The nationally-ranked SJU wrestling team hosts the annual North Country Open this Saturday, Jan. 30. The meet is scheduled for 9 a.m. at the Donald McNeely Spectrum in Collegeville.
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Then No. 11 Saint John’s fought back from an early 9-4 deficit with wins in the remaining seven matches to defeat No. 20 Wis.-Stevens Point 30-9 on Jan. 25. The Pointers’ Ben Engelland, ranked No. 2 nationally at 184 pounds, opened the dual with a pin in 1:48 to give the hosts an early 6-0 lead. Junior Tony Willaert (North Mankato, Minn./Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial) cut the deficit to 6-4 with a 15-4 major decision at 197 pounds, before sophomore Cody Socher (Delano, Minn.) lost a hard-nose 2-1 decision in triple overtime. Sophomore Scott Padrnos (Brainerd, Minn.) set the tone for a proper comeback with a pin in 1:15 at 125 pounds to give SJU (10-7 dual record) its first lead of the dual. Senior Mogi Baatar (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia/St. Benedict’s Prep, N.J.) earned his 15th victory of the season with a 5-2 decision at 133 pounds, while junior Minga Batsukh (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia/St. Benedict’s Prep, N.J.) improved to 5-1 with a rare four-point technical fall at 141 pounds. Batsukh tallied 26 points in the match, none of which were near fall. He missed the school record for takedowns in a match by two. Junior Drew Larson (Willmar, Minn.) picked up a 5-3 win, followed by a 12-3 major decision from freshman Chris Stevermer (Savage, Minn./Prior Lake) at 157 pounds. In what was projected to be the match of the night, junior Matt Baarson (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park) tallied a 4-1 win over UWSP’s Jordan Schulte (17-4 record) at 165 pounds. Baarson improved his record to 15-2 with the win. Junior Dustin Raygor (St. Croix Falls, Wis.) then ended the dual with a 7-4 decision at 174 pounds.
THE LATEST RANKINGS: Saint John’s moved up to No. 9 the latest Brute-Adidas National Wrestling Coaches’ Association (NWCA) Division III team rankings released Tuesday, Jan. 26. Other teams ranked from the NCAA Great Lakes Region include Augsburg (No. 1), Concordia-Moorhead (No. 7), North Central (Ill.; No. 10) and Elmhurst (Ill.; 22). In addition to the team rankings, four Johnnies were ranked individually: Batsukh, No. 2 at 141 pounds (5-1 record); Baatar, No. 5 at 133 pounds (15-5 record); sophomore Matt Pfarr (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson), No. 6 at 174 pounds (11-5 record); and Baarson, No. 10 at 165 pounds (15-2). Baarson, Baatar and Batsukh all earned wins in SJU's 30-9 win over then-No. 20 Wis.-Stevens Point on Jan. 25. Pfarr posted an 8-5 overtime victory over No. 3 Zach Molitor of Augsburg in his last match on Jan. 14.
WHO WILL BE THERE: Over 200 wrestlers from 17 different schools, including SJU, are expected to compete at this year’s North Country Open. Other schools include Augsburg, Augustana (S.D.), Concordia-Moorhead, Dickinson State (N.D.), Minnesota, MSU-Mankato, MSU-Moorhead, North Dakota State, Northern State (S.D.), Ridgewater, St. Cloud State, Southwest Minnesota State, Waldorf (Iowa), Wartburg (Iowa), Wis.-Stevens Point and York (Neb.).