FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Saint John’s wrestling lost three duals by one match, including a pair to top-15 teams, at the NWCA/Cliff Keen Division III National Duals on Friday, Jan. 9, in Fort Wayne, Ind.
The Johnnies (3-11 dual record) started the day with a 23-17 loss to No. 15 Alma (Mich.) before falling to No. 14 Wilkes (Pa.) by a 20-16 score. Eliminated from the 24-team bracket, SJU wrestled Augustana (Ill.) to a 25-21 defeat later in the day.
SJU entered the final match with an opportunity to post the upset in each of its first two duals but came up short. The Johnnies suffered three losses, each by two points or less, to start the dual but registered back-to-back pins and a forfeit to gain a 21-13 over Augustana with two matches to go. The Vikings, however, claimed a pin at 197 pounds and earned the win via injury default at heavyweight.
Junior Ben Henle (Spicer, Minn./New London-Spicer) extended his win streak to 14 with three more wins on the day, two (technical fall and major decision) at 141 pounds and a decision at 149, to improve to 20-4 on the year. He is ranked as high as seventh nationally by D3wrestle.com (ninth by the NWCA) and all four losses were against Division I or Division II student-athletes.
Sophomore Teddy Erickson (Annandale, Minn.) also posted a perfect 3-0 mark at 165 pounds, including two pins, to bump his season record to 7-10.
Senior Ryan Michaelis (Monticello, Minn.) tallied two more wins at 197 pounds before yielding his first loss of the season against Augustana. He is ranked as high as ninth nationally by D3wrestle.com (10th by the NWCA) and has a 6-1 season record.
Senior Evan Guffey (Wyandotte, Mich./Roosevelt) snapped a five-match skid with a 2-1 record at 133 pounds. All three matches were decided by two points or less, including a tough 3-2 loss against Augustana. He is 9-10 on the year.
The Johnnies travel to face Division II MSU-Moorhead for a 7 p.m. dual next Friday, Jan. 16.
Brackets/Results and Live Streaming on TrackWrestling.com
No. 15 Alma (ALM) 23, Saint John’s (SJU) 17
125: Collin Lesko (ALM) dec. John Wells, 9-5 [0-3]
133: Evan Guffey (SJU) dec. Zach Case, 5-3 [3-3]
141: Ben Henle (No. 7/9, SJU) tech. fall Ali Ayache, 19-4 [8-3]
149: James Carey (ALM) pinned Austin Miley, 0:14 [8-9]
157: Shawn Brewer (ALM) major dec. Ochirbat Bayanjargal, 10-0 [8-13]
165: Teddy Erickson (SJU) pinned Taylor McPhail, 2:45 [14-13]
174: Jamie Jakes (No. 7, ALM) major dec. Glenn Castro, 14-3 [14-17]
184: Caleb Huff (ALM) dec. Aaron Baker, 9-3 [14-20]
197: Ryan Michaelis (No. 9/10, SJU) dec. Jared Groeneveld, 8-5 [17-20]
285: Trevor Maresh (ALM) dec. Colin Fisher, 5-0 [17-23]
No. 14 Wilkes (WU) 20, Saint John’s (SJU) 16
125: Guesseppe Rea (No. 6/7, WU) dec. John Wells, 8-4 [0-3]
133: Evan Guffey (SJU) dec. Michael Fleck, 3-1 [3-3]
141: Ben Henle (No. 7/9, SJU) pinned Pankil Chander, 4:29 [9-3]
149: James Palys (WU) major dec. Jesse Rogers, 11-2 [9-7]
157: Sean Lombardi (WU) dec. Ochirbat Bayanjargal, 4-2 [9-10]
165: Teddy Erickson (SJU) dec. Mark Maloney, 8-1 [12-10]
174: Kyle Diesel (WU) major dec. Glenn Castro, 9-0 [12-14]
184: Levi Veppert (WU) dec. Aaron Baker, 9-4 [12-17]
197: Ryan Michaelis (No. 9/10, SJU) major dec. Eric Bach, 10-0 [16-17]
285: David Oberrender (WU) dec. Colin Fisher, 5-2 [16-20]
Augustana (AC) 25, Saint John’s (SJU) 21
125: Jimmy Panozza (AC) dec. John Wells, 4-2 [0-3]
133: Brendan Gould (AC) dec. Evan Guffey, 3-2 [0-6]
141: Collin Tomkins (AC) dec. Austin Miley, 6-4 [0-9]
149: Ben Henle (No. 7/9 @ 141, SJU) dec. Matt Sears, 6-4 [3-9]
157: Hector Ruiz (AC) major dec. Jesse Rogers, 13-5 [3-13]
165: Teddy Erickson (SJU) pinned Brian Egan, 1:28 [9-13]
174: Nick Hoff (SJU) pinned Jordan Richardson, 6:35 [15-13]
184: Nick Pegelow (SJU) won by forfeit [21-13]
197: Ethan Benoit (AC) pinned Ryan Michaelis (No. 9/10), 3:13 [21-19]
285: Jack Seaman (AC) won by injury default over Matt Kadrlik, 5:00 [21-25]