Gophers Add Nine Recruits for 2014-15

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Under the direction of head coach J Robinson, the University of Minnesota wrestling program has announced nine additions to the 2014-15 roster. Colin Carr, Luke Destiche, Faris and Tijani Karaborni, Dalton Lunde, Joshua Mora, Dylan Urbach, Gannon Volk and Darius Wright look to improve on the Gophers successful 2013-14 season.

The nine incomers will accompany seven Gophers who were signed in November including Will Barlow, Jack Bass, Ethan Lizak, Skyler Petry, Steven Polakowski, Nathan Rose and Thomas Thorn.

A native of Washington, Ill., Colin Carr joins the Maroon and Gold after excelling as a member of the Washington High School wrestling team. Carr, an Illinois state champion at 182 pounds, finished the 2013-14 season with a 48-2 record and a state title after finishing second just a year ago. Carr has had a quick rise on the wrestling scene as he competed as a junior varsity wrestler his freshman season and was sidelined during his sophomore season due to a back injury. The accomplished wrestler has won tournament titles at the Granite City, Pleasant Valley and Geneseo tournaments before repeating championships at the Mid-Illini and regionals. After a very successful senior campaign, Carr was named the 2014 Journal Star Wrestler of the Year.

Two-time WIAA Division II 220-pound state champion, Luke Destiche, will travel to Minneapolis from Luxemburg-Casco High School in Wisconsin. Not only did Destiche repeat his state championship in 2014, he also did so with a perfect 44-0 record despite injuries that kept him fighting the entire season. Destiche is the sixth wrestler from Luxemburg-Casco to finish an undefeated season and the schools 35th individual state champion. Destiche is a three-time state place-winner who finished his high school career with 86 pins and a 157-27 high school record even after his freshman season ended early due to a broken ankle.

Monta Vista-Cupertino High School seniors and twin brothers, Tijani and Faris Karaborni, will join the Golden Gophers as walk-ons for the 2014-15 season. The brothers played football and competed with the school’s wrestling team. Faris finished in fifth place at 195 at the 2014 Western Junior Regionals. He finished first at the 2014 CA-USA Wrestling State Championships with a dominating victory by fall (1:52) over Nathan Vivanco at 195. The twin brothers helped their wrestling team to a third-place finish at the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League wrestling championships. Tijani finished second at the SCVAL Championships at 181-pounds.

Royall High School and Kendall, Wis. native Dalton Lunde joins Maroon and Gold after a nearly unblemished season that led him to a second place finish at the WIAA State Championships at 182 pounds. His season, complete with 26 pins and five major decisions, also included a second place finish at the 2014 Dominate in the Dells and top honors at the Royall Wrestling Invite, Tomah Scramble and the Hillsboro Tiger Invitational.

Joshua Mora, an Amarillio, Texas native comes to the Gophers with a strong wrestling background. Mora graduated in 2013 and was a four-time letter winner for the Tascosa High School Tigers. He was the Texas State Champion at 132 pounds in 2013. In the two years prior, Mora finished third and fourth at the state championships. He will transfer from Fort Hays State University.

The winningest wrestler in North Dakota history, Dylan Urbach, will join Maroon and Gold from Lison, North Dakota. Urbach wrapped up his prep career with an impressive 48-1 season and capped off the year with a Class B 160-pound individual state championship. He will join fellow North Dakotan Scott Schiller on the roster. His career 241 wins earned him the top spot on the North Dakota Class B career wins list. He also hold the Class B record for pins in a season with 21 in 2012 and won the 2014 Mr. Wrestler Award. In April, Urbach was the Junior 160 champion in both Freestyle and Greco at the 2014 ND State tournament.

Gannon Volk, a projected 125 pound wrestler from Apple Valley, Minn., is the lone Minnesotan to join the Minnesota roster in the late signing period. A two-time state qualifier and the 2012 MN/USA Wrestling State Freestyle and Greco champion has an extensive wrestling history in Minnesota in various weight classes. In 2014, he placed fourth at the MSHSL State Wrestling Championships at 120.

Rounding out the large 2014-15 recruiting class is River Falls, Wis. native Darius Wright. Wright finished his senior season with a 38-7 overall record earning a 5th place finish at the WIAA 2014 State Individual Wrestling Championships. He finished second at the 2014 BRC/DSC Challenge at 152 and first at the 2014 St. Croix Falls Wrestling Classic.

The Golden Gophers finished second at the 2014 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla. with seven All-Americans.

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