals in both the 2014 and 2015 World Championships. His opponent, Geordan […]