The nationally-ranked SJU wrestling team returns to action this Thursday, Feb. 11, at No. 8 (NCAA Division II) St. Cloud State. The dual is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Halenbeck Hall in St. Cloud. – Live Results | Watch Live
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Eight of Saint John’s 14 wrestlers placed as the Johnnies finished fourth out of 13 teams at the Wis.-Eau Claire Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 6. Augsburg won the tournament with 221 points, followed by Wis.-La Crosse (149.5), Wis.-Parkside (126), SJU (109) and Wis.-Oshkosh (93). The Johnnies managed to finish fourth despite not having an entrant at two weights (125, 165) and not having starters in three of the other weights. Juniors Minga Batsukh (141; Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia/St. Benedict’s Prep, N.J.), John Vaith (157; Hastings, Minn.) and Tony Willaert (285; North Mankato, Minn./Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial) all claimed second place. Batsukh, ranked No. 2 nationally, cruised thru the first three rounds with two technical falls and a pin before defeating Augsburg’s Cody Hansen 5-4 in the semifinals. He injury defaulted to the Auggies’ Jafari Vanier in the championship match. Vaith collected four wins of his own before falling to Wis.-La Crosse’s Ryan Farwell by a score of 2-0 in the championship bout. Willaert, a traditional 197-pounder, earned pins in his first two matches at heavyweight before defeating Jamestown’s (N.D.) Willie Hernandez 9-5 in the semifinals. He lost to Augsburg’s Andrew Witzel, ranked No. 7 nationally, 1-0 in the championship match.
NEW RANKINGS: Saint John’s stayed at No. 9 in the latest Brute-Adidas/National Wrestling Coaches’ Association (NWCA) Division III team rankings released Feb. 9. In addition to the team rankings, four Johnnies were ranked individually: Batsukh, No. 2 at 141 pounds (9-2 record); sophomore Matt Pfarr (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson), No. 5 at 174 pounds (11-5 record); senior Mogi Baatar (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia/St. Benedict’s Prep, N.J.), No. 6 at 133 pounds (17-7 record); and junior Matt Baarson (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park), No. 6 at 165 pounds (20-2).
A LOOK AT THE HUSKIES: The St. Cloud State wrestling team, ranked No. 9 at the NCAA Division II level, improved to 12-6 on the season and 4-1 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) with a big 44-0 shutout at Northern State (S.D.) on Feb. 6. The victory was SCSU's third consecutive dual match victory. At Aberdeen, SCSU's Trent Herold posted a forfeit win at 125-pounds and then teammate Shane McQuade posted a 20-11 major decision over NSU's Jacob Butrous. Gabe Suarez also earned a major decision for the Huskies at 141-pounds and Jake Horn posted a 7-1 win at 149-pounds. No. 8 John Sundgren added a Husky pin at 157-pounds over NSU's Ryan Larsen, and Joe Andersen scored a 4-2 victory for SCSU at 165-pounds. SCSU's Shamus O'Grady was a pinfall winner at 174-pounds, and Ted Saatzer picked up a forfeit win for SCSU at 184-pounds. To complete the sweep, No. 6 Lucas Munkelwitz won a 6-2 decision at 197-pounds and No. 6 Jacob Kahnke won 3-1 for SCSU at 285-pounds.
LAST YEAR’S DUAL: St. Cloud State redshirt-freshman Luke Munkelwitz recorded a takedown in the first overtime to defeat Willaert 6-4 and give the No. 12 Huskies (NCAA Division II) a 17-16 come-from-behind win over the No. 17 Johnnies (NCAA Division III) on Jan. 16, 2009, in Collegeville. SJU opened the dual with a 6-0 lead courtesy of two wins from sophomores Cody Socher (Delano, Minn.) at heavyweight (6-1 over Erik Rogness) and Chad Henle (Spicer, Minn./New London-Spicer) at 125 (4-0 over Pat LeVasseur). The Huskies answered with a decision from Josh Williams at 133 (3-0 over Baatar) and a technical fall from Gabe Suarez at 141 (19-4 over Jon Shellenberger) to take an 8-6 lead. SJU was without sophomore Minga Batsukh (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia/St. Benedict's Prep, N.J.), ranked No. 5 in the Jan. 7 Division III poll, at 141 due to injury. The lead didn’t last long, however. Vaith recorded a 10-2 major decision over SCSU’s Jacob Roberts at 149 and Baarson tallied the first of SJU’s two upsets on the night to take a 13-8 lead. Baarson, defeated the Huskies’ John Sundgren, ranked No. 5 in Division II, 10-4. SCSU retaliated with two wins of its own to regain the lead, 14-13. Tad Merritt, No. 8 in Division II, and Derek Skala each earned wins at 165 (12-6 over Matt Schrupp) and 174 (9-2 over Grant Eustice), respectively. Junior Dustin Baxter (Fairbanks, Alaska/West Valley) scored a takedown with 11 seconds remaining in the match to edge SCSU’s Brad Padgett (ranked No. 3 in Division II) 3-2 and regain the lead for the Johnnies, 16-14, heading into the dual’s final match at 197.