What’s Next: The No. 8 Minnesota State Mavericks (9-4, 5-1 NSIC) close out the regular season Thursday as they travel to St. Cloud State to take on the No. 3 ranked Huskies (18-2, 5-1 NSIC). The dual is scheduled to start at 7:00 pm and will decide who finishes second in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. No. 2 Augustana (14-1, 7-0 NSIC) wrapped up the regular season conference title last week with its win over Upper Iowa.
Scouting the Huskies: St. Cloud State enters Thursday’s dual 18-2 overall and 5-1 in NSIC action. Like the Mavericks, the Huskies lone conference loss came at the hands of No. 2 Augustana. The Huskies dropped an 18-13 decision to Augustana on January 27. St. Cloud State currently has seven individually ranked wrestlers led by the top-ranked heavyweight Jacob Kahnke (20-1). Ranked No. 2 in their respective weight classes are John Sundgren (157-lbs, 8-2) and Tad Merritt (165-lbs, 29-3). Remaining ranked Huskies include: Lucas Munkelwitz (197-lbs, 16-5), Jacob Horn (149-lbs, 15-8), Gabe Suarez (141-lbs, 20-7) and Shamus O’Grady (174-lbs, 23-6).
Inside the Series: Thursday’s dual marks the 40th meeting between the two schools as the Mavericks hold a 22-15-2 advantage in the all-time series.
Ranked Mavericks: The Mavericks currently have three individual wrestlers who are ranked in their respective weight classes. Senior Andy Forstner holds the highest ranking as he is the fourth-ranked wrestler in the 125-lb class. Also ranked for the Mavericks are junior Aaron Norgren (184-lbs) and senior Ben Becker (174-lbs) who each rank sixth in their respective weight class. Rounding out the ranked individual wrestlers is junior Pat Mahan who debuted in the rankings for the first time last week as the seventh-ranked wrestler in the 197-lb class.
Team and Individual Notes: The No. 8 Mavericks wrapped up the home portion of their schedule last week as they improved to 9-4 overall and 5-1 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with a 31-6 win over Southwest Minnesota State…The Mavericks won eight of the night’s ten matches including wins by the team’s two seniors, Andy Forstner (No. 4, 125-lbs) and Ben Becker (No. 6, 174-lbs)…The last home dual for the two seniors resulted in a win by fall for Forstner (:34) and a 12-2 win by major decision for Becker…The Mavericks complete their regular season on Thursday, Feb. 17 as they travel to St. Cloud State to take on the No. 3 Huskies…Junior Aaron Norgren is the only Maverick with 20 or more wins…Norgren stands at 21-8 overall and 12-1 in dual matches…Two Mavericks have 19-wins as freshman Brendan Eichmann owns a 19-15 overall record while junior Tel Todd maintains a 10-11 record…Norgren has won 11 of his last 12 matches including a current streak of five in a row.
About the Coach: Head coach Jim Makovsky (Valley City State ’89) is in his 18th season at MSU. Makovsky, who holds a 220-78-3 overall record at MSU, has coached collegiate wrestling for 21 years and possesses a 243-97-5 career record.Next Up:
The Mavericks will next be in action on Sunday, February 27 as they compete in the NCAA Division II Regional in Sioux Falls, S.D.