#2 St. Cloud State Topples #6 St. John’s, 24-12
Collegeville, Minn. – In a battle of two of the nation’s top collegiate wrestling programs at the NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III levels, St. Cloud State University (ranked #2 in the latest NCAA Division II poll) scored a convincing 24-12 win over at St. John’s University (ranked #6 in the latest NCAA Division III poll) on Friday, Jan. 14, in Collegeville, Minn.
The victory moves SCSU’s record to 11-1 on the season, as the Huskies will complete their weekend on the road with a 7 p.m. match at NCAA Division III rival Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Jan. 15.
The Huskies set the tempo early in the match with a big 20-5 technical fall victory by Zach Stewart over SJU’s Scott Padrnos at 125-pounds. At 133-pounds, SJU’s Chad Henle posted a 5-2 win over SCSU’s Eric Ellington as the Huskies maintained a 5-3 lead in the team scores.
At 141-pounds, #7 Gabe Suarez added extra points for SCSU with a 16-7 major decision win over SJU’s Chris Sandy to push the score to 9-3 in favor of SCSU. In a hotly contested match at 149-pounds, #4 ranked Minga Batsukh of SJU gained an 11-8 win over SCSU’s Jacob D. Horn.
The Huskies got back on the winning track at 157-pounds thanks to a 7-2 win by #6 John Sundgren over SJU’s Drew Larson. At 165-pounds, #2 Tad Merritt to dominate this year with a 12-3 major decision win over SJU’s Chris Stevermer. The victory gave SCSU a 16-6 edge in the match.
At 174-pounds, #4 Matt Pfarr of SJU scored a 6-5 thriller against SCSU’s #6 Shamus O’Grady. SJU’s #7 Dustin Baxter also earned a win at 184-pounds with a 7-2 decision over SCSU’s #5 Mic Berg – which made the tally 16-12.
The final outcome was iced at 197-pounds as crafty veteran Lucas Munkelwitz rolled to a 10-3 win for the Huskies against SJU’s Tony Willaert. The win by Munkelwitz pushed SCSU’s team total to 19-12, which pushed the match out of SJU’s reach.
Just to make things certain, SCSU’s #1 Jacob Kahnke topped the evening with a 23-8 technical fall over SJU’s John Linn at 285-pounds.
SCSU fans should plan now to attend the next home match at Halenbeck Hall. The Huskies will host Minnesota State Moorhead at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 30. Tickets for the match may be purchased at the gate. All SCSU students with a valid student ID card will be admitted FREE to all regular season home matches in 2010-11. So come on down to Halenbeck Hall and catch some great NCAA wrestling action.
The complete results of the match are listed below:
St. Cloud State 24, Saint John’s 12
125 – Zach Stewart (SCSU) tech. fall Scott Padrnos (SJU), 20-5 [0-5]
133 – Chad Henle (SJU) dec. Eric Ellington (SCSU), 5-2 [3-5]
141 – Gabe Suarez (No. 7, SCSU) major dec. Chris Sandy (SJU), 16-7 [3-9]
149 – Minga Batsukh (No. 4, SJU) dec. Jacob D. Horn (SCSU), 11-8 [6-9]
157 – John Sundgren (No. 6, SCSU) dec. Drew Larson (SJU), 7-2 [6-12]
165 – #2 Tad Merritt (No. 2, SCSU) maj. dec. Chris Stevermer (SJU) 12-3
174 – Matt Pfarr (No. 4, SJU) dec. Shamus O’Grady (No. 6, SCSU), 6-5 [9-16]
184 – Dustin Baxter (No. 7, SJU) dec. Mic Berg (No. 5, SCSU), 7-2 [12-16]
197 – Luke Munkelwitz (SCSU) dec. Tony Willaert (No. 10, SJU), 10-3 [12-19]
Hwt – Jake Kahnke (No. 1, SCSU) tech. fall John Linn (SJU), 23-8 [12-24]