St. Cloud State University senior wrestler Shamus O’Grady (Coon Rapids/H.S.) had an opportunity to compete on the international stage this summer with his appearance at the 2012 John Peterson Tournament in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on June 5-6.
O’Grady, who is a three-time All-American at 174-pounds for the Huskies, captured first place in the 84 kilos bracket at the tournament in Mongolia. He completed his journey to Asia with a week of training at the Mongolian Olympic Training Center. The camp provided the participants an opportunity to train and work out along with Olympic medal winner John Peterson, who also serves as a volunteer assistant coach at St. Cloud State.
The tournament in Mongolia was operated by the United State based Athletes in Action club and organized by the Mongolian Wrestling Federation, Athletes in Action Mongolia and Mongol Clubs. Over 250 wrestlers participated in the tournament and this group included seven wrestlers from the United States. Wrestlers from China and Russia also participated in this event.
O’Grady was 17-3 in 2011-12 and finished his season with a fourth place finish at the NCAA Division II championships at 174-pounds. The 2011 NCAA Division II Super 3 Regional MVP, O’Grady also placed fourth at the NCAA championships in 2011 and sixth in 2010.
He was a key factor in the Huskies’ historic 2011-12 season. SCSU posted a perfect 21-0 dual record in 2011-12 and a first place record of 7-0 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. SCSU went on to finish as the runner-up at the 2012 NCAA Division II championships in Pueblo, Colo.